Irish citizens in Xmas bid to break blockade on Gaza

national | rights, freedoms and repression | press release Sunday December 20, 2009 17:06 by Fintan Lane - IPSC media officer press.ipsc at gmail dot com 087 1258325

Press Release, 20/12/09

IRELAND PALESTINE SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN

PRESS RELEASE, 20/12/09

Irish citizens travel to Middle East in Christmas bid to break Israeli blockade on Gaza

Following several months of fundraising, four teams from across Ireland departed on Saturday, 5 December, to travel 4,000 miles across land to Gaza in Palestine to deliver ambulances and humanitarian aid to the besieged people of that tiny region. Concerned Irish citizens from Cork, Derry, Dublin, Galway and Tyrone are bringing two ambulances, a mini-bus, and a truck filled with over 10 tonnes of humanitarian aid.

The Irish participants decided to abandon their Christmas celebrations and family gatherings in Ireland this year because they feel so strongly about what is happening in Gaza.

After leaving Ireland, they linked up with the ‘Viva Palestina Convoy’ in Britain and more than 100 vehicles set off on 6 December for the long overland journey through France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Jordan and Egypt. Video footage of the convoy entering Turkey last Tuesday, showing Irish citizens from Cork and Derry, is now available on youtube.com (click on the link below).

 Viva Palestina convoy arriving in Turkey on Tuesday, 15 December: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfcWG1wsbaM

The convoy has now entered Syria, after 14 days on the road, and will reach the Rafah border between Egypt and Gaza on 27 December.

Their arrival on this date is hugely symbolic as 27 December marks the first anniversary of the beginning of Israeli assault on Gaza last year, which left over 1,400 people dead, including more than 300 children, and over 5,000 injured.

The situation in Gaza remains dire as this small area of Palestine is under permanent siege by Israeli forces and is sealed off from the outside world. Michael Martin, the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, recently became one of the many refused permission to visit the area. Homes, hospitals, schools and mosques still lie in rubble, and Israel continues to restrict the entry of basic goods such as fuel, medical equipment, oxygen, baby food, paper, books and construction materials. There is a concerted effort underway by the Israeli state to force the people of the area into submission.

In total, 12 Irish people are travelling to the Middle East to help break the siege of Gaza. Tyrone man David Callendar outlined his reasons for travelling when he spoke of seeing a young child in Palestine holding a sign at a demonstration two years ago:

“I saw a young boy of about 7 or 8 holding a sign that said ‘Where is the world?’ This is a very common question in Palestine and, for me, being part of the ‘Viva Palestina Convoy’ makes that little boy’s sign bigger, brighter and louder.”

On 27 December, more Irish citizens – including members of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) – ---will fly out to Cairo to meet up with the Irish convoy participants. Together, they will attempt to enter Gaza and, on 31 December, will join thousands of people from Gaza and across the world in the ‘Gaza Freedom March’.

Among those taking part from Ireland will be John Hurson, Ger Cassidy, Hilary Minch, Zoe Lawlor, Caiomhe Butterly, Kate Sullivan, David Callendar and Deirdre Morgan.

According to Dublin IPSC member Hilary Minch, who will be one of the Irish participants in the march, “Despite calls for justice, in spite of the flagrant violations of international law by Israel, the siege continues. Do we stay silent? Do we continue to look the other way? I don’t believe it is acceptable to bury our heads while the people of Palestine suffer horribly.”

Tyrone man John Hurson, who participated in an earlier humanitarian convoy to Gaza, will also be among those attempting to break the blockade and he will be available in advance and while out there for interview by the media (see below for his mobile phone number).

The demand of the ‘Gaza Freedom March’ on 31 December is simple: that the government of Israel opens the borders and ends the illegal collective punishment of the 1.5 million civilians of Gaza. The ‘Gaza Freedom March’ is a grassroots global response to the inaction on the part of world leaders and institutions.

International delegates (including those from Ireland) will enter Gaza via Egypt during the last week of December and on the morning of 31 December, they will join an estimated 50,000 Palestinians in the non-violent march from Northern Gaza to the Erez/Israeli border. On the Israeli side of the Erez border will be a gathering of Israeli citizens who are also calling on the Israeli government to open the border.

Among the distinguished international participants will be 85-year-old Holocaust survivor, Hedy Epstein, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker.

Inside Gaza, excitement over this event is growing. Representatives from all segments of civil society, including students, professors, refugee groups, unions, women's organisations and NGOs, are busy organizing and estimate that at least 50,000 Palestinians will participate. “We are moved by the tremendous response to this march and are heartened that the global community has not forgotten us,” said Haidar Eid, a member of the Organizing Committee in Gaza.

PRESS RELEASE ENDS

For further information, please contact the following:

 Dr Fintan Lane (IPSC media officer): 087 1258325

 John Hurson (organiser and participant in ‘Viva Palestina’ convoy): 0044 7875396335

 Haidar Eid (Gaza-based organiser of ‘Gaza Freedom March’): 599 441 766

For more information on the Gaza Freedom March, visit:
www.gazafreedommarch.org or contact info@gazafreedommarch.org

For more information on Irish participation in Gaza humanitarian convoy, contact John Hurson or go the ‘Ireland to Gaza’ Facebook page, which is open to view by all Facebook users.

IPSC SPOKESPERSONS
 Dr David Landy (IPSC chairperson): 085 7121058
 Freda Hughes (IPSC spokesperson): 086 1260359