ON MONDAY MORNING, HUMAN RIGHTS WORKERS GO TO SEA TO FISH

Now that the Gaza list is back up, we wanted to post this short message to all of you and let you know what we are doing this morning. I’m including our press release from yesterday. In about ten minutes, 20 of us are taking our flags and going seven miles out to sea to fish. We don’t expect to be shot at by the Israeli military, but you never know. We’ll fish for at least four or five hours, then come back in and deliver the hearing aids to the children. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For More Information, please contact:
 
(Gaza) Huwaida Arraf, tel.  +972 599 130 426 
 
(Gaza) Jeff Halper, tel.  +972 542 002 642 
 
(Cyprus) Osama Qashoo, tel.  +357 99 793 595  / osamaqashoo@gmail.com
 
(Jerusalem) Angela Godfrey-Goldstein, tel.  +972 547 366 393  / angela@icahd.org
 
GAZA CITY, GAZA (24 August 2008) –

Two days after the SS FREE GAZA and the SS LIBERTY arrived to a jubilant welcome in Gaza, 20 to 25 of the human rights watchers will go to sea with the fishermen in a show of support for their struggle to keep their industry productive.

According to a recent article in The Guardian, “in the 1990s, the Gazan fishing industry produced an annual income of around £5m. That had halved by 2007 and is still shrinking fast. Under the Oslo accords, which in 1993 were supposed to herald the coming of an independent Palestinian state, Gazan fishermen were to be allowed 20 nautical miles out to sea, where they could catch sardine as they migrated from the Nile delta up towards Turkey during the spring.But Israeli naval ships in recent years have imposed their own, much-reduced limits, sometimes fewer than 6 miles out.”

The group will leave in the very early morning and go to sea at least 7 to 8 miles off the Gaza coast. They will be on board two to three of the small fishing boats lining the shores of the Gaza port, making sure they and their international flags are prominent. They intend to stay at sea for several hours, providing protection for the men as they search for and catch the fish.

“What gives Israel the right to take away the livelihood of these fishermen, and why does the world allow them to destroy an industry that used to provide for thousands of Palestinians?” Said Greta Berlin, one of the five organizers of The Free Gaza Movement. “We intend to challenge that right, backed up by warships and machine guns, just as we challenged Israel’s right to prevent us from coming here on Saturday.”

The organizers feel that, since they sailed to Gaza with no interference from the Israeli military, they have established a precedent to press for the human rights of Palestinians, who want nothing more than to be free to make a living, go to school, and receive medical treatment.

Greta Berlin
Media Team
Free Gaza Movement
357 99 08 17 67
www.freegaza.org
www.anis-online.de/office/events/FreeGazaSong.htm
www.flickr.com/photos/29205195@N02/

A couple of comments from Mary and me as we settle into the reality that we did, in fact, break the siege of Gaza. Greta

From Mary in Gaza City, 24 August, 2008

I woke up this morning wondering if it was all a dream. And then I looked through the window and saw the harbor, and the fishing boats, and our two proud lttle boats, the FREE GAZA and the LIBERTY, bobbing gently in the Gaza breeze and I could finally believe we are here!

There are not enough words to describe the feelings we all had as we saw the shores of Gaza appear on our horizon, and then as we got closer and closer we were welcomed by the first of dozens of fishing boats, all crowded with cheering, waving Gazans who had waited since early morning for our arrival. Dozens of them jumped into the water and climbed aboard our boats, cheering and waving and hugging everybody, smiling and telling us “you are welcome.” I don’t know how so many members of our welcoming committee managed to crowd onto the two piers… women, men, children, a band playing for us, police trying to control them as more of them jumped into the water to reach us.

It was truly an experience for a lifetime. Surreal. After two years of planning and hoping, and disappointments, and great sadness when our beloved friend Riad was suddenly gone from us. But his spirit is here with us, and many of us wore pink shirts in his memory.

