facebook 
twitter 
London, UK
The convoy headed to Gaza has a long journey ahead of it. From December 6th to the 27th we will cross each of these countries: United Kingdon, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Palestine. Currently we consist of nearly 80 vehicles, perhaps more… they are so hard to count! When we reach Turkey about 40 more vehicles will be driven by the roughly 50 Americans who will join the convoy in Istanbul. These vehicles, denied entry in July during the US convoy to Gaza, will attempt to make it in again with a then massive 100+ vehicle convoy. The challenges of such a notion are numerous and perhaps even impossible. When I say that solidarity amongst members of this convoy is necessary, I mean it.
According to a member of the convoy, military convoys have a rough time traveling in groups of 30. Traffic signals, twists and turns, and miscommunication can lead to all sorts of mishaps. Imagine a convoy of 80.
So we’ve been split into various convoy teams. My team, C-Team, has gone through enough twists and turns to make the average person quit the convoy altogether. Not that those of us on the convoy are special, but that there is a common driving force amongst us all. The commitment to deliver aid on time for the anniversary of Israel’s slaughter in Gaza is tremendously important as it is symbolic. While international attention is focused on the anniversary date, it would be a nightmare for Egypt to deny us entry and shift media focus to them rather than the Israelis. This is about breaking a siege. It is about applying pressure. Its about people who are oppressed, even some of us directly affected by Israel’s siege, making through on a promise to the people of Gaza.
Yet aside from the political solidarity, lies the creation of a solidarity for survival. No one goes hungry on this convoy, as witnessed the last 2 days. Monday night some brothers offered up bowls of curry and pita bread for dinner, amidst a rainy cold night. In the morning another group offered up porridge for breakfast. When we got lost in Germany for several hours in terrible weather conditions, it was the hard work of team leaders and drivers that helped coordinate multiple cars to the right location. At no point did anyone stray to find their own way to our destination. No one gets left behind on purpose. When someone’s exhaust pipe began to dangle, quickly we stopped to find something that we could use to tie it back onto the van.
By the time we reach Egypt our team leader’s vision of us as a family will become truth. Only 3 days the confidence we are developing in each other is coming to fruition and exceedingly pertinent. While our issues in Europe are confined to the logistics of arriving at our next point of sleep. The deeper issues of tomorrow, in the Middle East and especially in Egypt and the Rafah border, will require our complete ability to work with each other to make negotiations at the border into Gaza as smooth as possible. Egyptian authorities will try their best to demoralize us and split us up. Such is the experience we reported from the US convoy this past summer and so we expect it to be the case as we approach the anniversary on the 27th of December.
Solidarity is necessary in building the kind of relationships that can make this convoy successful, but also proceed to build a solidarity movement that expand, expose the ills of the Israeli state, and shed light on the success of these convoys.
(Feel free to ask any questions of us in the comments section below. They can be answered below or perhaps be addressed in a future post.)
Tags: Gaza, Israel, massacre, Palestine, Viva Palestina
8:16 pm. Viva Palestina.
Bravo Adriano. This is a great opening to the long journey ahead of you.
On the last convoy, we only had the experience of gathering supplies and overcoming the hurdles of the Egyptian government to bind us. It created strong bonds for sure, but it sounds like the journey to Gaza will be a lesson in solidarity itself.
Meet as many people as you can. Exchange info with them. What you are doing is the definition of internationalism. Solidarity Brother.
Look forward to the rest of your posts.
Since this post we’ve learned a little more about what to expect in the future. I’ll expand on it in the next post. But solidarity amongst us all, its becoming more and more crucial.