Turning Military Vessels Into Peace Boats a Proposal for an Irish Boat
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The Free Gaza Movement Ireland Turning Military Vessels into Peace Boats A Proposal for an Irish Boat “This is not a natural disaster. It is a man-made disaster created by policies that are not humane.” John Ging, director of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency in Gaza. Website: www.freegaza.org The Free Gaza Movement Ireland Children at Gaza Port welcome the “Dignity” Boat. November 2008 I Am There I come from there and remember, I was born like everyone is born, I have a mother and a house with many windows, I have brothers, friends and a prison. I have a wave that sea-gulls snatched away. I have a view of my own and an extra blade of grass. I have a moon past the peak of words. I have the godsent food of birds and an olive tree beyond the kent of time. I have traversed the land before swords turned bodies into banquets. I come from there, I return the sky to its mother when for its mother the sky cries, and I weep for a returning cloud to know me. I have learned the words of blood-stained courts in order to break the rules. I have learned and dismantled all the words to construct a single one: Home Mahmoud Darwish 1941-2008 Palestinian writer and poet 2 Website: www.freegaza.org The Free Gaza Movement Ireland I. Summary 4 II. Our Mission 5 III. The Urgency of Our Mission 6 IV. Goals/Objectives 6 V. Procedures/Scope of Work 7 VI. A Proposal for an Irish Boat: Why Ireland? 8 VII. We Understand 10 VIII. The Irish Boat 12 IX. Project Timetable 13 X. Expenditure and Costs 14 XI. Key Personnel 15 XII. Interim Board of Directors 15 XIII. Gaza Coordinators 17 XIV. Board of Advisors 17 XV. Gaza Advisory Council 20 XVI. Endorsers 21 XVII. Bank Information 22 "Peace and security, we discovered in South Africa, do not come through the barrel of a gun… I support the boat convoy in its attempt." Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus 3 The Free Gaza Movement Ireland I. Summary Free Gaza Digenthios and Avgousta court. Nigridi Street, 6018 Apartment 203 Larnaca, Cyprus. Derek & Jenny Graham [email protected] +357 99262741 (mobile Cyprus) +353 (0)86 3403689 (mobile Ireland) +353 (0)86 3403659 (mobile Ireland) Free Gaza Ireland Coordinators Niamh Moloughney [email protected] +353 (0)91 472279 +353 (0)85 7747257 (mobile) Alan Lonergan [email protected] +353 (0)96 72791 +353 (0)86 3334378 (mobile) Sailing to Gaza: Turning Military Vessels into Peace Boats And he shall judge between the nations and reprove many peoples, and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks; na- tion shall not lift the sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. Isaiah 2:4 The Free Gaza Movement was founded in 2006 when Israel imposed a brutal blockade on Gaza. We aim to break the siege by opening a sea passage that will not be dependent on the draconian closure of all land entries into Gaza. We have successfully organized 5 voyages to Gaza from August to December 2008, delivering human rights workers & humanitarian supplies to those in desperate need and have proven our ability to sail boats to this small strip of land. Our proposal is to buy a cargo ship, then purchase 2 to 4 military vessels that can carry passengers to accompany it. We have a commitment for the cargo ship, and we are now raising money to buy the military vessels. As the quote says, we will turn swords into ploughshares by buying and retrofitting these boats for civilian use, an exciting an innovative approach to breaking the military siege of Gaza. By carefully organizing these voyages, we can successfully open a sea channel between Gaza and the world that will bring in essential materials and resources for rebuilding, materials and equipments which, up until now it has been impossi- ble to get into Gaza. 4 Website: www.freegaza.org The Free Gaza Movement Ireland II. The Free Gaza Mission Founded in 2006, the Free Gaza Movement works to end the Is- raeli blockade of the Gaza Strip through both public advocacy and direct action. We are private citizens acting to uphold Pales- tine's right to freely trade and in- teract with the rest of the world. We are an international, volun- teer-driven organization working in Europe, Asia, and North Amer- ica, and liaising with Palestine campaigners and media outlets Parliamentarians arriving in Gaza, in every part of the world. Collec- November 2008 tively, we have years of experi- ence volunteering in occupied West Bank and Gaza at the invitation of Palestini- ans. We work to raise international awareness about the prison-like closure of the Gaza Strip, and to directly challenge the continuing occupation, by sending ships with human rights and humanitarian workers and aid to Gaza in open defiance of the Israeli closure. Since August 2008, the Free Gaza Movement has sailed from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip on five successful voyages, bringing in