Pep Guardiola delivered a politically-charged speech about Gaza after receiving an honorary degree from the University of Manchester. The 54-year-old was presented with the award on Monday, marking his contribution to the city throughout his nine years at the Etihad Stadium. He has won six Premier League titles, six domestic cups and the Champions League since joining Manchester City in 2016.
Guardiola’s honorary doctorate was presented to him by the university’s chancellor, Nazir Afzal, during a ceremony at Whitworth Hall. After collecting the award, he took the opportunity to speak about Gaza and the situation facing its people. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, almost 55,000 people have been killed in the region since Israel ramped up its military campaign.
“It’s so painful what we see in Gaza,” said Guardiola. “It hurts all of my body. Let me be clear, it’s not about ideology. It’s not about I’m right and you’re wrong. Come on, it’s just about the love of life. About the care of your neighbour.
“Maybe we think that we can see the boys and girls of four years old being killed with a bomb or being killed at the hospital, which is not a hospital anymore, and think it’s not our business. Yeah, fine. We can think about that.
“It’s not our business, but be careful. The next one will be ours, the next four and five year-old kids will be ours. Sorry that I see my kids Maria, Marius and Valentina every morning since the nightmare started in Gaza and I’m so scared.
“Maybe this image feels far away from where we are living now, and you might ask what we can do.”
Guardiola used a children’s story to illustrate his point that everybody can do their bit to help out, even though it might seem inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.
He continued: “There’s a story I’m reminded of. A forest is on fire. All the animals live terrified, helpless, but the small bird flies back and forth to the sea, back and forth carrying drops of water in this little beak.
“A snake laughs and asks: ‘Why bro? You will never put the fire out’. The poor bird replies: ‘Yes, I know it’. The snake asks once again: ‘Then why do you do it again and again?’. The bird replies for the last time: ‘I’m just doing my part’.
“The bird knows that he won’t stop the fire but it refused to do nothing. In a world that often tells us that we are too small to make a difference, that story reminds me that the power of one is not about the scale.
“It’s about choice, about showing up, about refusing to be silent or still when it matters most.”
Earlier this week, the United Nations warned that Gaza is facing ‘atrocious levels of death and destruction’. They also demanded that Israel allow a ‘flood of aid’ into the region, with many civilians starving and others severely dehydrated.