YVONNE RIDLEY: Daily Blog En Route to Gaza

Biography

 

REFLECTIONS OF VIVA PALESTINA: A VERY BRITISH AFFAIR

By Yvonne Ridley    I have never been a huge flag-waving fan of the Union Jack because to me it was largely a symbol of the old British Empire and all the bad things it once  represented in terms of occupation, slavery, tyranny and imperialistic wars.  1966 changed my view to a certain extent when we won the World Cup. It was one of those defining moments where we were all proud to be British.  As young as I was, I remember my mum remarking with glee: Two World Wars and one World Cup as she jigged around the front lounge with my late father - the old black and white box in the corner flickering monochrome scenes of jubilation from Wembley Stadium.  In the final, almost agonising moments of extra time Geoff Hurst had just powered home his third goal to give England a 4-2 victory over Germany.   Apart from that historic occasion, I can not really remember the urge to pick up the Union Jack again declaring to the world: I am proud to be British.  As Leo Tolstoy once remarked, such patriotism in its simplest form is nothing more than a means of obtaining for rulers their ambitions as well as a sign from us lesser mortals as our slavish enthralment to those in power.             So it was rather a peculiar feeling when I watched several members of Viva Palestina cloak themselves in the Union Jack for the final stages of our 5,000 mile journey from London to Gaza.  In truth, the British flag was flown throughout our marathon journey across nine countries and the message was loud, proud and clear at each border crossing: We are British, the convoy is British and we support the Palestinian people.  The last time a convoy bearing British flags had crossed North Africa in such a size, was the Second World War when the Nazis were being chased by the noble Desert Rats.  Our arrival in Morocco, and throughout the Maghreb, attracted the same initial reaction from the powers that be - all assumed the Viva Palestina Brits would be white, fair-haired and clean shaven so imagine their surprise when they saw in large numbers olive skins, hijabs, long black beards and Islamic dress. We might have looked more Tora Bora than Twickenham, but every one of us was a British passport holder, and proud to be so because what we were doing was exceedingly British.  If being British is about promoting equality, justice and fair play with the stronger person going to help the weaker then our convoy was red, white and blue through and through. We were representing the very best of British and on those grounds I felt proud to join in the flag waving. As I said before, I really can not remember such a burst of spontaneous patriotism since 1966.  Viva Palestina was never just about 100 vehicles laden with humanitarian aid and 300 people led by George Galloway, MP. The reality is tens of thousands of British people were stakeholders in Viva Palestina having invested anything from a few pounds, to a shed load of money to help those living in war torn Gaza.  And so, when our very British convoy arrived in Gaza, we were also carrying the hopes, expectations and salutations of countless British people, of faith and no faith, who wanted to show the world that good, humanitarian things come out of the UK for Palestine.  The bombs and bullets and other weapons the British Government gives to Israel to use on the women and children of Palestine is not done in our name.  We can not stop Gordon Brown from helping to arm the fourth largest army in the world, a military force which is currently being investigated for war crimes following the deaths of more than 1400 civilians.  But we can help repair the view the outside world holds on what it is to be British.  And just a few days ago 300 citizens, waving their Union Jacks, rolled in to Gaza to show the people of Palestine the real face of Britain.  What we did and what we achieved was done in the name of millions across the world.  The welcoming smiles on the faces of the Palestinians made me proud to be part of the Viva Palestina convoy, proud of every man and woman on that convoy.  And that is something Gordon Brown will never be able to experience about his own convoys to the Middle East.  Perhaps it is he who needs a lesson in what it is to be British. Now pass me that Union Jack, please.  Viva Palestina!   British-born journalist Yvonne Ridley and Scottish award-winning film-maker Hassan al Banna Ghani were on board the convoy from the beginning and are making a documentary charting the historic event.

