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Saturday, 6 November 2010
Friday, 22 October 2010
Day 32
Wednesday 21st October
Its been a very noisy night and morning. as everyone is very excited about going to the airport in the morning for Egypt, except me, Amer Nazir and Amina Uddin who are not going any further but returning to home tommorrow, most of the muslim brothers have been having very loud praying sessions right outside my cell where i have been sleeping. The stage area is about 10 metres away from the door of my cell whuch i have been sharing with my friends Dr Abdullah and Hugh. its been a regular thing every night at around 4pm when some brothers get together on the stage and switch on the PA system and the microphones and read Salah and do it for at least an hour and half every night. but tonight has been extra volume and with great enthusiasm. we hardly got any sleep.
up at around 9 am for breakfast (which i passed on again) and we all meet on the stage for our morning meeting. as Kevin is on board the ship, Zaher Birawi is holding the meeting and giving out the practicalities for the planes today. he explains that there willtwo flights, one at 3 pm and the second at 7pm. he reads out the names of the two groups so that everyone knows which flight they are on.
after this a surprise. the names of the five British volunteers who have been banned from Egypt are read out and everyone applauds and cheers. we are called onto the stage and one of the elderly Imams congratulates us and expresses his deep sorrow for our continuance on the rest of the journey. we are lined up and one by one we are presented a very nice looking parcel containing the holy Koran on behalf of everyone. This is a very enexpected and touching gesture. we are kissed by dozens of bearded blokes sweating perfusely. but its the done thing and we take it on the cheeks gracefully.
we are asked to say a few words to the whole convoy which is composed of around 400 volunteers from 30 different countries.
in my speech i thank everyone for their love and affection and then explain that it is a bitter sweeet day for me. on the one hand i am extremely dissapointed at not being able to continue with them on the remainder of the journey from Syria to Gaza through Egypt. on the other, i explain my joy for everyone else who many for the first time ever will enter Gaza in the next day or so and be in the holy land. i thank everyone for their company over the last month and express my best wishes for each and every one who has completed this epic journey travelling many thousands of miles overcoming many obstacles whilst never giving up. i tell everyone that even though i will not have the pleasure of having their company any further, my heart, mind and spirit will be with them.
i then ask Hugh to come onto the stage and present my suit of many siganatures and messages to him and ask him to wear it for the remaining journey and to deliver the messages of love, friendship, unity and solidarity to the good people of Gaza. Hugh accepts the suit and there is a massive applause and again many bearded and non bearded men come and embrace me with great big kisses once again. sweets and other confectionary is then given out to everyone to celebrate.
at around noon the first 4 coach loads of people are asked to get onto the coaches which are waiting to take them to Lattakia airport. we the banned also board the coaches to wave off our comrades and also hoping to catch a flight to Damascus from the same airport to make our way home.
at the airport we find that there are two flights leaving Lattakia airport every day for Damascus....except today, wednesday. what a let down. we wait till everyone has boarded the plane and wave them all off. its a very emotional time for everyone. again many kisses and hugs are exchanged.
we return back to our camp in the same coaches as we came in. the coaches will return to camp to pick up the rest of our comrades to bring them over for the second flight which will leave at 7pm.
by the time we get back to camp they are all ready to leave ans once we have all said our goodbyes, we wave them off and again its a very emotional kissing and hugging session. the last month has brought about many wonderful friendships and comradery amongst us all. its very diificult to part company and many tears are shed, including mine.
once everyone has left the camp, its seems like a ghost camp. very quite. what was an extremely lively and noisy home for us all for the last 17 days has all of a sudden become silent. we have to get out too so Amer, amina and i get a taxi to Damascus for the night to catch a flight out of Damascus at 10.30 in the morning back to London.
we arrive in Damascus are around midnight and book into a hotel for the night. its anice hotel with two rooms. one for Amer and myself and one for sister Amina. amina is very tired and goes to bed immediately whilst amer and i go for a meal before we return and do the same. Boy i miss a hot curry or a fish and chips with loads of salt and viniger.
well we shouild be back home with a heavy heart in a day or so. its the end of the road for us but Viva Viva Palestina and long live Palestine.