There is so much more to say, but for now this is just to say we have arrived, we are elated, we are humbled, we could not have achieved this without the support of so many friends and strangers who believed in us.

Shukran, and love to all of you.

Mary in Gaza City

To all of you who have followed this two-year journey.

Fifty thousand Palestinians lined the walls of the Port of Gaza yesterday as our two wooden boats came into view across the horizon. We’ve seen the video of our boats flying the flags of 17 nations as well as dozens of Palestinian flags, come over the top of the water and approach. Those of us crowded at the front of the two boats could see everyone lined up waiting for us.

A few hundred meters before we navigated through the small opening into the port, we were met by dozens of fishing boats loaded with people. Little boys jumped in the water to swim around us. We had blown up balloons (yes, they are biodegradable) and dropped them in the water as the young boys swam around catching their trophies. On each red, white, black and green balloon, it said FREE PALESTINE with a dove on it. Those of us who were parents on board held our breath as the swimmers multiplied. I don’t know how our two captains managed to lightly pull into the dock amid all of the other boats and people, but they did.

Today, I looked out the window of this beautiful hotel we’re staying in, and there were the boats, and we had really arrived. A sour-faced Israeli official announced last night that “We have decided to let the boats through this time, but we will look at other trips on a case by case basis.”  In short, our little group of 40+ human rights workers not only won the right to enter Gaza, but we won the PR battle as well.

There wasn’t an Israeli warship in sight. They withdrew everything. In the 30 hours we traveled from Cyprus to Gaza, most of us seasick, the electronic systems jammed, barely able to communicate from boat to boat, we knew we had broken Israel’s siege of this small seashore community, perhaps not permanently, but that small hole in the wall is now too large to put a PR finger in to stop the flow of outrage against Israel’s policies.

The quay was packed with people… packed. The video doesn’t begin to do it justice. Many literally fell into the boats in an attempt to interview us, grabbing us by the hand, pulling us in front of cameras. Tony Blair’s sister-in-law was brilliant, the face of the internationals here. Jeff Halper, the Israeli professor was passionate, all of us were crying. We could barely catch our breath in the crowd of well-wishers. Mushier Al Fara had tears streaming down his face, “I can finally go visit the grave of my mother.” he said.

Palestinian flags were everywhere as was security. Today, if we wanted to go to the boats, we had to be accompanied by several guards in big cars as they drove us down to what they consider a symbol of support. We clearly know that, if anything happens to any of us or to the boats, it will be because Israel has ordered it, one way or the other.

Most of us leave on Tuesday to take one boat back to Cyprus and go home. Nothing that any of us will ever do again in our lives will live up to what we saw yesterday.

Greta Berlin
Media Team
Free Gaza Movement
357 99 08 17 67
www.freegaza.org
www.anis-online.de/office/events/FreeGazaSong.htm
www.flickr.com/photos/29205195@N02/

10am, 23 August, 2008
A Statement from the International Human Rights Workers Aboard the SS Free Gaza and SS Liberty, Sailing to Gaza

*At 10am this morning, the Cyprus team of the Free Gaza Movement was able to briefly speak with our people on board the SS Free Gaza and SS Liberty. They are all fine, and they asked us to release the following statement:

“The electronic systems which guarantee our safety aboard the SS Free Gaza and SS Liberty have been jammed and scrambled. Both ships are flying Greek flags, and are in international waters. We are the victims of electronic piracy. We are currently in GMS P area A2 and we are relying on our satellite communications equipment to make a distress call, if needed.

We are civilians from 17 nations and are on this project to break the siege of Gaza. We are not experienced sailors. As a result, there is concern about the health and safety of the people on board such an emergency develop.

We are currently experiencing rough sea conditions, and we call on the Greek government and the international community to meet their responsibilities and protect the civilians on board our two ships in international waters.”

This statement is being posted from California because the emails accounts of the ground crew on Cyprus are not working.