 MARCH 09  ~ GAZA OR BUST
The last 24 hours have probably been the blackest since the Viva Palestina convoy set off from London.
 Yesterday the convoy members became the target of an orchestrated wave of violence first started by Egyptian police and then culminating in vicious attacks by unknown thugs.
 The end result was a number of peace activists whose only aim is to take humanitarian aid into war torn Gaza were treated in hospital for head injuries.
 Mercifully the string of casualties was not too serious but the experience denied us the chance of fulfilling our mission to deliver aid to Gaza yesterday.
 And dramatic images of the rioting and attacks could not be relayed to Press TV viewers because someone sabotaged the satellite van by deliberately cutting through a vital cable which would have beamed the shameful attacks across the world.
 However, every cloud has a silver lining and I would like to take this opportunity of personally thanking the Egyptian authorities and those dark forces who tried to derail Viva Palestina.
 The event has only served to make us stronger, unite and bond us together more and created a wave of international media interest in Viva Palestina.
 I think it would be fair to say that when you bring a diverse group of 300 plus people together on a gruelling mission to cover 5,000 miles driving across North Africa the result can result in a less than harmonious state of affairs.
 To be frank, there was friction and infighting and some of us generally got on each other's nerves as you would when you are confined to close quarters with challenging living, sleeping and eating conditions.
 However, the deliberate bloody-mindedness of the Egyptian authorities did something we had failed to do for ourselves ... it caused us to unite, bond and emerge stronger than ever from underneath the rows of police batons, bricks, bottles and stones.
 The trouble began when the police - who were only obeying their orders - tried to break up the convoy into small groups of medical and non medical aid. 
 We were told the first would go through the Rafah crossing while the latter would go through an Israeli checkpoint.
 This was never going to be accepted by anyone on board the convoy. Our aim from the outset was simple: Rafah or bust.
 Giving aid to the people of Gaza has nothing to do with the Israelis and I do wish they would stop trying to make themselves centre stage in an affair that does not involve Tel Aviv.
 As we dug in our heels about the convoy being physically divided, the authorities decided there was only one solution - batter us into submission, afterall that is what police states do.
 And so, when the police tried to get physical, the convoy members followed their natural instincts and used passive resistance to defend themselves.
 Egyptian police are obviously not used to confronting stroppy westerners in such large numbers and so they retreated while a second wave was sent in. Hundreds of riot squad officers, wearing visors, carrying shields and batons tumbled in to one of the two carparks in a large town centre compound in the port of al Arish and set about the unarmed peace activists.
 They too were heroically repelled  and what followed was an uneasy stand off as some convoy members received medical attention.
 The net result was scores of vehicles had been able to escape the compound in which they were being held behind metal police barriers.
 It was a minor victory and what followed was a very British response - the lads decided to have a game of football. I did try to persuade the Egyptian police to join in stressing they would have much more fun kicking a ball instead of kicking my comrades, but they seemed reluctant to let go of their batons.
 As the night drew in the convoy leader George Galloway who was 40 kilometres down the road, was made aware of the battle of al Arish and so he refused to cross the Rafah Border in to Gaza and returned to the convoy.
 It was a hard call to make as the international media had gathered at Rafah for a party which never happened. As usual the Israelis also played to stereotype by shelling and bombing parts of Gaza.
 By the time Britains best known parliamentarian reached the compound night had fallen and bright stadium-style lights illuminated the two car parks.
 Suddenly the area was plunged into darkness by a powercut which coincided with a brick, bottle and stone attacks on the convoy members by youths in their late teens and 20s. Seconds before the lights went out some convoy members saw a couple of unidentified men scrawling anti-Hamas slogans on lorries.
 The lights remained out for some minutes, during which time the vicious attack was unleashed - the whole proceedings failed to warrant one single Egyptian police officer to swing his baton into action.
 Those who had wielded their sticks with such a passion before, stood impassively by and watched the onslaught.
 The power kicked back in again and the bright lights illuminated the scene to reveal several convoy members lying dazed and confused, blood dripping from gaping head wounds.
 While they were ferried to hospital for treatment, there was a second powercut and a repeat of the violence.
 Once again the police stood by and watched the thugs launch their attacks on unarmed and defenceless members of Viva Palestina.
 Galloway, incandescent with rage held an urgent meeting with the governor of the region and secured assurances this would not happen again. He also secured a pledge that the convoy would be allowed to make its way to the Rafah crossing for 6am on Monday. 
 We are now only a few hours away from that deadline and it remains to be seen if the governor will keep his word.
 But regardless of what he decides I want to thank him for pulling every single member of Viva Palestina into one, united front.
 Thanks to him and the cack-handed police operation, Viva Palestina has emerged refocussed and stronger than ever with one, determined goal: Rafah or bust.
 And it will happen, inspite of the best efforts of Tel Aviv meddling and Egyptian authorities bullying.
 The people united can never be defeated.
 Gaza, next stop.

British journalist Yvonne Ridley and award-winning film-maker Hassan al Banna Ghani are on the Viva Palestina convoy making a documentary about the journey from London to Gaza. her website is www.yvonneridley.org and you can follow her updates by Twitter or Facebook.

March 02
 I promised to write a daily log of my time on the Viva Palestina convoy but my attempts to keep you updated with events have been thwarted ever since we reached North Africa.
 There is a very clear agenda by some to keep Gaza out of the news and I am dismayed by the Zionist influence brought to bear in the Maghreb.
 First there is the logisitical nightmare of trying to find wifi on the move, or an internet cafe during late night stopovers.
Secondly, internet cafes are few and far between on the open roads and we have seen a lot of them since we entered Morocco and Algeria where both governments seemed keen to keep us out of the main towns and cities.
 Finally, all attempts to use the internet were hampered by the less than tolerant Tunisian authorities - but more of them later.
 I am now in Libya where our presence is being celebrated in grandstyle by both the authorities and the people, what a refreshing change.
 And so I am able to send you this email after driving from the outskirts of Tripoli to the coastal town of Misratah.
 Despite being thousands of miles away from home, good news travels fast and so I was delighted to learn Interpal, the UK registered charity that provides humanitarian aid to Gaza, has for the 3rd time been cleared by the UK Charity Commission of malicious allegations made by the US and Israeli governments. 
 Sadly the bank  Lloyds TSB continues to act in line with US and Israeli policy by cutting off banking facilities to Interpal.
 But, back to the good news, if you check out the Charity Commission report you will discover the following points
  - Interpal is cleared of any bias in its work and aid delivery
  - Interpal is cleared of the accusation of carrying out non-charitable work

 As the sun rose over the Tarifa ferry terminal in Southern Spain this morning the view was quite spectacular as row after row of vehicles from the Viva Palestina convoy lined up for the next leg of our mercy mission to Gaza.