REPORTS from International Action Center activist participating in the Viva Palestina 5 Convoy to Gaza

OCTOBER 6,2010

Viva Palestina 5 Convoy Grows in Lattakia, Syria

The Viva Palestina Convoy drove into Lattakia, Syria early morningSaturday, October 2nd and is now encamped in a Palestinian refugeecompound constructed many decades ago.  The Palestinians that first lived here were pushed out of Haifa in 1948; many have now built homes in the surrounding areas.  Life in Syria is hard for the Palestinians. Free education and healthcare are provided but even college graduates rarely find employment commensurate with their level of training.

The refugees have few travel privileges and certainly are not permitted to visit Palestine.

All the drivers that left the U.K. on September 16th arrived safely at the old refugee camp.  The trip, more than 3,000 miles, was not without incident but, thankfully, there were no accidents and no injuries.  This is a real tribute to the maturity of the convoy participants and the seriousness with which they pursue their goal o fbreaking the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza.

By the time we had left France the international character of theconvoy was well established.  At that time the convoy comprised about 50 vehicles from the U.K., Ireland, the U.S.A., Sweden, Malaysia, New Zealand, and France.  On September 20th the Italians, led by the longtime International Solidarity Movement activist and Viva Palestina convoy veteran, Alfredo Tradardi, joined us in Turin, Italy.  After agreat meal in Turin’s historic town square they added ten vehicles filled with aid and fourteen drivers to the convoy.

The size of the convoy more than doubled after we arrived in Lattakiawith the arrival of contingents from the Gulf states and Algeria. Each of these groups added about 50 vehicles with at least two drivers for each one.  The Gulf states convoy brought in brand-new SUVs; theAlgerians will buy vehicles in Syria.  Viva Palestina 5 is now ontrack to be the largest land Gaza aid convoy ever assembled.Participants come from 27 countries.

Not only is VP 5 the largest land convoy but it will be the first to enter Gaza since the Mavi Marmara massacre.   These factors should bekey in negotiating the terms of our entry into Egypt.  The first meetings with the Egyptians have been held and expectations are that we’ll be leaving Lattakia by ship in 2 or 3 days for our one day voyage to Al-Arish, Egypt.   On the way we will be stopping at thesite of the Mavi Marmara massacre in remembrance of those murdered by the Israelis.

Ralph Loeffler
International Action Center
Viva Palestina 5

OCTOBER 5, 2010

Furcan Dogan Furcan Dogan.  I’m going to say Furcan Dogan so often that it will seem as “American” as Tom Smith or Bill Jones.  Furcan Dogan was an American, a young American of only 19 years when on May 31st a hail of Israeli bullets ended his life on the Gaza aid ship, Mavi Marmarar.

Furcan was filming the Israeli assault when an IDF commando fired hisfirst shot point blank hitting Furcan squarely in the chest. Four moreshots were fired into Furcan leaving him dead and unrecognizable. Furcan, who was born in the Albany-Troy area of New York, had gone back to live in his family’s hometown of Kayseri, Turkey.  His family knew the names of the Turks that had been killed on the Mavi Marmarabut one casualty had not been immediately identified.  In their normal pattern of lies and misinformation the Israelis had not identified Furcan because he was an American.  They waited until the initial impact of their murderous attack on innocent humanitarians subsided a bit before confirming the ninth victim was Furcan.

When Furcan’s father went to meet the Mavi Marmara’s survivors and casualties he had no idea that his son had been murdered.  Instead of greeting his son he was taken to the morgue to identify his remains.Surely such a day defies description; I won’t attempt one.

The Viva Palestina 5 convoy arrived in Kayseri  late on September 29th and spent the night on a mountain overlooking Kayseri .  We had cometo Kaseyri for the sole purpose of visiting Furcan’s gravesite and extending our condolences to his family.    The following morning we were told that our convoy would be passing by the high school from which Furcan had graduated and that students from the school would be waiting for us.  As we began our slow journey down the twisting mountain road the convoy took on the air of a funeral procession.

Suddenly, there they were.  The students lined both sides of the roadstanding for who knows how long.  Each one sadly, silently, proudly held up Furcan’s picture as the convoy rolled by.

