Serf City Times Extra - Babies in Gaza Who Never Made It To Their First Birthday Quilt Project

Babies in Gaza Who Never Made It To Their First Birthday Quilt Project

All photos by Tarmo Hannula unless noted.

Sept. 5, 2025 was the first presentation of the quilts at the Know Their Names event at the Santa Cruz County Building, 701 Ocean St. Santa Cruz.

This is the letter sent to the quilters after the Sept. 5 event letting those who couldn't make it know what occurred:

The day started at 8am with the reading of the first of the 18,000 names of children who have been killed by Israeli soldiers and their government with US weapons and equipment. The first 711 names were the babies who had never made it to their first birthday.

It was a long day. The press conference at noon included speeches and the introduction of the quilts interspersed with the reading of names. About 100 people were there. Several news media showed up over the course of the day.

Your time, imagination, and energy spent constructing your quilts while battling broken sewing machines, stabbed and cramped fingers, and the difficulties in finding the hole in the needle were duly appreciated.

Since I had already been impressed by the quilts as I received them, it was gratifying to get them out into the community. The presentation outside the county building was challenging and our set up wasn’t particularly sturdy, but it lasted long enough. There were around 100 people there as well as people milling around.

I got a little confused about our schedule - and hungry - after the press conference. I wasn't the only one. After a little lunch and driving around, I got to the Collateral Damage sculpture at the town clock where the reading of names continued.

It was followed by a short Silent March down to the corner of Cooper St. and Pacific Ave. Between the readings of names there was a somber Movement Ceremony and later when it got dark, images of Gaza’s children and the world’s responses were projected on a screen. About a dozen quilts were hung on suction cups on the windows of an abandoned store front. Many people stopped to observe and participate.

The readings continued there until midnight. When the reading finished, about 10 dedicated readers remained.

I hope all the hours that you all put in felt worthwhile. I know that many of you expressed that the process of stitching the babies’ names gave you some feeling of connection to the children and their families. We now all have the quilts as a testament to your efforts. Sarah Ringler

Know Their Names speech by Sarah Ringler in front of the Santa Cruz County Building on Sept. 5, 2025.

Babies in Gaza Who Never Made It To Their First Birthday Quilt Project started in mid-July out of frustration over the unending depressing news stories out of Gaza of young children being killed by the Israeli government and its soldiers.

As artist Liz Williams and I commiserated on her front porch, she recalled the AIDS quilt from 1985. That sparked the idea of memorial quilts for babies, babies that hadn’t even made their first birthday.

I was already working with the Santa Cruz Know Their Names group. They were planning an event for Sept. 5, today, to read the names of many of the children who were part of the genocide. We decided to add the quilt project.

Emails went out. Responses came back. Women send requests for the names of 20 babies.

Slowly quilts started coming in from around the Monterey Bay and beyond. Reports of a few broken sewing machines along the way, cramped hands that couldn’t stitch like they used to, little stabs from the needles, the continual challenge of finding the hole of the needle.

Here are some of the comments:

Janet Swann “My quilt portrays what a Palestinian baby’s life would have been filled with: love, home, safety, tatreez stitchery from a grandmother, handmade toys from a grandfather, a beautiful colorful world – and the heritage of the Palestinian people, represented by the national flower.“

Layne Rahbar I'm giving it the title of " My Shattered Heart" It was a hard topic, but I enjoyed the challenge.

Angela Gleason “About my quilt. It is the first one I have made. My mother was a quilter. The foundation of this piece is a part of her first quilt. I used cyanotype (solar printing) to put their names on the fabric. I felt joining it to my mother's piece was a reminder how grateful I am to have lived and enjoyed my mother's long life. She lost one child and I know how devastating that was. I can't imagine the pain that all the mothers of these children are experiencing.”

Nancy Goudari, "My original idea morphed from an art piece/memorial to traditional baby quilt so each block with each child’s name could at least represent the baby quilt she or he should have had."

Lauren Keenan: “What this quilt means to me…

“In arid countries, the color green is associated with paradise.

