a rerun because of the mistaken link the first time but more moving than any pictures
by Jen Marlowe
Just months after the Israeli assault that killed 1,390 Palestinians, I visited Gaza. Among dozens of painful stories I heard, one family stood out. I spent several days with Kamal and Wafaa Awajah, playing with their children, sleeping in the tent they were living in, and filming their story.
Wafaa described the execution of their son, Ibrahim. As she spoke, her children played on the rubble of their destroyed home. Kamal talked about struggling to help his kids heal from trauma.
What compelled me to tell the Awajah family’s story? I was moved not only by their tragedy but by the love for their children in Wafaa and Kamal’s every word.
Palestinians in Gaza are depicted either as violent terrorists or as helpless victims. The Awajah family challenges both portrayals. Through one family’s story, the larger tragedy of Gaza is exposed, and the courage and resilience of its people shines through.
For more information or to purchase a DVD or organize a screening, please contact donkeysaddle@gmail.com
Written by: Palestine Chronicle
By Richard Lightbown
On 26 December thousands turned out in Istanbul to welcome the Mavi Marmara back to the port. A large banner on the starboard side featured photos of the nine martyrs from the Israeli raid. The ship had spent more than four months in Iskenderun where forensic experts had checked out the bullet holes that Israeli operatives had filled and painted over. Blood stained clothing and heaps of ransacked baggage have been cleared away. No doubt the railings cut by activists for the makeshift defence of the ship have now been replaced, and perhaps the six kitchens have been restocked with knives and utensils to replace those taken to display to the world’s media as proof of a premeditated ‘lynch’ of Israel’s well-equipped and highly-trained elite special forces.
Already it has been announced that the ship is to leave on the first anniversary of the raid on 31 May 2011 in a renewed attempt to break the blockade. The need in Gaza remains acute. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights reported on 18 October that Israel maintains a total ban on raw materials and construction materials necessary for reconstruction. (It is still unclear whether the 3,500 tons of cement from the flotilla was ever allowed to reach Gaza.) On 9 July the same NGO had stated that 86,000 homes and 900,000 tons of concrete were needed to make good the damage from Operation Molten Lead and provide for population growth.
Gisha reported on 21 December that bureaucratic delays to permits for construction materials had thwarted international projects to build schools, hospitals and infrastructure, while projects administered by the Hamas government were using materials entering through the tunnels from the Egyptian border. In the five months between July and December 744 truckloads of cement, gravel and steel had entered the Strip via the Israeli crossings, compared with 900 tons (equivalent to 36 truckloads) which pass each day through the 30-40 tunnels intended for construction materials.
Despite Israel’s well publicised easing of the blockade the number of trucks allowed into Gaza in October was on average only 34% of pre-June 2007 levels. The Palestinian Trade Centre reported on 14 October that fuel imports were markedly below the estimated needs. Cooking gas was particularly affected since it cannot be piped through the tunnels from Egypt. Exports allowed out of Gaza between January and September this year amounted to a mere 80 truckloads, stifling any meaningful recovery of the economy.
The Turkish government has made no objection so far to the announcement from the humanitarian organization IHH to make a renewed challenge of the illegal Israeli blockade. And why should it? As Huwaida Arraf explained at the Free Gaza press conference in Rome on 13 December:
“The International Committee of the Red Cross has said that Israel’s closure of Gaza is a violation of international law. States have an obligation to end this violation of international law. Therefore states have an obligation not to stop us, to let us go to Gaza.”
‘Us’ in this case refers to organizations from the USA, Canada, Norway, Holland, UK, Italy, France, Spain, Ireland, Malaysia and Turkey. This is a far cry from two tiny vessels and 42 activists that began this snowball in 2008. Nothing it would seem is going to stop this movement from sailing for Gaza. But what will Israel do this time?
There will no doubt be diplomatic pressure. The Republic of Cyprus can be expected to again refuse access to the flotilla, and no doubt the U.S. administration will find some spurious reason to disapprove of the operation. Maybe the shambles that is the stalled peace process will be wheeled out once more as an excuse for disapproving of solidarity with the Palestinian’s claim for justice and human rights. We can expect at least three Nobel peace laureates to disgrace themselves and to side with injustice again.
