Mees in Bologna with a Palestinian flag and his bicycle. Own photo Mees Groothuis, who graduated this year, is cycling 100 metres for every Palestinian who has died since 7 October 2023 as a result of the genocidal violence in Gaza. His aim is to put the number of deaths into perspective. He shares updates about his journey on Instagram.
‘The idea of cycling for Palestine had been in my mind for a while,’ says Groothuis from northern Croatia. ‘After graduating with a master’s degree in Biobased and Circular Economy last November, I worked for six months and saved money so that I could now cycle for three months.’ His journey began in May. For the first few weeks, he just cycled. ‘On my bike, I had time to think. Ideas came naturally, and I started working them out and making videos. I’ve been posting my videos on Instagram for a week now.’
‘I want to put the genocide into perspective,” Groothuis explains. ‘Awareness of the Palestinian cause is growing slowly but surely. I think that’s great to see, but unfortunately it’s not a stand-alone story. I try to connect the situation in Gaza to a bigger story: to explain why these situations arise in the world in the first place. Much misery stems from the same reasoning. I don’t think everyone realises that yet, which is why I want to tell the story.’
Fifty-five thousand
‘My main goal is to convey that we are not stuck with the way we do things now. I want people to know that a brighter future lies ahead of us if we oppose neoliberalism and colonialism. In addition, the number of people murdered – over 55,000 – remains abstract when you look at the number alone. Converting it into a distance helps me to put it into perspective; hopefully that applies to others as well. It is also a way for me to combat powerlessness. Even if 150,000 people take to the streets, our government does nothing.’
At the end of each day of cycling, Groothuis edits and shares a themed video and posts an overview of the names to whom he dedicates his journey in his Instagram stories. He obtains the figures and names from the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Croatia
Anyone looking at Groothuis’ Instagram will not see the floodplains of Wageningen or other Dutch landscapes, but mountains. His bike trip started in the Black Forest in Germany. From there, he cycled south towards Switzerland, across the Italian Alps and via Genoa – through the Apennines – to Bologna. There he took the train and the Flixbus to where he is now. ‘From here, I’ll cycle through Slovenia, Austria and the Czech Republic. I don’t have a final destination in mind, but I’ll be cycling for about three months.’
At the moment, he is sitting on the beach in a village near Rijeka, overlooking the Croatian islands. ‘This afternoon, I’m going to look for a place to sleep and then cycle there later today. How many kilometres I cycle today depends on the location of that place to sleep, but I cycle between fifty and eighty kilometres a day.’
Translated with the help of DeepL.com.