tons of humanitarian aid as well as dozens of international witnesses to see firsthand the devastating effects of Israeli violence against the Palestinian people. Ours are the first international boats to journey to Gaza since 1967. • We want to break the Siege of Gaza. • We want to raise international awareness about the prison-like closure of the Gaza Strip and pressure the international community to review its sanctions policy and end its support for continued Israeli occupation. • We want to uphold Palestine’s right to welcome internationals as visitors, hu- man rights observers, humanitarian aid workers, journalists, or otherwise. We have not and will not ask for Israel’s permission to go. It is our intent to over- come this brutal siege through civil resistance and non-violent direct action, and establish a permanent sea-lane between Gaza and the world. 5 Website: www.freegaza.org The Free Gaza Movement Ireland III. The Urgency of our Mission Historically, Gaza has played an important role in the struggle for a Palestinian Homeland. The First Intifada began in Gaza in December 1987, quickly spreading through all of Palestine, galvanizing civil resistance against the Israeli Occupation. Gaza human rights leaders, such as Dr. Eyad Seraj of the Gaza Community Men- tal Health Project and a Free Gaza Movement coalition partner, are world- recognized. However, in recent years, Israeli propaganda has had some success in suppress- ing awareness about Gaza in the rest of the world, and portraying Gaza as a cen- ter for “extremism.” The Israeli siege of Gaza, first imposed in January 2006 and gradually strength- ened, has adversely impacted all levels of society, dramatically increasing unem- ployment, poverty, and childhood malnutrition rates. The increasingly severe clo- sure of Gaza over the last twenty years; culminating in the current blockade, has also acted to economically and culturally sever Gaza from the rest of Palestine, and poses a long-term threat to the viability of a future Palestinian state. This bru- tal isolation must be directly challenged. VI. Goals of the Free Gaza Movement The Free Gaza Movement has six short and long-term goals: • To directly challenge the Israeli siege through civil resistance, by sailing civil- ian ships to the Gaza Strip. • To raise international awareness about the Israeli siege and its effects on the people of Gaza through this dramatic and direct confrontation with Israeli policies, as well as through continuing public advocacy campaigns in be- tween sea voyages. • To bring into Gaza human rights observers and workers, including parliamen- tarians, journalists, and other prominent individuals. • To deliver needed humanitarian and developmental aid that is currently re- stricted by Israel. • To create a precedent for international travel and trade with Gaza by the sea route. • To inspire and pressure other members of the international community to also challenge the Israeli closure, thereby shattering the blockade and perma- nently opening Gaza to the rest of the world. 6 Website: www.freegaza.org The Free Gaza Movement Ireland V. Scope of our Work In order to achieve our goals, the Free Gaza Movement must simultaneously work in several areas to: Purchase and maintain 2-4 passenger boats plus one cargo ship (including suit- able crew members for the ships) to make the journey to Gaza and challenge the Israeli blockade. We have a pledge for the cargo ship, and we are now seeking funds for the military vessels that will be retrofitted for civilian use. • Identify and recruit individuals and organizations to travel to Gaza on our ships. • Identify and secure needed humanitarian and developmental supplies to take into Gaza, as well as work with the local civil society organizations in Gaza that can best make use of these supplies. • Work with our local coalition partners in Gaza to best understand their needs and insure Palestinian participation at all levels of our work, as well as to plan and implement our delegation itineraries in Gaza. • Maintain and build upon our worldwide network of volunteers to take ad- vantage of our voyages to plan campaigns and do local and international advocacy aimed at ending the Israeli siege. • Maintain and build upon our network of media contacts. • Disseminate information through these networks, as well as through our web- site. • Secure sufficient funding to continue all of these programs. 7 Website: www.freegaza.org The Free Gaza Movement Ireland VI. A Proposal for an Irish Boat: Why Ireland ? In a series of remarks issued by the President of the 63rd United Nations General As- sembly on the occasion of “International Day of Non-violence” October 2nd 2008, Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann stated:“Gandhi’s and King’s successors in the twenty- first century have carried out further experiments in the power of nonviolent truth to achieve justice and peace in every corner of the world—including, in the last two months, Gaza.