The organizers will know to watch their vessels closely for sabotage. Both of the cabin cruisers suffered steering faults on the way to the rendezvous for the last flotilla and only managed to reach harbour with difficulty. One of them, the Challenger II, also had a problem with the bilge pump, and did not manage to set sail for Gaza. Sabotage to the Rachel Corrie’s propeller and exhaust also resulted in delays and repairs costing £37,000.
Mossad can also be expected to get at least one spy onto the flotilla this time. Advance information of the emergency channel on the Mavi Marmara would have been a major help to the IDF in its attempt to control media sources during the last raid. The Israeli government was seriously embarrassed by news headlines reporting 16 dead at 06:00 GMT on 31 May and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be keen to avoid a repeat of this negative PR. Both sides will have learnt lessons from their experiences last time and there will be a keen battle of wits to control information sources this time around. This time too major media outlets may even decide to come to the party since the story is becoming too big to bury. (For the sake of journalistic integrity it is to be hoped that the BBC will not chose to send Jane Corbin. However the presence of at least one BBC journalist on board may render it impossible for the corporation to fabricate another propaganda piece to match Panorama’s Death on the Med.)
The Free Gaza Movement is again declaring its intention to carry out non-violent resistance against any illegal assault. The IHH president, BülentYildirim, appears unrepentant for his previous statements, so a forceful defence of the Mavi Marmara will again be a possibility in the event of an Israeli attack. Israel will know this and will be evaluating the choices. These appear to be more limited this time. The diplomatic fallout with Turkey has still not cleared and the Turkish government remains steadfast in its demand for an apology from Israel. Legal actions are also underway in various European courts and in the International Court of Justice for compensation and criminal prosecution. The threat of legal action has already prevented Defence Minister Ehud Barak and deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor from travelling to Europe since the raid. The subject of ‘de-legitimisation’ was mentioned several times by witnesses to the Turkel Commission, to the extent that maybe even Benjamin Netanyahu will be starting to see a connection between Israel’s criminal behaviour and the way its citizens are welcomed overseas: (maybe!).
Mr Netanyahu’s first choice is to let the flotilla pass, and by doing so open up a seaway to Gaza for importing desperately needed construction materials, open up the export market which will stimulate the economy, allow Gazans their human right to travel, and allow the free passage of world citizenry into the enclave to see first-hand Israeli snipers attacking Gazan farmers and gunboats attacking fishermen. In effect this will begin the de-occupation of Gaza. (And why does Israel insist on occupying Gaza?)
His second option is to attack, risk a major military stand-off with Turkey (to the great embarrassment of NATO) and prove to the world that the first attack was not an error of judgment. This will do wonders for the BDS movement and might even kick-start it in North America.
Alternatively can the commandos attack it this time without wholesale bloodletting? Clambering up the stern from Zodiacs seems an impossible task when faced with defenders wearing gas masks (from the ship’s fire-fighting equipment) and using fire hoses. This proven defence will be difficult to overcome without the use of extreme violence. Or will the navy chief be willing to authorise live fire from helicopters before boarding on a second occasion, knowing that this has already been declared an unlawful act contrary to the Fourth Geneva Convention by the UN Human Rights Council Fact-Finding Mission (and knowing that he can personally be held criminally responsible)? If not, what other options does he have available to seize the top deck against persons determined to exercise their legal right of defence (and who know what strategy was employed on the previous occasion)?
The compromise might be to try to disable the ships. This is widely seen as a high risk strategy. Chief of the General Staff Gabi Ashkenazy told Turkel that there were no safe options to boarding, and commentators have questioned the safety of disabling a ship on the high seas that is carrying more than 600 civilians. If a bungled attempt causes the ship to sink or founder with serious loss of life Israel could become a pariah state overnight and the UN might be forced to oversee the sea route into Gaza.
An unstoppable force seems to have been unleashed here. As on the Indian subcontinent, in southern Africa and in the American south, this movement for civil rights is not going to be frightened off. It is not going to go away. It is not going to wither and die. That the vast majority of Israeli citizens were misguided enough to have supported the terrorism against the last flotilla only underlines the corrupting influence on Israeli society of the illegal occupation of Palestinian lands. For Israel to escape its internal decay and destruction it has to give up its role of occupying power and a defining moment in its history now approaches. If not with this flotilla, then with the next or the one after…At some stage soon, the unstoppable force will engulf the blockade. The sooner that happens the better it will be for Israel, the better for the opportunities for peace in the Middle East and the better for the tragic victims in Gaza for whom freedom and justice have been denied for far too long.