Wednesday 21st October
Its been a very noisy night and morning. as everyone is very excited about going to the airport in the morning for Egypt, except me, Amer Nazir and Amina Uddin who are not going any further but returning to home tommorrow, most of the muslim brothers have been having very loud praying sessions right outside my cell where i have been sleeping. The stage area is about 10 metres away from the door of my cell whuch i have been sharing with my friends Dr Abdullah and Hugh. its been a regular thing every night at around 4pm when some brothers get together on the stage and switch on the PA system and the microphones and read Salah and do it for at least an hour and half every night. but tonight has been extra volume and with great enthusiasm. we hardly got any sleep.
up at around 9 am for breakfast (which i passed on again) and we all meet on the stage for our morning meeting. as Kevin is on board the ship, Zaher Birawi is holding the meeting and giving out the practicalities for the planes today. he explains that there willtwo flights, one at 3 pm and the second at 7pm. he reads out the names of the two groups so that everyone knows which flight they are on.
after this a surprise. the names of the five British volunteers who have been banned from Egypt are read out and everyone applauds and cheers. we are called onto the stage and one of the elderly Imams congratulates us and expresses his deep sorrow for our continuance on the rest of the journey. we are lined up and one by one we are presented a very nice looking parcel containing the holy Koran on behalf of everyone. This is a very enexpected and touching gesture. we are kissed by dozens of bearded blokes sweating perfusely. but its the done thing and we take it on the cheeks gracefully.
we are asked to say a few words to the whole convoy which is composed of around 400 volunteers from 30 different countries.
in my speech i thank everyone for their love and affection and then explain that it is a bitter sweeet day for me. on the one hand i am extremely dissapointed at not being able to continue with them on the remainder of the journey from Syria to Gaza through Egypt. on the other, i explain my joy for everyone else who many for the first time ever will enter Gaza in the next day or so and be in the holy land. i thank everyone for their company over the last month and express my best wishes for each and every one who has completed this epic journey travelling many thousands of miles overcoming many obstacles whilst never giving up. i tell everyone that even though i will not have the pleasure of having their company any further, my heart, mind and spirit will be with them.
i then ask Hugh to come onto the stage and present my suit of many siganatures and messages to him and ask him to wear it for the remaining journey and to deliver the messages of love, friendship, unity and solidarity to the good people of Gaza. Hugh accepts the suit and there is a massive applause and again many bearded and non bearded men come and embrace me with great big kisses once again. sweets and other confectionary is then given out to everyone to celebrate.
at around noon the first 4 coach loads of people are asked to get onto the coaches which are waiting to take them to Lattakia airport. we the banned also board the coaches to wave off our comrades and also hoping to catch a flight to Damascus from the same airport to make our way home.
at the airport we find that there are two flights leaving Lattakia airport every day for Damascus....except today, wednesday. what a let down. we wait till everyone has boarded the plane and wave them all off. its a very emotional time for everyone. again many kisses and hugs are exchanged.
we return back to our camp in the same coaches as we came in. the coaches will return to camp to pick up the rest of our comrades to bring them over for the second flight which will leave at 7pm.
by the time we get back to camp they are all ready to leave ans once we have all said our goodbyes, we wave them off and again its a very emotional kissing and hugging session. the last month has brought about many wonderful friendships and comradery amongst us all. its very diificult to part company and many tears are shed, including mine.
once everyone has left the camp, its seems like a ghost camp. very quite. what was an extremely lively and noisy home for us all for the last 17 days has all of a sudden become silent. we have to get out too so Amer, amina and i get a taxi to Damascus for the night to catch a flight out of Damascus at 10.30 in the morning back to London.
we arrive in Damascus are around midnight and book into a hotel for the night. its anice hotel with two rooms. one for Amer and myself and one for sister Amina. amina is very tired and goes to bed immediately whilst amer and i go for a meal before we return and do the same. Boy i miss a hot curry or a fish and chips with loads of salt and viniger.
well we shouild be back home with a heavy heart in a day or so. its the end of the road for us but Viva Viva Palestina and long live Palestine.
Day 32
Tuesday 19th October
After another good nights sleep, we get up as usual for breakfast hoping it will not be humous and gerkins, but it is. we really do appreciate the hospitality of the Syrians but i cant take it any more. so i skip breakfast again and have a smoke instead followed by a glass of water.
