Raising £10,000 – Busking for Gaza

Rose Ellis – musician, potter and retired art therapist – returned to busking in her 70s as a way to raise funds for Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) in response to witnessing the suffering of the Gazan people following 7th October 2023. Since 1st December 2023, Rose has busked at least weekly in the centre of Totnes, accompanied by singers, some of whom have come and gone, and some who have been as stalwart a presence as Rose, turning out whatever the weather.

At the end of last month, the total funds raised over 14 months reached £10, 000, a testament to the generosity and compassion of passersby, including some regular donors and local, familiar faces as well as others on holiday in Totnes and from the surrounding area.

A trinity of motivations

Rose, being a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, is dedicated to her family. Beyond that, her three passions could be described as art, music and activism.  She describes how she used to play with mud when she was 3 or 4 years old and began pottery classes at school when she was 11. She hasn’t looked back since and continues to make and exhibit new work now.

As a teenager Rose substituted the violin for the guitar and taught herself songs by Bob Dylan, Joan Baez as well as other folk songs. Regarding activism, Rose tells how she has ‘always been an activist but hasn’t always been very active’. In her teens she went on Ban the Bomb marches and has attended protests throughout her life when she’s had the time and energy alongside raising a family and working.

Art as inspiration during difficult times

Describing how Rose got the idea to begin busking to fundraise for MAP she said, “I’ve always been quite political but haven’t always known how to put it in to action.” However, attending a concert with Berlin-based Palestinian singer-songwriter Rasha Nahas during the Totnes and Bridgetown Festival of Arts and Culture 2022, turned out to be the first step on Rose’s steadfast MAP fundraising marathon. Soon after Rasha’s concert, Rose went to a talk at the Angel Gallery in Totnes given by Nick Bilborough of the Hands Up Project (HUP). Hearing about the creative way the Hands Up Project supports Palestinian children’s education was very impactful for Rose. She was inspired by how the children are encouraged to make theatre and poetry ‘out of nothing, finding ways to express themselves in the midst of so much hardship.’

Of her own life, Rose says, “I haven’t had much. Art has been a constant…Inspiration can carry people through difficult times. This creative spirit cannot be killed”. It was after the HUP talk that Rose joined Totnes Friends of Palestine (TFoP), not yet knowing exactly what she might be able to bring to the group and to its values and aims of open dialogue, cultural exchange, awareness raising and fundraising.

I’ve always been quite political

Totnes Friends of Palestine

As a member of TFoP, Rose felt straightaway that she’d joined a group where people bring an idea and then get on and make it happen. Rose found this very motivating and began to get more and more involved, helping out with the regular Palestinian film screenings, attending meetings and supporting the occasional information and conversation stalls in the centre of Totnes. In her first few months, Rose also took part in a static bike ride outside St Mary’s which was set up to ride the equivalent length of the separation wall in Palestine. She raised £80 which seemed like a lot at the time but has since been overshadowed by the amount raised through the months of busking. Rose says about her early experiences of joining TFoP, “I was up for it. One of the things I saw was this most amazing dancing – dabka – performed by young people from Aida refugee camp, Bethlehem at St John’s in Bridgetown. Seeing that spark alive even in the most awful of situations was very inspiring.”

Inspired to take action through busking

Then October 7th 2023 happened, followed swiftly and systematically by the relentless bombing of Gazan civilians.  Rose, along with so many around the world, felt powerless. For Rose the pain was “unbearable, raw, I was in shock…that’s where the busking came from. If I get an idea for something, I kind of have to do it. I thought to myself that I was too old, that I hadn’t busked for years. But I couldn’t talk myself out it. Christmas was coming and the words to the carol ‘Silent night, holy night’ were hard to hear. There was so much discrepancy with what was happening in Gaza. So I wrote different words for ‘Silent night, holy night’ – more appropriate to people’s reality in Gaza – and that got me busking again. The first time was nerve racking. I was outside the bookshop in the Civic Square with just one friend who said she would support me with singing.”

For Rose, the courage to try out busking again after so long came from the fact that she was raising money for something else, not for herself. She realised she could do it and that people wanted to give, to donate to Medical Aid for Palestinians. Another positive reverberation started to become clear – what Rose calls “a miracle” – in that lots of other people wanted to be part of what she was doing. Many have come and gone over the months, helping with leafleting as well as singing. The leafleting – with information about Palestine and also about local Totnes Friends of Palestine eventshttps://www.totnesfriendsofpalestine.org/ – has added to the dynamic and enables conversations with passersby. Over the months, some people joined the busking, singing and leafleting early and stayed the course, others have helped with writing alternative lyrics to well- known songs, others have joined occasionally when circumstances allow.

Busking for social justice for all

Every now and then there has been some aggression and challenge. People have called out things like, “What about the hostages? – They should be released”. Rose is a social justice activist and believes in safety, peace and equal rights for everyone. Busking for Palestine does not override her innate humanitarian spirit; she busks because of this.

Generosity, gratitude, compassion and connection

Rose has been bowled over by how much the busking has given her. It has really shone a light on people’s generosity and compassion: “I feel amazed at how much money people have been giving. It varies from £70 – £350 over a two hour session. Normally it’s between £100-200. It offers people an opportunity to give.”
It has been significant in other ways too. As well as having a reason to play the guitar, which she loves, Rose described how, “Life needs to be meaningful for me. Busking has given me a purpose and a genuine belief in something. And it has been good for my own development. I’ve also made connections with people who I’d lost touch with, or got to know some people better. Coming together in this way has been a bridge and makes some relationships more possible. I’ve met amazing people and made new friends. And because what’s been going on in Gaza is so unbearable to be with, the busking has meant I’m not on my own with it.”

Ongoing commitment

A total of £10,106.88 has been raised so far and sent to Medical Aid for Palestinians who update Rose with reports about how the money is being used. Rose says that her intention is to carry on busking while her voice carries on: “I feel very committed. It is what I can do. And it’s going to be very important to support anything good that may happen following these early days of the ceasefire. It’s about keeping hope, although it’s a risk to feel hope. But actually doing something tangible and generating stuff in the town – conversations, connections – means people keep thinking about Gaza, Palestine and the situation over there. Being a continuing presence in Totnes feels vitally important. People might hope we’ll disappear but we’re not going anywhere at the moment.”