– Richard Lightbown has researched a review of media sources on the flotilla raid and a critique of BBC Panorama’s programme ‘Death in the Med’. He contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com.
About the author:Palestine Chronicle
The Palestine Chronicle publishes news and commentary related to the Middle East Peace
Fuck Hamas. Fuck Israel. Fuck Fatah. Fuck UN. Fuck UNWRA. Fuck USA! We, the youth in Gaza, are so fed up with Israel, Hamas, the occupation, the violations of human rights and the indifference of the international community! We want to scream and break this wall of silence, injustice and indifference like the Israeli F16’s breaking the wall of sound; scream with all the power in our souls in order to release this immense frustration that consumes us because of this fucking situation we live in; we are like lice between two nails living a nightmare inside a nightmare, no room for hope, no space for freedom. We are sick of being caught in this political struggle; sick of coal dark nights with airplanes circling above our homes; sick of innocent farmers getting shot in the buffer zone because they are taking care of their lands; sick of bearded guys walking around with their guns abusing their power, beating up or incarcerating young people demonstrating for what they believe in; sick of the wall of shame that separates us from the rest of our country and keeps us imprisoned in a stamp-sized piece of land; sick of being portrayed as terrorists, homemade fanatics with explosives in our pockets and evil in our eyes; sick of the indifference we meet from the international community, the so-called experts in expressing concerns and drafting resolutions but cowards in enforcing anything they agree on; we are sick and tired of living a shitty life, being kept in jail by Israel, beaten up by Hamas and completely ignored by the rest of the world.
There is a revolution growing inside of us, an immense dissatisfaction and frustration that will destroy us unless we find a way of canalizing this energy into something that can challenge the status quo and give us some kind of hope. The final drop that made our hearts tremble with frustration and hopelessness happened 30rd November, when Hamas’ officers came to Sharek Youth Forum, a leading youth organization (www.sharek.ps) with their guns, lies and aggressiveness, throwing everybody outside, incarcerating some and prohibiting Sharek from working. A few days later, demonstrators in front of Sharek were beaten and some incarcerated. We are really living a nightmare inside a nightmare. It is difficult to find words for the pressure we are under. We barely survived the Operation Cast Lead, where Israel very effectively bombed the shit out of us, destroying thousands of homes and even more lives and dreams. They did not get rid of Hamas, as they intended, but they sure scared us forever and distributed post traumatic stress syndrome to everybody, as there was nowhere to run.
We are youth with heavy hearts. We carry in ourselves a heaviness so immense that it makes it difficult to us to enjoy the sunset. How to enjoy it when dark clouds paint the horizon and bleak memories run past our eyes every time we close them? We smile in order to hide the pain. We laugh in order to forget the war. We hope in order not to commit suicide here and now. During the war we got the unmistakable feeling that Israel wanted to erase us from the face of the earth. During the last years Hamas has been doing all they can to control our thoughts, behaviour and aspirations. We are a generation of young people used to face missiles, carrying what seems to be a impossible mission of living a normal and healthy life, and only barely tolerated by a massive organization that has spread in our society as a malicious cancer disease, causing mayhem and effectively killing all living cells, thoughts and dreams on its way as well as paralyzing people with its terror regime. Not to mention the prison we live in, a prison sustained by a so-called democratic country.
History is repeating itself in its most cruel way and nobody seems to care. We are scared. Here in Gaza we are scared of being incarcerated, interrogated, hit, tortured, bombed, killed. We are afraid of living, because every single step we take has to be considered and well-thought, there are limitations everywhere, we cannot move as we want, say what we want, do what we want, sometimes we even cant think what we want because the occupation has occupied our brains and hearts so terrible that it hurts and it makes us want to shed endless tears of frustration and rage!
We do not want to hate, we do not want to feel all of this feelings, we do not want to be victims anymore. ENOUGH! Enough pain, enough tears, enough suffering, enough control, limitations, unjust justifications, terror, torture, excuses, bombings, sleepless nights, dead civilians, black memories, bleak future, heart aching present, disturbed politics, fanatic politicians, religious bullshit, enough incarceration! WE SAY STOP! This is not the future we want!
We want three things. We want to be free. We want to be able to live a normal life. We want peace. Is that too much to ask? We are a peace movement consistent of young people in Gaza and supporters elsewhere that will not rest until the truth about Gaza is known by everybody in this whole world and in such a degree that no more silent consent or loud indifference will be accepted.