Usual meeting is called by leaders Kevin Ovenden and George Galloway to give an update.
we are told that all the vehicles will be getting loaded onto the ferry as some terms have been agreed. the deal now is that all vehicles and only 30 passengers will travel by ferrry and the remainder of all the volunteers will be flying from Lattakia air port to Egypt by air. This is just what happened on the last land convoy, convoy 3. there is a cheer and a sense of relief as at last we may actually be moving.
better news still that all vehicles will be getting onto the ferry today at around 6pm tonight. yeeeeha. and the passengers will be flying out tomorrow. yeeeha. nice one.
At 5 we all get in our cars and leave for the port which is only about 10 minutes drive away.It takes several hours before we get all the vehicles loaded onto the ferry and all the press interviews out of the way.Wow we cant believe that at last we have got our vehicles and all our aid on its way to Gaza, or at least on its way to Egypt initially.
At around 10.30 we all take the special coaches back to the camp for the night and look forward to the next day when most of us minus the banned volunteers can board the planes and get to Al Arish Egypt and one more step closer to our goal Gaza.
Personally i feel very emotional and have very mixed feelings. on the one hand i am extremely dissapointed that it is the end of the road for some of us including George and myself as we will not be able join our cleagues on the planes to Al Arish Egypt from wher Gaza is only around 30 miles away. but on the other hand i am overjoyed that our convoy will once again take the much neede medical aid to the beseiged people of Gaza who have been waiting for us for some time now.
Tommorrow we shal wave off our convoy after travelling together for thousands of miles as one and then make our way back home to London. it will be a bitter sweet ending for us. but it was worth it. and if i had known this would be the ending, i would do it all over again. Everytime. These missions are bigger than any one of us and we must not forget that. well looks like George, Amina, and i shall be going home tommorow, but we shall be glued to our screens and rooting for our colleagues and wishing them all the best and a very safe journey to the end.
i shall be handing over my suit containing hundreds of signatures with messages of support, unity and solidarity to my best mate Hugh. mr not just big, but bigger than big, Mr Huge. he has promised to wear my suit for theremainder of the journey and wear it through the Rafah border into Gaza on my behalf and deliver it it the people of Gaza.
Tuesday 19th October
After another good nights sleep, we get up as usual for breakfast hoping it will not be humous and gerkins, but it is. we really do appreciate the hospitality of the Syrians but i cant take it any more. so i skip breakfast again and have a smoke instead followed by a glass of water.
Usual meeting is called by leaders Kevin Ovenden and George Galloway to give an update.
we are told that all the vehicles will be getting loaded onto the ferry as some terms have been agreed. the deal now is that all vehicles and only 30 passengers will travel by ferrry and the remainder of all the volunteers will be flying from Lattakia air port to Egypt by air. This is just what happened on the last land convoy, convoy 3. there is a cheer and a sense of relief as at last we may actually be moving.
better news still that all vehicles will be getting onto the ferry today at around 6pm tonight. yeeeeha. and the passengers will be flying out tomorrow. yeeeha. nice one.
At 5 we all get in our cars and leave for the port which is only about 10 minutes drive away.It takes several hours before we get all the vehicles loaded onto the ferry and all the press interviews out of the way.Wow we cant believe that at last we have got our vehicles and all our aid on its way to Gaza, or at least on its way to Egypt initially.
At around 10.30 we all take the special coaches back to the camp for the night and look forward to the next day when most of us minus the banned volunteers can board the planes and get to Al Arish Egypt and one more step closer to our goal Gaza.
Personally i feel very emotional and have very mixed feelings. on the one hand i am extremely dissapointed that it is the end of the road for some of us including George and myself as we will not be able join our cleagues on the planes to Al Arish Egypt from wher Gaza is only around 30 miles away. but on the other hand i am overjoyed that our convoy will once again take the much neede medical aid to the beseiged people of Gaza who have been waiting for us for some time now.
Tommorrow we shal wave off our convoy after travelling together for thousands of miles as one and then make our way back home to London. it will be a bitter sweet ending for us. but it was worth it. and if i had known this would be the ending, i would do it all over again. Everytime. These missions are bigger than any one of us and we must not forget that. well looks like George, Amina, and i shall be going home tommorow, but we shall be glued to our screens and rooting for our colleagues and wishing them all the best and a very safe journey to the end.
i shall be handing over my suit containing hundreds of signatures with messages of support, unity and solidarity to my best mate Hugh. mr not just big, but bigger than big, Mr Huge. he has promised to wear my suit for theremainder of the journey and wear it through the Rafah border into Gaza on my behalf and deliver it it the people of Gaza.