Beautiful, moving words were spoken at the gravesite and afterwards we met with Furcan’s family at the recently built community center named after Furcan.  The grandfather and uncle bore their grief perhaps with the acceptance of mortality that comes with age.  But the older brother’s grief was palpable.  Deep, dark lines were etched under his eyes and he seemed to be disconnected to his surroundings.  Never have I seen such pain expressed on a human face.

Any country should be proud to have a promising young man such as Furcan as one of its own.  Intelligent and mature beyond his years Furcan had already dedicated his life to the struggle for Palestinian justice.  Such a course bears no import with the Zionist-run U.S.Congress and the Israeli thug who gunned down Furcan is no moreresponsible for murdering him than Furcan’s own country which paid forthe bullets.

Ralph Loeffler
International Action Center
Viva Palestina 5

OCTOBER 3, 2010

We arrived early this morning into Lattakia, Syria.  This is my second time in Lattakia and my Palestinian friends have already found me and are helping me with logistical stuff, i.e., internet access, currency exchange, etc.  The driving has been hard and the days long but I wil lstart getting caught up with reports about the trip.  We've driven more than 3,000 miles and people have gotten lost, there have been breakdowns, but everyone has arrived safely.  As soon as I finish this note to you I will try to find someone to blow up the pic of Rev.Walker and set up an interview with Kevin re Walker and Pastors for Peace.  The convoy is growing, 55 Algrians arrived this morning and we expect about 80 Jordanians to arrive soon.  This convoy will probably be the largest ever.  More later.  Regards, Ralph

 I'll be sending out updates such as that below from time-to-time.These updates will go first, and in most cases only, to those who donated to the American Contingent of VP 5.  If you do not wish to receive these emails please let me know.  Thanks for all your support.

Regards,

Ralph Loeffler
International Action Center
Viva Palestina 5

 September 22, 2010

Just to give you a quick, first update, the Viva Palestina 5 aid convoy to Gaza left London on the 18th of September with about 35 vehicles and drivers from the U.K.,  Canada, Malaysia, Australia, U.S.A,, Ireland, and New Zealand. Other countries will be adding vehicles and aid as we proceed.  France, in fact, added a couple of vehicles after we got to Paris and Sweden donated two ambulances just after we passed through the English Channel tunnel that connects England to Europe.  Convoys from Casablanca and Kuwait are to join us in  Syria.

Thanks to George Galloway there have long been elements of strong support for the Palestinian cause in England.   Now, support in France, the country with the largest Muslim population, is on the upswing.  Our first stop in France was in the town of Bagnolet, a suburb of Paris.  The deputy mayor addressed the convoy at a well-attended reception. The mayor would have been there but he was on his way back from Lebanon where he had been visiting the Sabra-Shatilarefugee camps. The day we arrived was the anniversary of the date in1982 when Israeli General Sharon  massacred thousands of Palistinianmen, women, and children in Sabra-Shatila.  Bagnolet is the twin city of Sabra-Shatila.

The VP convoy made a swing through Paris, circled the Place de laConcorde, and got an enthusiastic welcome from the citizenry.  From earlier convoyers I learned that our reception showed again how French attitudes are changing.  Our reception in Lyon the following day was equally positive, providing further evidence that as the Palestinians grow in worldwide respect,  the reputation of the Israelis is on a steep slide downward.  On our arrival into the town square of Lyon andalong the route we were cheered by pedestrians and vehicle occupants alike.  Locals brought aid for the people of Gaza just as they had done in Bagnolet and our vans and trucks are rapidly filling tocapacity yet we have barely begun our journey.

We spent the night in Vaulx-en-Velin, a town on the outskirts of Lyon, which is the only town in France that flies the Palestinian flag.  The regional authorities have demanded that the flag be taken down but the mayor has refused and the local authorities are preparing for a political fight.  A French Member of Parliament in the Bagnolet area is in a similar battle.  On October 14th this MP goes on trial fo rsupporting the Israeli Boycott.  George Galloway is requesting that any friend of Palestine that can be in France to protest and to attend the trial on the 14th, please do so.

Today, the 21st of September, the convoy leaves Lyon and heads toMilan.  The reception in France was terrific but, based on previous experience, we anticipate even more overt enthusiasm for thePalestinian cause there.

Ralph G. Loeffler
International Action Center
Viva Palestina 5