SAEDNEWS: We’ve seen all the devastating images of children in Gaza, yet over time a dangerous numbness sets in—especially when those responsible or their accomplices try to justify it
Famed actor Guy Pearce reacted to the ongoing massacre of children in Gaza, emphasizing: “Silence is complicity with horror.” He recently participated in a short film released by the organizations Save the Children and Choose Love, in which other artists also recite the poem “Don’t Name the Children” by Michael Rosen.
Pearce, along with Annie Lennox and Vanessa Redgrave, is among a group of prominent figures demanding an end to the normalization of the slaughter of children in Gaza.
The short film features artists reading parts of Rosen’s poem, originally written in 2014 in response to a Guardian report about a banned radio ad in Israel that listed the names of children killed in Gaza. The poem begins with the haunting lines:
"Do not name the children.
Do not speak the names of the martyred children.
People should not know the names of the dead children."
In an interview with The Guardian, Pearce said:
"When I first read this poem, I was deeply moved and shocked. Rosen’s ruthless directives stare straight into our souls, forcing us to confront the brutality of erasing a child—the erasure of a name, a memory, a life."
The project also features actors Ambika Mod, Julie Richardson, Juliet Stevenson, Denis Gaff, Khaled Abdullah, Zavi Ashton, and Indira Varma, as well as presenters Laura Whitmore and Nadia Sawalha, model Poppy Delevingne, emergency doctor Mo Mustafa, social activist Steven Kapos, and Rosen himself.
The film coincides with a new campaign from Save the Children and Choose Love, calling on the UK government to “end its complicity in ongoing crimes in Gaza and the West Bank.” The campaign urges the public to sign a petition demanding the immediate suspension of arms transfers to Israel, prosecution of perpetrators, an end to Israeli impunity, and decisive action to end the occupation of Palestinian lands.
Pearce added:
"We’ve all seen the devastating images of children in Gaza, yet over time a dangerous numbness sets in—people turn away, suffering is ignored, or worse, justified by the perpetrators or their allies. The simplicity of this poem leaves no room for escape. Participating in this project was a moral imperative for me. Every day, children in Gaza are killed, injured, or starved—trapped in a nightmare they had no part in creating. We must not let this horror become normalized. Silence is complicity."
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 20,000 children have been killed since October 2023, though independent investigations suggest the number is much higher.
Oscar-nominated director and photographer Misan Harriman, who led the project, said:
"Children in Gaza have faced an unrelenting wave of disasters for nearly two years: homes, schools, and hospitals destroyed, and starvation used as a weapon against them, while the world still fails to stop it."
Save the Children, which has operated in Gaza for decades—from primary healthcare to treating malnutrition—stated that since March 2, no aid from the organization has been allowed into Gaza.
