Notes from Viva Palestina 5th aid convoy to Gaza

Following are excerpts from a journal of e-mails sent out by International Action Center member Ralph Loeffler, who is on the fifth Viva Palestina aid convoy to beleaguered and blockaded Gaza.

Sept. 22 — The Viva Palestina 5 aid convoy to Gaza left London Sept. 18 with about 35 vehicles and drivers from the Britain, Canada, Malaysia, Australia, the U.S., Ireland and New Zealand. [The movement in] other countries will be adding vehicles and aid as we proceed. France, in fact, added a couple of vehicles after we got to Paris, and Sweden donated two ambulances just after we passed through the English Channel tunnel that connects England to Europe. Convoys from Casablanca and Kuwait are to join us in Syria.

Thanks to George Galloway there have long been elements of strong support for the Palestinian cause in England. Now, support in France, the [West European] country with the largest Muslim population, is on the upswing. In the town of Bagnolet, a suburb of Paris, the deputy mayor addressed the convoy at a well-attended reception. The mayor was on his way back from Lebanon, where he had been visiting the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. The day we arrived was the anniversary of the date in 1982 when Israeli General [Ariel] Sharon [oversaw the massacre of] thousands of Palestinian men, women, and children in Sabra and Shatila. Bagnolet is the twin city of Sabra and Shatila.

The VP convoy made a swing through Paris, circled the Place de la Concorde, and got an enthusiastic welcome from the citizenry. From earlier convoyers I learned that our reception showed again how French attitudes are changing. Our reception in Lyon the following day was equally positive, providing further evidence that as the Palestinians grow in worldwide respect, the reputation of the Israelis is on a steep slide downward. Locals brought aid for the people of Gaza just as they had done in Bagnolet, and our vans and trucks are rapidly filling to capacity.

We spent the night in Vaulx-en-Velin, a town on the outskirts of Lyon, which is the only town in France that flies the Palestinian flag. The regional authorities have demanded that the flag be taken down, but the mayor has refused and the local authorities are preparing for a political fight. A French member of Parliament in the Bagnolet area is in a similar battle. On Oct. 14 this MP goes on trial for supporting the Israeli boycott. Galloway is requesting that any friend of Palestine that can be in France to protest and to attend the trial, please do so.

Oct. 5 — Furcan Dogan. I’m going to say Furcan Dogan so often that it will seem as “American” as Tom Smith or Bill Jones. Furcan Dogan was an American, a young [U.S. citizen] of only 19 years when on May 31 a hail of Israeli bullets ended his life on the Gaza aid ship Mavi Marmara.

Furcan was filming the Israeli assault when an [Israel Defense Forces] commando fired his first shot pointblank, hitting Furcan squarely in the chest. Four more shots were fired into Furcan, leaving him dead and unrecognizable. Furcan, who was born in the Albany-Troy area of New York, had gone back to live in his family’s hometown of Kayseri, Turkey.

His family knew the names of the Turks that had been killed on the Mavi Marmara, but one casualty had not been immediately identified. In their normal pattern of lies and misinformation the Israelis had not identified Furcan because he was an American. They waited until the initial impact of their murderous attack on innocent humanitarians subsided a bit before confirming the ninth victim was Furcan.

When Furcan’s father went to meet the Mavi Marmara’s survivors he had no idea that his son had been murdered. Instead of greeting his son, he was taken to the morgue to identify his remains. Surely such a day defies description; I won’t attempt one.

The Viva Palestina 5 convoy arrived in Kayseri late on Sept. 29 and spent the night on a mountain overlooking Kayseri. We had come to Kayseri for the sole purpose of visiting Furcan’s gravesite and extending our condolences to his family. The following morning we were told that our convoy would be passing by the high school from which Furcan had graduated and that students from the school would be waiting for us. As we began our slow journey down the twisting mountain road the convoy took on the air of a funeral procession.

Suddenly, there they were. The students lined both sides of the road standing for who knows how long. Each one sadly, silently, proudly held up Furcan’s picture as the convoy rolled by.

Beautiful, moving words were spoken at the gravesite, and afterwards we met with Furcan’s family at the recently built community center named after Furcan. The grandfather and uncle bore their grief perhaps with the acceptance of mortality that comes with age. But the older brother’s grief was palpable. Deep, dark lines were etched under his eyes and he seemed to be disconnected to his surroundings. Never have I seen such pain expressed on a human face.

Any country should be proud to have a promising young man such as Furcan as one of its own. Intelligent and mature beyond his years, Furcan had already dedicated his life to the struggle for Palestinian justice.

Oct. 6 — The Viva Palestina convoy drove into Lattakia, Syria, early Oct. 2 and is now encamped in a Palestinian refugee compound constructed many decades ago. The Palestinians that first lived here were pushed out of Haifa in 1948; many have now built homes in the surrounding areas. Life in Syria is hard for the Palestinians. Free education and health care are provided but even college graduates rarely find employment commensurate with their level of training. The refugees have few travel privileges and certainly are not permitted to visit Palestine.

By the time we had left France the international character of the convoy was well established. On Sept. 20 the Italians, led by the longtime International Solidarity Movement activist and Viva Palestina convoy veteran, Alfredo Tradardi, joined us in Turin, Italy. After a great meal in Turin’s historic town square they added 10 vehicles filled with aid and 14 drivers to the convoy.

The size of the convoy more than doubled after we arrived in Lattakia with the arrival of contingents from the Gulf states and Algeria. Each of these groups added about 50 vehicles, with at least two drivers for each one. The Gulf states convoy brought in brand-new SUVs; the Algerians will buy vehicles in Syria. Viva Palestina 5 is now on track to be the largest land Gaza aid convoy ever assembled. Participants come from 27 countries.

The complete reports can be followed at www.iacenter.org.