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| Barred |
 |
| Blockaded |
Excerpt, editing by
Carolyn Bennett
No one wants dependency
The passivity of the world, the passivity of the European
Union, Western world passivity and support for Israel are central to the
problem.
The siege of Gaza and especially
the maritime siege of Gaza is an abomination. It is illegal and should be
stopped immediately — Dror Feiler
European activist Dror Feiler with the Freedom Flotilla
Coalition was on the Freedom Flotilla 2010, the Freedom Flotilla 2011, on the
French boat Dignity, which succeeded in breaking the siege, coming close to
Gaza, and most recently “on the Estelle” Swedish mission to Gaza.
“What we were doing is trying to send the message of
solidarity,” he said. “What we were trying to do is to tell the people of the
world that —
[t]his is not the question of
ethnicity,
[t]his is not the question of
nationality,
[t]his is not the question of
religion.
We are together with Muslim, Christian,
Jews, and atheist on the mission for human rights and international law.
 |
| Woman and child in the rubble |
“If a terrorist or extremist is to defend international law,
human rights, Geneva Convention, then, okay, we are extremists ─ if this is
extremism. But I do not think it is. I think this is mainstream international
policy and Israel’s policies are the extreme.”
The flotilla missions, Dror Feiler said, put the focus back
on the Gaza and Palestine problem.
We put the focus on the fact that
people should not be silent when others
are suffering injustice — even if they live in countries far away from one
another.
We put international solidarity on
the map again and we will continue.
But sailing alms ─ many boats carry varieties of “aid” from crayons
for children to wheelchairs ─ do not reach the heart of the problem.
 |
| Despair |
“No Palestinian I have met wants to be dependent on aid,” journalist Hassan Ghani says. “That is not a long-term solution.”
“The primary objective of these flotillas is not about
taking aid,” he says.
“The main objective
of flotillas headed for Gaza is to break the siege so that Palestinians can
trade with the world, access the international waters; and then, through
commerce, lift themselves out of the [oppressive] situation.”
Import of flotilla missions
Though Palestinians are not yet at the point of starvation, Ghani says, they are “slowly being dragged to that point by the Israelis.
The Israeli siege is expanding. From their implementation on
land, the Israelis are extending the siege to the sea — whether the Rafah
border or the border with Israel — they are extending into the sea, where they
have no legal right.
 |
| The young in rubble of Rafah |
“Wave upon wave of boats” put the situation “back into the
headlines and set precedent,” he says. Flotillas keep what is happening in Gaza — “the
slow collective punishment of the Palestinian people” — on the news agenda.
REMEMBER Rafah, Remember PALESTINE
Sources and notes
Press TV interviews with
Independent journalist and documentary maker Hassan Ghani
Co-founder of the Free Gaza Movement from Paris Greta Berlin
Representative of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition from Sweden
Dror Feiler
“‘Flotilla message was Palestinians not alone,’”
(Interview), November 3, 2012,
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/11/03/270286/flotilla-message-was-palestinians-not-alone/
“‘Flotillas after breaking Gaza siege not delivering aid,’”
November 3, 2012, http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/11/03/270284/flotillas-after-breaking-gaza-siege-not-delivering-aid/
Britannica image
“Gaza Strip: Palestinians crossing the border between the
Gaza Strip and Egypt: Palestinians crossing the border between the Gaza Strip
and Egypt at Rafaḥ, southern Gaza Strip (Mohammed Saber—epa/Corbis)
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Bennett's books are available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY] • See also: World Pulse: Global Issues through the eyes of Women: http://www.worldpulse.com/ http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire http://www.facebook.com/#!/bennetts2ndstudy
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FREE PALESTINE !!!
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