Chameleon Magazine

This morning I went out for a simple Sunday walk in the park, expecting the usual calm. Instead, I found myself confronted by a group of parents who had turned a family space into a political stage. The women were in headscarves, the men had their children dressed in fluorescent bibs plastered with “Free Palestine” slogans — not messages of peace, not anything about unity or coexistence, but slogans that felt deliberately confrontational in a public park where children of all backgrounds play.

What disturbed me was their faith was Muslim. Watching adults use a quiet Sunday morning to push hostility and grievance through their kids, as if turning children into political props somehow counts as activism. Instead of enjoying the park like everyone else, they seemed intent on broadcasting a message that does nothing but deepen divisions.

I found it genuinely disgusting to see parents teaching children to display anger and allegiance rather than letting them just be kids. If you want to express political passion, fine — but dragging children into it, and doing it in a community space where others are simply trying to live their lives, only breeds more resentment and tension.

There were a hundred ways they could have chosen to symbolise peace, coexistence, or hope. Instead, they chose confrontation. And that’s what I object to — not who they are, but the choice to bring divisive behaviour into a place meant for everyone.