| 19 February 2010
(London, UK) On April, 2010, the Freedom Flotilla sets sail for Gaza determined to, once again, challenge Israel’s blockade of 1.5 million Palestinians trapped in an open-air prison. Coordinated by the Free Gaza Movement in conjunction with the Turkish Relief Foundation (IHH), two cargo ships loaded with reconstruction and educational supplies will be accompanied by at least 3 passenger ships. One of the cargo ships and two passenger boats were purchased with the generous donations from the Malaysia-based Perdana Global Peace Organization.
On board will be members of Parliament from various countries, U.N. , human rights and Trade Union activists as well as journalists who will document the effort to bring in basic supplies to Palestinians in Gaza.
Said Greta Berlin, one of Free Gaza’s organizers, “When 44 of us arrived in Gaza in August 2008, we said we’d come back. And we did. But the last three voyages have been aggressively stopped by Israel, so we have spent the past nine months organizing a flotilla to challenge Israel’s illegal blockade. We’re committed to creating a sea opening for Palestinians, so the supplies needed to rebuild their devastated homes, villages and cities can be delivered.”
In the past two months, Israel has cut off fuel to run the power station. Much of Gaza is in darkness. There are just enough trucks coming in to barely prevent total starvation, and Egypt, complicit with the Israeli-US policy of blockading Palestinians, is building an underground steel wall to prevent people in Gaza from bringing in vitally needed supplies through tunnels.
Mr. Bulent Yildirim, chairman of the IHH stated, “The people of Gaza want their human rights, they want their freedom just like any human being. They want to farm and to fish. Our mission is to open up the sea so fishermen can go back to work. And to bring in building supplies so people can rebuild their homes and schools.”
Dr. Mona Al-Farra, Deputy Director of the Union of Health Work Committees in Gaza was pleased to hear we are coming back. “When the two boats from Free Gaza entered the harbor in 2008, it was like a dream, it was historic. And all great things start with some dreamers who made it true. For us in Gaza, the dream of freedom will not be lost, and we welcome this next voyage with open hearts.”
The Free Gaza Movement welcomes other organizations to prepare boats to join the flotilla in April. We are prepared to assist you with logistics. The Free Gaza Movement will handle all coordination. Please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
| File | Description | File size |
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 freedom-flotilla-sails-in-april-malasian.pdf | Press release - malasian | 205 Kb |
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