“The green in this quilt is meant to represent the paradise I wish for these babies.

“Green in also the colors in the Palestinian flag. And watermelons are green, watermelon often symbolically used to represent the Palestinians since they were sometimes prohibited from carrying their flag.

“Red is the color of blood and here represents all of the bloodshed this war has caused, mostly the blood of the innocents like these babies.

“Red too is the color of the Palestinian flag and is again associated with the watermelon and its connection to the Palestinian people.

“The veiled effect used with the names of the 20 babies represented on this quilt illustrate how their life force, their inner light was cruelly snuffed out before it got to glow brightly.

“White is another color on the Palestinian flag and is the color of the watermelon rind.

“The subdued tans and browns used are the colors of the immense amount of rubble entombing the babies and which Gaza has been reduced to by the ceaseless bombing of their cities and towns, the destruction of their olive groves and pasture lands.

“The small medallions read: Plant Seeds of Justice, Scatter Seeds of Kindness, Reap Peach.

“That is my hope for the future of Gaza, and everywhere in the world.”

Thank you.

Know Their Names event honoring 18,000 Slain Palestinian Children in Santa Cruz, CA. 9/5

FILMED BY NYANKO

"Know Their Names" press conference honoring 18,000 Palestinian children who were killed in Gaza by the Israeli government and military with support from the United States, in front of the Santa Cruz County Courthouse on Sept. 5, 2025. 1 hour and 11 minutes. Filmed by Nyanko.

The posters below were distributed as part of the Know Their Names events.

Showing of quilts, Sept. 20-Oct. 4, at the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Monterey Peninsula

The second showing of the quilt, from Sept. 20-Oct. 4, was at the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Monterey Peninsula, 490 Aguajito Rd., Carmel. The photos above are from that showing. Below is a short video of 32 of the quilts, all that were completed by the end of September.

DRONE VIDEO BY FRED HAMILTON

The Quilts

Note: Two more quilts need to be completed to cover the 711 babies who were murdered before their first birthdays. The names were published by Al Jazeera on Oct. 27, 2024. Many children are buried under the rubble and their names are unknown. Also many more have died since then.

For more information, contact Sarah Ringler at sring@cruzio.co,

Ruth DiMarzio

Janet Swann - "My quilt portrays what a Palestinian baby’s life would have been filled with: love, home, safety, handmade toys from a grandfather, tatreez stitchery for a grandmother, a beautiful colorful world – and the heritage of the Palestinian people, represented by the national flower."

Unhae Langis - "What should be a buoyant baby quilt becomes a mourning shroud for me, full of fabrics evoking shredded textiles. This quilt honors Palestinians who cannot mourn as they are trapped in hellish survival. The quilt is edged with olive green to show hope against all hope, or to show that Palestine will live forever in our hearts, as their people will live on, teaching life for us."

Ann Russell

Monet Pedrazzini

Maris Azevedo

Mary Kay Hamilton - "Victims of the war in Gaza who never reached their first birthday. Stop this cruelty. Children deserve a chance."

Sarah Ringler

Unhae Langis

Marjorie Longo - "The Another Mother for Peace logo with Sunflower and words by Lorraine Schneider was my inspiration. Used with permission from Lorraine's Daughter, Elisa."

Francesca Hampton

Lizann Keyes

Unhae Langis

Rita Swencionis

Layne Rahbar - "I'm giving this quilt the title of 'My Shattered Heart.' It was a hard topic but I enjoyed the challenge."

Angela Gleason - “About my quilt. It is the first one I have made. My mother, Helen, was a quilter. The foundation of this piece is a part of her first quilt. I used cyanotype (solar printing) to put their names on the fabric. I felt joining it to my mother's piece was a reminder how grateful I am to have lived and enjoyed my mother's long life. She lost one child and I know how devastating that was. I can't imagine the pain that all the mothers of these children are experiencing.”

The quilt below is on the back of the quilt made by Angela Gleason. It was made by Gleason's mom as described above.

Lauren Keenan - "Made with profound sadness."

“What this quilt means to me…