Viva Palestina Breaks Gaza Blockade

Viva Palestina's bumpy road

By Dr Hanan Chehata

Chehata says most of volunteers joined the group because of their convictions [Reuters] In an international effort to show solidarity with the Palestinian people, Viva Palestina (VP) volunteers from around the world have left their families and in some cases resigned from their jobs in order to take part in this humanitarian undertaking. They have done this for no other reason than that they feel strongly about the crisis in Gaza. The images that they saw flash across their television screens during the assault on Gaza in 2008-9 has been seared into their minds. It is sad that it took such a horrific tragedy to wake people up but one inevitable consequence of the Israeli attacks and their cruel blockade was certainly to educate the world as to the reality of the situation. Civil action Until that point many people could not even pinpoint Gaza on a map. Now they are spending their time and risking their personal safety to defend Gaza and its people. Seeing the images of the chaos and destruction during the Gaza assault certainly mobilised a lot of people into civil action. Immediately following the atrocities, those who were appalled by the number of civilians killed, who had seen the UN buildings, schools, mosques and hospitals deliberately targeted decided that they could no longer sit back or pretend that they did not know what was taking place. In depth 'Fighting to break Gaza siege' Egypt blocks US activists' march Video: Gaza aid held up in Jordan Ignorance was no longer an excuse. Action was called for and multiple tactics were employed from the grassroots level upwards. Protests and demonstrations were held, MPs were bombarded with emails and letters, campaigns to boycott Israeli goods were put into action and yet, while all of this has drawn attention to the plight of the Gazans, the situation has not improved. In fact, the siege is tightening and the condition of the people living there has deteriorated considerably. More direct action was clearly required. People were becoming increasingly disillusioned by the inaction of their governments and, in some cases, their direct complicity in Israel's oppression and aggression against the Palestinian people. Thus enters VP 2009. Here was finally a way for individuals who felt betrayed by their government's to take direct action and be themselves a tangible part of the solution. By physically taking in the aid that Israel would not otherwise let through, not only is the convoy alleviating the short term suffering of the Palestinian people by providing them with desperately needed medicine, clothes and other vital humanitarian aid but it is also refocusing attention on the ongoing crisis that exists in Gaza. However, in a fairly unexpected turn of events a new actor has walked into the scene. If you ask anybody the question, "who is responsible for the siege on Gaza and the suffering of the Palestinian people?", they will inevitably respond "Israel", and rightly so.

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2010/01/20101633050183414.html