Unifor donates $20,000 to Médecins Sans Frontières and International Federation of Journalists for work in the ongoing war in Gaza

October 8, 2024

TORONTO-Unifor is supporting Médecins Sans Frontières Canada and the International Federation of Journalists humanitarian and journalistic work in Gaza with a $20,000 donation from the union's Social Justice Fund as the war in Gaza passes the one year mark.

Unifor honours the doctors, nurses, medics, journalists and humanitarian workers on the ground who continue to risk their own lives to help those who are suffering and to tell their stories so the world can bear witness to the inescapable realities of war.

The Unifor Social Justice Fund is donating $10,000 to Médecins Sans Frontières Canada to help provide emergency medical humanitarian care in Gaza and $10,000 to the International Federation of Journalists Safety Fund to provide a lifeline and support to journalists working in conflict zones.

Unifor swiftly condemned the escalating violence following the October 7 terrorist attack, joining with the chorus of international organizations calling for a cease-fire and a return of all the hostages who continue to be held in captivity. To date, over 41,000 Palestinians have been killed, a disproportionate number of them being women and children.

The International Federation of Journalists reports that 138 journalists and media workers have been killed since the war began, as well.

We are now witnessing an alarming escalation of hostilities as the conflict is spreading to other regions, such as Lebanon, putting more civilian lives at risk. The war must end.

Unifor has long called on the negotiation of a permanent peace agreement with Palestine, the right to self-determination, and for Israel's government to end its ongoing occupation of Palestinian territories and its violations of international law. We fear that without such a process in place, the cycle of violence that plagued relations between both sides for decades will not be broken.

Both Israelis and Palestinians have a right to live in peace, freedom and dignity. The longer the violence continues and the more dramatic the escalation, the further we all get from that possible future.

Working people bear the brunt of all wars. Unifor will continue to denounce violence in all forms and call for international laws and human rights to be respected and upheld. We call on Canada and allies in the international community to take the necessary steps in order to make peace a reality. Our union will continue to believe in a world based on peace and solidarity for all working people, at home and abroad.