On Valentines Day, Feb 14, I was fortunate to find myself in London for a few days, and went to Hyde Park to see off an Aid Convoy of 110 vehicles destined for Gaza. The vehicles were tagged to Gaza "With Love from .... " each dedicated from a town in England, Scotland, Wales or Ireland. The contents of the vehicles were donated by young and old and people of all faiths from these towns. I later read, that this was the largest British convoy to cross Africa since the Second World War. The huge offering of humanitarian aid leaving the shores of Britain was not a response from the government, but the people of the UK so moved by the suffering and distress of those trapped, and over 750,000 are children, in the war torn place they call home.
Over a period of three weeks, in January, communities throughout the UK rallied in support of those affected in Gaza. They raised £1M, during the worst economic crisis in decades. Each act of generosity they hope will help lessen some of the man-made suffering. Whatever, your political view, there is no denying the grave humanitarian crisis that characterises the Gaza Strip today and almost no organised and reliable sources of aid reaching people who are literally dying. The International Red Cross have been unable to get necessary aid into Gaza, and so much more is needed.
Living in the US, I find the mainstream media rarely touches on the issue, preferring to focus long segments on the circumstances around the birth of octuplets, while failing to report that half of the population of Gaza under siege are children, and they continue to be in mortal danger due to ongoing violence and lack of medical aid, food, shelter and water.
Led by a bright red fire engine, amongst the cars, vans , trucks , and a boat leaving Hyde Park on that brisk February day in London, were also around 26 ambulances. One of these ambulances was being driven by my nephew, Imran. After the initial shock of learning where he was traveling to, I was concerned for his safety, yet moved by his courage and somewhat envious of the journey he was about to undertake. He considers himself very fortunate to be selected to drive aid including medical supplies, much needed by the people of Gaza. Prior to this, I don't believe he has left Britain save for family holidays, or that he has ever attended any protest or march before last month. Like him, many of the 300 convoy drivers and support team, under the banner of "Viva Palestina " (the co-ordinating organisation) were moved to put their lives on hold, for an epic aid drive. The convoy, reaching over a mile in length, will have traveled over 5,000 miles through Europe, North Africa and to the Middle East to deliver much needed medical supplies, clothing, blankets, tents, food and water. As one driver said during the departure " Someone has to drive these vehicles and I wanted to do more than donate money".
This group of humanitarians have already made history. On Feb 21, for the first time in 15 years the border between Morocco and Algeria was opened, with much celebration by the locals, to allow the convoy to pass. Each day, it was unclear what the drivers would encounter, on the road for anywhere between 10-20 hours. Yet the aid convoy has been high spirited with the support and love of the local people they met along their journey.
Today, Sunday March 8, at noon, the Viva Palestina aid convoy plan to reach destination Gaza, with one goal in mind - to deliver the goods they have promised to reach the people in need. It is reported that the Egyptian border, at Rafah, will be opened to allow this convoy to deliver the aid into Gaza. The UK group will leave their vehicles, all of their contents, including "extra" vehicle parts donated by UK businesses. Only then will they fly back home from Egypt.
You can follow their journey through the blogs of several of the drivers and peace activists . If you are inspired, as I am, please send them emails of support, they are much appreciated. You can learn more through the Viva Palestina site and also search the web, Blogs, News, Twitter and YouTube.
Please join Viva Palestina and others in the call to get all our governments to respond to stop this siege and help this aid convoy be a catalyst for peace in this region.
And please, however you do it, show your support for a resolution to this crisis so that the children growing up in Palestine, Israel and all over the world won't have to inherit the war, additional deaths, and this terrible burden simply because we and our governments chose not to act now.
Peace and best wishes,
Zaheda
