10) FREEDOM FLOTILLA III: THE SHIP TO GAZA SAILS AGAIN

Compiled from reports at https://freedomflotilla.org/

    On May 9th, the trawler Marianne of Gothenburg departed from its home port heading for the Eastern Mediterranean and Gaza. Ship to Gaza Sweden and Norway have joined forces with the international Freedom Flotilla to once again to attempt to peacefully break the inhumane, illegal blockade of the besieged Palestinian population on that narrow coastal strip between Israel and Egypt.

    Just like in Ship to Gaza’s action with Estelle in 2012, Marianne will stop at ports during its voyage, holding events to build public opinion. After Gothenburg, and Malmo/Copenhagen we are now continuing down the European coast. Marianne will join other ships in the Freedom Flotilla in the Eastern Mediterranean and then sail together toward Gaza City. In order to enable a just peace and for the Palestinian state, Ship to Gaza demands that:

1. the siege is lifted immediately;

2. the port in Gaza City is opened and made functional; and

3. safe transportation routes between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are secured

    When Gaza's Ark was destroyed during last year’s attack on Gaza by Israel, we all lost a boat intended to break the blockade “from the inside out". But our goal of helping to build a sovereign Palestinian economy based on freedom of movement has not changed. Palestinian products from both Gaza and the West Bank were to be exported not only as a symbolic stimulus to the Palestinian economy but to show the world the industrious work of craftspeople and farmers who continue to struggle against the overwhelming odds of occupation, economic strangulation and war.

    The Freedom Flotilla Coalition is now on its way to once again challenge the blockade of Gaza. The remaining goods that were to be exported by Gaza’s Ark are now to form part of the export cargo of the Freedom Flotilla when it reaches Gaza. To showcase these goods and highlight exactly what Israel was trying to stop by destroying Gaza’s Ark, Palestinian producers organizations are participating in an exhibition of export goods at the Red Crescent Hall (near Al Azhar University) in Gaza City, from June 6-8th.

    Sameera Qarmout, from one of the producers’ organizations at the exhibit, says: "Before it was attacked, we had the hope that our embroideries would be exported aboard Gaza's Ark. The coming Freedom Flotilla III has given us a light of new hope that our products will still be made available to world markets." The exhibit includes goods from Palestinian producers in Gaza as well as goods from West Bank producers that reached Gaza in spite of the Israeli Occupier’s restrictions: embroidery, wood carvings and olive oil.

    Organizations and individuals in Australia, USA, Canada and Europe purchased over $24 000 USD worth of Palestinian export goods via Gaza’s Ark, and new orders are still being placed, showing the confidence people have in the need for a Palestinian economy.

    Peter Downey (Chair, Bethlehem B&NES Links Ltd., Bath, England) adds: “We have bought goods from West Bank artisans as samples for a potential distributor of their products in the UK and Europe. This new sea route will be far less expensive than the courier system to which we are subject currently. It is vital for the economic development of the Palestinian State that there are trade routes by which they can export their goods."

    The Israeli military did not just target Gaza’s Ark. It targeted the hope that Palestinians have for an economy based on their right to export their products from their own port, independently of the occupying power. The Freedom Flotilla III sets its sights on economic freedom and social justice for the 1.8 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

    Follow our progress at https://freedomflotilla.org/ and https://shiptogaza.se/en, and on Twitter: @CanadaBoatGaza @GazaFFlotilla @ShiptoGazaSE and @GazaArk  

    Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1417964708527164/

(The above article is from the June 16-30, 2015, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading socialist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)