US lifeline to Gaza

Americans have something to be truly proud of on this Independence Day, says Anayat Durrani

9 - 15 July 2009
Issue No. 955

Al-Ahram Weekly

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The indomitable British MP George Galloway celebrated the former British colony's independence in an appropriately defiant way, as he departed New York for Cairo 4 July, to join the Viva Palestina US convoy that will take over 100 trucks filled with medical aide to the suffering people of Gaza. If successful, the American convoy will mark the largest grassroots medical relief effort for Gaza in US history.

Rabbis, Christian activists, and Americans of various backgrounds departed JFK airport wearing blue t-shirts with the 1776 US Declaration of Independence superimposed on the Palestinian flag. Over 200 Americans, including Vietnam War Veteran Ron Kovic, will join Galloway as he crosses the Rafah border into Gaza mid-July.

Galloway spent most of June through his 4 July departure date in the United States raising money for the convoy through several "Save Gaza" speaking engagements across the nation. Pastors for Peace served as fiscal sponsor for the Viva Palestina US Convoy to Gaza.

At every table before every chair at a 23 June San Diego "Free Gaza" fundraiser was a card with the name and age of a Palestinian child tragically killed during the 22-day Israeli onslaught on Gaza. One, Raneen Abdullah Saleh, age 12, was murdered by an Israeli soldier in Gaza on 6 January 2009.

The event showed graphic news footage by Al-Jazeera, rarely seen by American audiences, of the mass death and destruction which unfolded in Gaza during the December 2008 Israeli invasion. Over 1,400 people were killed in the Israeli assault and invasion that began December 2008. Many victims lost limbs or were hurt by phosphorous bombs and other weapons used by the Israelis. Thousands of homes were destroyed.

"This is why I decided to go on the convoy. This is why I decided to devote a lot of time to the Viva Palestina organisation," said Rinad Abdallah, an American lawyer from California taking part in the convoy. "We need as much help as possible to help the people of Gaza."

"Gaza was bombarded mercilessly. Atrocious carnage was committed against our people while the borders were sealed," said Zahi Damuni, co-founder of Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition. Some "61,000 homes, 39 mosques, two churches and 18 hospitals and hospital facilities were destroyed in Gaza. All this in a bombardment that was funded by our American tax dollars."

The impoverished sliver of land is home to 1.5 million Palestinians -- the most densely populated place in the world. Israel has severely restricted the entry of goods into Gaza and since 2007 has enforced a blockade that has only deepened its poverty. Israel bans all but humanitarian relief from entering into Gaza, including a ban on building materials, at the same time as it builds thousands of new homes for illegal Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank -- funded by US tax dollars.

The $2 million raised in the US will help purchase trucks and relief supplies in Cairo for the convoy. The group will drive the trucks flying American flags across the Rafah border into Gaza.

From city to city, and despite tough economic times, Americans of all faiths and backgrounds contributed their money to the convoy in an effort to ease the suffering of Palestinians. Galloway said at a single event in New Jersey over $300,000 was raised. "The breadth and depth of support for Palestine and this mission in the US is inspiring," Galloway said in a statement.

Before embarking on the journey, Galloway said that he was confident hundreds of Americans would succeed in taking "the biggest single convoy of aid to the Palestinian people ever to leave these shores".

A reception committee comprised of hospitals, doctors and health professionals, charities and grassroots non-governmental organisations working in Gaza will receive the convoy. The NGOs will distribute the aid to those most in need.

"An American convoy with American flags going all the way across from the US to Cairo to the heart of Gaza is very, very significant," said Al-Awda's Damuni. "We are telling the world that Americans care and support the people in Gaza."

In March, the Viva Palestina UK convoy completed its 5,000 mile journey from England, with 210 trucks and vans loaded with more than $2 million worth of relief supplies. As it crossed continents it gathered supplies and support along the way. The arrival of the Gaza relief convoy marked the successful breaking of the Israeli blockade of Gaza. Kovic, award-winning author of Born on the 4th of July, and Galloway are the main organisers of the Viva Palestina US convoy.

In a June visit to Gaza, former president Jimmy Carter said the people of Gaza are "treated more like animals than human beings". He criticised the Israeli blockade and said history had never witnessed a people "savaged by bombs and missiles and then deprived of the means to repair itself."

Last week, the Israeli Navy detained several foreign peace activists, including former US congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, who were on a ship headed towards Gaza on a humanitarian mission. Israelis confiscated medicine and other supplies, including toys. The Israelis have since deported several of the activists. McKinney, who was released and deported by Israel, is expected to join the Viva Palestina US convoy.