Tag: Cynthia McKinney

Free Gaza Boat “Spirit of Humanity” departs Cyprus

Free Gaza Movement

UPDATE, June 30 03:03: We just spoke again with our people aboard the Spirit of Humanity. The Israeli Navy is continuing to try and intimidate the ship, and is actively jamming its radar, GPS, and navigation systems in direct violation of international maritime law. This jamming is extremely dangerous and directly threatens the welfare and safety of everyone aboard our civilian ship.

Because their instrumentation is being jammed, they are using compass & paper to attempt to navigate. They are in international waters & they believe their location is approximately 110km off of the town of Hadera. Everyone is tired but determined. They are not being deterred by the Israeli aggression & are continuing toward Gaza.

Full updates at freegaza.org

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The Free Gaza boat the “Spirit of Humanity” departed Cyprus at 7:30am on Monday, 29 July. Twenty-one human rights and solidarity workers representing eleven different countries were aboard. The passengers include Nobel laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. The ship also carries three tons of medical aid, children’s toys, and rehabilitation and reconstruction kits for twenty family homes.

Over 2,400 homes were destroyed in Gaza during the Israeli massacre in December/January, 490 of them by F-16 airstrikes, as well as 30 mosques, 29 educational institutions, 29 medical centers, 10 charitable organizations, and 5 cement factories.

Each kit carries a small amount of supplies for a single family, representing sectors of civil society currently being blockaded by Israel: Agriculture, Building & Reconstruction, Education, Electricity, Health, and Water & Sanitation. Although over 4 billion dollars in aid was promised to Gaza in the aftermath of the Israeli onslaught, little humanitarian aid and no reconstruction supplies have been allowed in.

See photos of the ship leaving Larnaca on flickr.

[The Palestinians of Gaza] must know that we have not and will not forget them.
– Mairead Maguire, co-winner of the 1977 Nobel Peace prize for her work in Northern Ireland

[T]he U.S. should send a message to Israel reiterating the reported White House position that the blockade of Gaza should be eased, and that medical supplies and building materials, including cement, should be allowed in … Will [President Obama] stand by his own words and allow us to provide relief for Gaza or will he back down?
– Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney

“Israel’s closure policy is a blatant violation of international law. We call upon our governments to take action to uphold their obligations under the Fourth Geneva Conventions. Until they do, we will act.
– Huwaida Arraf, Chairperson of the Free Gaza Movement

Passengers aboard the Spirit of Humanity include:

  • Khalad Abdelkader, Bahrain
    Khalad is an engineer representing the Islamic Charitable Association of Bahrain.
  • Othman Abufalah, Jordan
    Othman is a world-renowned journalist with al-Jazeera TV.
  • Khaled Al-Shenoo, Bahrain
    Khaled is a lecturer with the University of Bahrain.
  • Mansour Al-Abi, Yemen
    Mansour is a cameraman with Al-Jazeera TV.
  • Fatima Al-Attawi, Bahrain
    Fatima is a relief worker and community activist from Bahrain.
  • Juhaina Alqaed, Bahrain
    Juhaina is a journalist & human rights activist.
  • Huwaida Arraf, US
    Huwaida is the Chair of the Free Gaza Movement and delegation co-coordinator for this voyage.
  • Ishmahil Blagrove, UK
    Ishmahil is a Jamaican-born journalist, documentary film maker and founder of the Rice & Peas film production company. His documentaries focus on international struggles for social justice.
  • Kaltham Ghloom, Bahrain
    Kaltham is a community activist.
  • Derek Graham, Ireland
    Derek Graham is an electrician, Free Gaza organizer, and first mate aboard the Spirit of Humanity.
  • Alex Harrison, UK
    Alex is a solidarity worker from Britain. She is traveling to Gaza to do long-term human rights monitoring.
  • Denis Healey, UK
    Denis is Captain of the Spirit of Humanity. This will be his fifth voyage to Gaza.
  • Fathi Jaouadi, UK/Tunisia
    Fathi is a British journalist, Free Gaza organizer, and delegation co-coordinator for this voyage.
  • Mairead Maguire, Ireland
    Mairead is a Nobel laureate and renowned peace activist.
  • Lubna Masarwa, Palestine/Israel
    Lubna is a Palestinian human rights activist and Free Gaza organizer.
  • Theresa McDermott, Scotland
    Theresa is a solidarity worker from Scotland. She is traveling to Gaza to do long-term human rights monitoring.
  • Cynthia McKinney, US
    Cynthia McKinney is an outspoken advocate for human rights and social justice issues, as well as a former U.S. congressperson and presidential candidate.
  • Adnan Mormesh, UK
    Adnan is a solidarity worker from Britain. He is traveling to Gaza to do long-term human rights monitoring.
  • Adam Qvist, Denmark
    Adam is a solidarity worker from Denmark. He is traveling to Gaza to do human rights monitoring.
  • Adam Shapiro, US
    Adam is an American documentary film maker and human rights activist.
  • Kathy Sheetz, US
    Kathy is a nurse and film maker, traveling to Gaza to do human rights monitoring.

You cannot sink our boats

Free Gaza Movement

1 May 2009

In most of the world, May 1st is a day of international labor solidarity. It is a day of joy as workers picnic together with their families and celebrate the achievements of one of the most phenomenal movements of the 20th century.

It is fitting, then, that the Free Gaza Movement chooses May 1 to announce the launching of the HOPE FLEET TO GAZA. We are leaving on June 1 as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians, a people who have been massacred, terrorized and suffocated by the Israeli military.

We sail again to break Israel’s blockade of 1.5 million civilians, 80% unemployed because of Israel’s draconian siege. “I believe the Israeli government policies are against international law, against human rights, against the dignity of the Palestinian people,” said Mairead Maguire whose efforts for a peaceful solution to the violence in Northern Ireland earned her the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize. “And I feel grateful to be able to go again on one of these boats to visit the people of Gaza.”

The Free Gaza Movement will use the Free Gaza as the lead vessel in the flotilla. In August 2008, it was the first boat to dock in the Gaza port in 41 years. The movement intends to donate it to the fishermen who labor every day to make a living under the gunboats of Israel.

The Dignity will carry Mairead as well as two other high-profile passengers, 84-year-old Hedy Epstein, a holocaust survivor and Cynthia McKinney, former Georgia Congresswoman and candidate for U.S. President under the Green Party. McKinney was on the Dignity when it was rammed three times by the Israeli navy on December 30, 2008 when they tried to sink the small sturdy yacht.

“We cannot let Israel’s threats and aggression deter us. To do so would give in to violence and concede that might is stronger than right. To do so would turn our backs on our brothers and sisters in Gaza who have been waiting far too long for the international community to stand up to this injustice,” said Huwaida Arraf, one of the delegation leaders on the Hope Fleet.

Our boats are a part of a larger flotilla making its way to Gaza loaded with humanitarian aid and building supplies such as generators and electronic equipment for hospital emergency machines. The people of Gaza need cement and lumber and PVC to rebuild their shattered infrastructure, and Israel refuses to allow anything into the small enclave except for food and some medicine.

“The Palestinians don’t want hand-outs from the international community. They want their lives back. They want their human and civil rights. They have a great labor force wanting to rebuild their communities. They are perfectly capable of that if their borders, including the sea border, were open,” states Lubna Masarwa, another delegation leader of this flotilla and a passenger on board the rammed Dignity.