Day 31
Monday 18th October
Bad news i am afraid.
We all get up early at around 5.30 am hoping that we will be leaving at 7.30 sharp for the ferry port to board our ship, but we are still waiting for instructions from the leaders at 8am when we are told that there will be a delay and that we may be leaving after breakfast at 9am.
breakfast is once again humous and gerkin pickle with a ver large naan bread. i dont wat to see humous and pickeled gerkins again for as long as i live. i would rather eat my own toe. so i skip braekfast and just have some liquid youghurt, or salty lassi as it is known in Pakistan.
10.30 and we are gathered again on the stage area which we use for meetings every day only to be told that there could be a long delay due to some unexpected problems with the ferry company. we are told that further negotiations are taking place. and further updates will given as soon as possible.
time drags on and on and we soon feel rather dissapointed that we all had very little sleep and got up early only to be kept waiting and waiting. so some of us go back to our cells and get an hour or two lie down as it is very hot and humid.
around 7pm and we are still none the wiser. a meeting is called by Kevin Ovenden. We are told that there has been some developments. but not good ones. in fact rather bad ones. we are told that the ship owners are now asking for twice the amount of money agreed initially and are playing games with our convoy. it is suspected that some pressure has been applied by either the Egyptians or the Israelis to create further difficulties for us.
There is a sense of dissapointment around the camp and even some anger. but we stay united on our reslove to find a solution and apply whatever pressure we can to persuade the shipping company to come to some aggreement.
Further more we are told that the 17 names ( 10 Jordanian, 2 turkish and 5 British) given to us who are denied entry into Egypt cannot board the ship at any cost.
Some of the Jordanians ans turkish volunteers who are on that list decide to leave the convoy and head back to their countries.
Of the 5 British people ( George Galloway, Ron, Amer, Amina and Myself) we decide that it would not be right to push our luck with the Egyptians or the Ferry company as it could create problems for the rest of the convoy. so we decide to bow out and accept our fate even though we dont agree with it or the reasons given for refusal which are laughable.
We are told by everyone that it is a badge of honour to be on such a short list headed by the great man George Galloway himself. The Egyptians and the Israelis must consider us quite some individuals if they are afraid of us turning up in their country.
We are told that we would not be leaving today and that further negotiations will be taking place overnight to find some solution to the terms of the contract.
We may have to send out vehicles by ferryas we did on the last convoy, and find alternative transport for the passengers. possibly by another ferry or even by air, again as we did on the last convoy.
well there is nothing we can do tonight so we take our sleeping bags etc out of our vehicles and settle down for another night at the camp feeling rather dissapointed.
Monday 18th October
Bad news i am afraid.
We all get up early at around 5.30 am hoping that we will be leaving at 7.30 sharp for the ferry port to board our ship, but we are still waiting for instructions from the leaders at 8am when we are told that there will be a delay and that we may be leaving after breakfast at 9am.
breakfast is once again humous and gerkin pickle with a ver large naan bread. i dont wat to see humous and pickeled gerkins again for as long as i live. i would rather eat my own toe. so i skip braekfast and just have some liquid youghurt, or salty lassi as it is known in Pakistan.
10.30 and we are gathered again on the stage area which we use for meetings every day only to be told that there could be a long delay due to some unexpected problems with the ferry company. we are told that further negotiations are taking place. and further updates will given as soon as possible.
time drags on and on and we soon feel rather dissapointed that we all had very little sleep and got up early only to be kept waiting and waiting. so some of us go back to our cells and get an hour or two lie down as it is very hot and humid.
around 7pm and we are still none the wiser. a meeting is called by Kevin Ovenden. We are told that there has been some developments. but not good ones. in fact rather bad ones. we are told that the ship owners are now asking for twice the amount of money agreed initially and are playing games with our convoy. it is suspected that some pressure has been applied by either the Egyptians or the Israelis to create further difficulties for us.
There is a sense of dissapointment around the camp and even some anger. but we stay united on our reslove to find a solution and apply whatever pressure we can to persuade the shipping company to come to some aggreement.
Further more we are told that the 17 names ( 10 Jordanian, 2 turkish and 5 British) given to us who are denied entry into Egypt cannot board the ship at any cost.
Some of the Jordanians ans turkish volunteers who are on that list decide to leave the convoy and head back to their countries.
