A Wall of Names in Peace Park East
18,457 names. That is how many Palestinian children the City of Dearborn says have been killed in Gaza since October 2023. Each name is printed on a 100-foot-long mural now standing in PEACE Park East.
The installation is called The Wall of Tears. It opened June 11 and will remain on display through July 31, according to the City of Dearborn.
"This monument stands in memory of those children and as a call to conscience, reminding future generations of the cost of silence and the responsibility to never look away," said Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud in a press release.
Who Built It and Why
The mural was created by Phil Buehler, a New York City-based artist known for large-scale public works on human rights and historical memory. Buehler said the Dearborn version is the largest iteration of the mural he has produced.
"Like my other murals, I hope this one works on multiple levels," Buehler said. "You might be curious from a distance and be drawn in and read some of their stories and look at the family photos. How could someone walk away without thinking that this could be my kid, my niece, my neighbor's kid? Our love of children is universal."
The wall is bilingual. Names, ages, and stories appear in both Arabic and English, according to the American Human Rights Council (AHRC). Photographs and short biographies accompany 100 of the children listed, sourced from The Washington Post, The Guardian, and the @Gaza_Shaheed project on X/Twitter, according to mlive.
The database behind the names comes from the Gaza Ministry of Health, according to the Detroit News.
Community Reaction
Dearborn has the highest percentage of Arab American residents of any city in the United States, according to the Detroit News. The mural sits just outside where the previous Dearborn City Hall building stood.
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, and Mayor Hammoud attended the opening ceremony last week, according to mlive.
Imad Hamad, executive director of the American Human Rights Council, praised the display in a statement.
"We salute Mr. Buehler on this powerful memorial," Hamad said. "We also commend the city of Dearborn and Mayor Hammoud for hosting this memorial."
Organizers note that the 18,457 names represent only a portion of child fatalities. They estimate total child deaths in Gaza exceed 75,000, according to the AHRC and Radience News.
A Traveling Memorial
The Wall of Tears has previously been exhibited in New York City, London, San Francisco, New Jersey, and several cities in Australia, according to the AHRC. The installation is expected to travel next to Mexico City, Dallas, and Portland.
City workers installed the vinyl walls, which stand 7.5 feet tall and are draped over a metal fence in the park, according to the Free Press. The exhibit is organized in partnership with Jewish Voice for Peace-Detroit, the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, and ACCESS, according to the City of Dearborn's Facebook page.