This is the Gazan youth’s manifesto for change!
We will start by destroying the occupation that surrounds ourselves, we will break free from this mental incarceration and regain our dignity and self respect. We will carry our heads high even though we will face resistance. We will work day and night in order to change these miserable conditions we are living under. We will build dreams where we meet walls.
We only hope that you – yes, you reading this statement right now! – can support us. In order to find out how, please write on our wall or contact us directly: freegazayouth@hotmail.com
We want to be free, we want to live, we want peace.
FREE GAZA YOUTH!
There is a revolution growing inside of us, an immense dissatisfaction and frustration that will destroy us unless we find a way of canalizing this energy into something that can challenge the status quo and give us some kind of hope. The final drop that made our hearts tremble with frustration and hopelessness happened 30rd November, when Hamas’ officers came to Sharek Youth Forum, a leading youth organization (www.sharek.ps) with their guns, lies and aggressiveness, throwing everybody outside, incarcerating some and prohibiting Sharek from working. A few days later, demonstrators in front of Sharek were beaten and some incarcerated. We are really living a nightmare inside a nightmare. It is difficult to find words for the pressure we are under. We barely survived the Operation Cast Lead, where Israel very effectively bombed the shit out of us, destroying thousands of homes and even more lives and dreams. They did not get rid of Hamas, as they intended, but they sure scared us forever and distributed post traumatic stress syndrome to everybody, as there was nowhere to run.
We are youth with heavy hearts. We carry in ourselves a heaviness so immense that it makes it difficult to us to enjoy the sunset. How to enjoy it when dark clouds paint the horizon and bleak memories run past our eyes every time we close them? We smile in order to hide the pain. We laugh in order to forget the war. We hope in order not to commit suicide here and now. During the war we got the unmistakable feeling that Israel wanted to erase us from the face of the earth. During the last years Hamas has been doing all they can to control our thoughts, behaviour and aspirations. We are a generation of young people used to face missiles, carrying what seems to be a impossible mission of living a normal and healthy life, and only barely tolerated by a massive organization that has spread in our society as a malicious cancer disease, causing mayhem and effectively killing all living cells, thoughts and dreams on its way as well as paralyzing people with its terror regime. Not to mention the prison we live in, a prison sustained by a so-called democratic country.
History is repeating itself in its most cruel way and nobody seems to care. We are scared. Here in Gaza we are scared of being incarcerated, interrogated, hit, tortured, bombed, killed. We are afraid of living, because every single step we take has to be considered and well-thought, there are limitations everywhere, we cannot move as we want, say what we want, do what we want, sometimes we even cant think what we want because the occupation has occupied our brains and hearts so terrible that it hurts and it makes us want to shed endless tears of frustration and rage!
We do not want to hate, we do not want to feel all of this feelings, we do not want to be victims anymore. ENOUGH! Enough pain, enough tears, enough suffering, enough control, limitations, unjust justifications, terror, torture, excuses, bombings, sleepless nights, dead civilians, black memories, bleak future, heart aching present, disturbed politics, fanatic politicians, religious bullshit, enough incarceration! WE SAY STOP! This is not the future we want!
We want three things. We want to be free. We want to be able to live a normal life. We want peace. Is that too much to ask? We are a peace movement consistent of young people in Gaza and supporters elsewhere that will not rest until the truth about Gaza is known by everybody in this whole world and in such a degree that no more silent consent or loud indifference will be accepted.
This is the Gazan youth’s manifesto for change!
We will start by destroying the occupation that surrounds ourselves, we will break free from this mental incarceration and regain our dignity and self respect. We will carry our heads high even though we will face resistance. We will work day and night in order to change these miserable conditions we are living under. We will build dreams where we meet walls.
We only hope that you – yes, you reading this statement right now! – can support us. In order to find out how, please write on our wall or contact us directly: freegazayouth@hotmail.com
We want to be free, we want to live, we want peace.
FREE GAZA YOUTH!
Gilad Atzmon: Giving a state to the Jews was a stupid idea
But to keep supporting it is no less than sinister!
The world better wake up and face the Israeli crime
Thr trials and tribulations of helping the people of Palestine, kidnapping and obstacles of every kind did not stop the Road to Hope Convoy.
band annie's Weblog 