Of the 5 British people ( George Galloway, Ron, Amer, Amina and Myself) we decide that it would not be right to push our luck with the Egyptians or the Ferry company as it could create problems for the rest of the convoy. so we decide to bow out and accept our fate even though we dont agree with it or the reasons given for refusal which are laughable.
We are told by everyone that it is a badge of honour to be on such a short list headed by the great man George Galloway himself. The Egyptians and the Israelis must consider us quite some individuals if they are afraid of us turning up in their country.
We are told that we would not be leaving today and that further negotiations will be taking place overnight to find some solution to the terms of the contract.
We may have to send out vehicles by ferryas we did on the last convoy, and find alternative transport for the passengers. possibly by another ferry or even by air, again as we did on the last convoy.
well there is nothing we can do tonight so we take our sleeping bags etc out of our vehicles and settle down for another night at the camp feeling rather dissapointed.
Sunday, 17 October 2010
Day 30
Sunday 17th October
Well do you want the good news, the bad news, or very bad news?
The good news is that we have eventually got a definate go ahead to move from Lattakia. I know i have been saying that for over a week now, but the Egyptians keep throwing obstacles at us. We have jumped through many hoops and loops.
So in the morning we will be boarding the ship, well most of us.
The bad news is that we have eventually been told that there are 5 British people and some Jordanians who have been refused entry. Our leaders have tried their best to reason with the Egyptians, but how do you reason with someone who has no reason.
We are told that everyone else will be allowed to board the ship and land into Egypt after a grueling 18 hour journey, possibly more. George is at the camp since last night and has given us the full update. He gave a stirring speech as usual about the humanitarian efforts of all the volunteers who have battled every obstacle thrown at us and got this far, only to be told at the last hurdle that at least for some the game is over.
Now for the very bad news, of the volunteers refused entry into Egypt one of them Amina, the representative of the Palestine solidarity campaign has been accused of being married to one of the leaders of the convoy. Amina has never been married, especially to George who did once have a wife called Amina, but not this Amina.
One 73 year old Jordanian man is being refused entry because they think he is Turkish! Since when has it been a crime to be Turkish?
One person refused entry has never been on a convoy and has no interest to be on one and is not even here with us? Figure that one out. The Egyptian security forces and their intelligence is a joke. So lets all have a laugh at their incompetence. HA HA HA HA. Even Mr Bean could have been more effective.
And finally, my name is also on the list of those refused entry into Egypt. No reason has been given. But i am sure if they had it would have been something like they don't like my charm.
The other leaders of VP will be allowed to enter but only the five named on the UK list are denied entry after over a month of hard graft on the road. It is rather heartbreaking and in truth my heart bleeds tears of blood as hundreds of people from all the countries we have passed through, have signed my beige coloured suit with messages of hope, unity and solidarity for our charity and for the people of Gaza who are suffering every day. I was hoping to personally deliver this to Gaza with the aid that i have been carrying.
Now for the twist, i for one intend to board the ship in the morning and attempt to get to Al Arish Egypt come hell or high water, i will now give up so easily. They will have to arrest me, drown me in the Meditranean sea, or deport me back to my beloved UK. I did not carry the hopes and prayers of my community in Bradford to give up so easily.
If i am not allowed to board the ship by the captain of the ship then i am in deep creek without a paddle, but i shall cross that bridge when i come to it, if there is a bridge, which i hope there is., cos i cant swim.
If i am not allowed to board then i may have to part company with all my colleagues and maybe cry a few quiet tears. But the important work that we are doing must carry on. 1.5 million palestinians are depending on us.
After all our British Prime Minister David Cameron has described Gaz as a prison camp. What does someone in prison look forward to most? Its an occasional visitor. 1.5 million palestinians in an open air prison and the world stays quiet and says nothing.
All it takes for evil to prevail is for good people to say and do nothing. We will not be quiet. We will do in our power to raise the awareness about the plight of the 1.5 million people imprisoned in their own land.
It may be some time before i can do any further reports if i am arrested, but i cannot with all my conscience not fight back against this decision. I must make my last stand. I just must.
Sunday 17th October
Well do you want the good news, the bad news, or very bad news?
The good news is that we have eventually got a definate go ahead to move from Lattakia. I know i have been saying that for over a week now, but the Egyptians keep throwing obstacles at us. We have jumped through many hoops and loops.
So in the morning we will be boarding the ship, well most of us.
