The pro-Palestine marches, which have drawn hundreds of thousands of protesters from all across the globe, have spilled from the streets and onto the Roblox servers. It appears that several kids who are too young to attend physical protests in solidarity with the Palestinian people have been attending digital marches via the online game platform that serves as a virtual universe, and now, an unexpected avenue for activism. The digital protests against Israel’s illegal occupation were organized by a Malaysian gamer known as cikguzyd, who crafted a map named “(PALESTINE) Dataran tanjung mas” on Oct. 14, which has welcomed nearly 30,000 users since its inception. The description of the virtual arena reads, “This map is made for Palestine solidarity.”
Videos of the digital protests that have gone viral on TikTok and X this week show large gatherings of users inside the Roblox space, which features a “town square” flanked by the Palestinian flag as well as a large banner that reads “solidarity untukmu” (solidarity for you), carrying Palestinian flags and participating in organized prayers and protests led by cikguzyd, who chants in Arabic. Several users on TikTok took to the comment section to reveal that their own children are participating in this awareness campaign, and some even have timers set so that they don’t miss the online marches.
is it this one😭 pic.twitter.com/7yGQvA26Qo
— Sushi ✩°｡ ⋆⸜ 🎧✮ (@sushislurpee) October 24, 2023
“My daughter plays Roblox and she told me she was there too! I can’t explain how proud I am,” wrote one user on the Chinese-owned social media app.
Another user said, “My 11-year-old son joined. We went out for dinner and he insisted to be home by 10:00 p.m. to join this.”
A spokesperson for Roblox Corp. said that the game “allows for expressions of solidarity,” however they have a team of moderators in place to flag any content that may “endorse or condone violence, promote terrorism or hatred against individuals or groups, or call for supporting a specific political party.”
Malaysians have been taking to the streets in droves to show their support for Palestine since the beginning of the deadly Israeli onslaught on Gaza. On Tuesday, thousands of protesters gathered in Kuala Lampur, including Malaysia’s prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, in what was the country’s largest protest yet since the escalation kicked off over two-weeks-ago.
The number of people killed in Gaza has exceeded 5,000, with half of the victims being children, since Oct. 7, when Israel began its bombardment of the densely populated enclave.
