Miss Grand International UK bet calls for ceasefire amid Israel, Palestine conflict
Miss Grand International United Kingdom bet Amy Viranya Berry. Image: screengrab from YouTube/GrandTV
Miss Grand International United Kingdom bet Amy Viranya Berry used the stage of the international tilt to talk about the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, lamenting how thousands of lives suffer due to this.
Berry, who is of British and Thai heritage, said this in her speech as part of the Top 10 finalists at the coronation night held in Thailand on Friday, Oct. 25.
“Everyone, stop and think about a child. What is the first image that comes to mind? For me it is the pure laughter and joy of children playing,” she began.
“Now, imagine this child has no limbs from a bomb. Unfortunately, this is not an image. This is happening right now,” she continued.
Berry went on to stress how thousands of innocent lives have been sacrificed and that these should serve as a wakeup call to everyone.
Article continues after this advertisement“How many more innocent lives must we sacrifice until we say ‘enough is enough’? Each death serves as a collective failure how we cannot achieve peace,” she stated.
Article continues after this advertisement“So I [urge] everyone here tonight to join me in a ceasefire,” she added, asking the pageant viewers to shout “ceasefire” with her as their appeal.
“Ceasefire! Release the hostages and ceasefire! Let’s stop the war and violence!” she shouted.
The rest of the finalists spoke about similar sentiments, discussing how several countries are involved in active wars where children suffer the consequences.
The delegates also touched on the subjects of championing peace, breaking the cycle of hate through empathy, embracing diversity, promoting education for children, and addressing inner conflicts.
Berry was one of the Miss Grand International 2024 fifth runners-up along with Maria Felix from the Dominican Republic, Nova Liana from Indonesia, Arlette Rujel from Peru, and Susana Medina from Spain.
Rachel Gupta from India was crowned as Miss Grand International 2024, while Philippines’ CJ Opiaza was the first runner-up, Myanmar’s Thae Su Nyeim the second-runner up, France’s Safietou Kabengele the third runner-up, and Brazil’s Talita Hartmann the fourth runner-up.