The bad news is that we have eventually been told that there are 5 British people and some Jordanians who have been refused entry. Our leaders have tried their best to reason with the Egyptians, but how do you reason with someone who has no reason.
We are told that everyone else will be allowed to board the ship and land into Egypt after a grueling 18 hour journey, possibly more. George is at the camp since last night and has given us the full update. He gave a stirring speech as usual about the humanitarian efforts of all the volunteers who have battled every obstacle thrown at us and got this far, only to be told at the last hurdle that at least for some the game is over.
Now for the very bad news, of the volunteers refused entry into Egypt one of them Amina, the representative of the Palestine solidarity campaign has been accused of being married to one of the leaders of the convoy. Amina has never been married, especially to George who did once have a wife called Amina, but not this Amina.
One 73 year old Jordanian man is being refused entry because they think he is Turkish! Since when has it been a crime to be Turkish?
One person refused entry has never been on a convoy and has no interest to be on one and is not even here with us? Figure that one out. The Egyptian security forces and their intelligence is a joke. So lets all have a laugh at their incompetence. HA HA HA HA. Even Mr Bean could have been more effective.
And finally, my name is also on the list of those refused entry into Egypt. No reason has been given. But i am sure if they had it would have been something like they don't like my charm.
The other leaders of VP will be allowed to enter but only the five named on the UK list are denied entry after over a month of hard graft on the road. It is rather heartbreaking and in truth my heart bleeds tears of blood as hundreds of people from all the countries we have passed through, have signed my beige coloured suit with messages of hope, unity and solidarity for our charity and for the people of Gaza who are suffering every day. I was hoping to personally deliver this to Gaza with the aid that i have been carrying.
Now for the twist, i for one intend to board the ship in the morning and attempt to get to Al Arish Egypt come hell or high water, i will now give up so easily. They will have to arrest me, drown me in the Meditranean sea, or deport me back to my beloved UK. I did not carry the hopes and prayers of my community in Bradford to give up so easily.
If i am not allowed to board the ship by the captain of the ship then i am in deep creek without a paddle, but i shall cross that bridge when i come to it, if there is a bridge, which i hope there is., cos i cant swim.
If i am not allowed to board then i may have to part company with all my colleagues and maybe cry a few quiet tears. But the important work that we are doing must carry on. 1.5 million palestinians are depending on us.
After all our British Prime Minister David Cameron has described Gaz as a prison camp. What does someone in prison look forward to most? Its an occasional visitor. 1.5 million palestinians in an open air prison and the world stays quiet and says nothing.
All it takes for evil to prevail is for good people to say and do nothing. We will not be quiet. We will do in our power to raise the awareness about the plight of the 1.5 million people imprisoned in their own land.
It may be some time before i can do any further reports if i am arrested, but i cannot with all my conscience not fight back against this decision. I must make my last stand. I just must.
Saturday, 16 October 2010
Day 29
Saturday 16th October
I slept in this morning as I like to do so as often as I can if I can get away with it. Up at 10am missed breakfast as I often do too. Well there is little else to do. But we are all excited as we now have confirmation that we will be leaving from Lattakia on Sunday morning. A briefing is given to everyone as to what to expect and any questions are answered as best as they could be.
Hugh, who we now call Mr Big , or Clint Eastwood, and I put stickers and banners on around 25 of the ambulances in the hot sweltering heat and it takes us most of the day. The vehicles are now looking wicked as can be. We are proud of our handiwork and stand back and admire while we compliment each other. After that we take a well deserved rest for an hour or so and have some cold drinks.
We hand in all our passports to the admin team so that all arrangements for boarding the ship in the morning can be taken care of. Amar is kind enough to go and get us some falafals, which are essentially donnor kebabs which went down just nice.
In the evening at around 8pm there is a press conference and a big public rally to give us a bib send off. Syria has been absolutely marvelous to us and we will never forget the hospitality they have given us not just on this convoy but the last convoy too.
Late this evening the big man George Galloway himself will come to join us from Lebanon.he will wave us all off as he will not be allowed to enter Egypt unfortunately. In our opinion this is a mistake for the Egyptians to decapitate the convoy in such manner but as GG said, it’s a small price to pay if all the other members and all our aid gets into Gaza.
There is still some question whether some of us who were on previous convoys will be allowed to enter Egypt, we may get deported from Al Arish and not allowed any further. But we shall see. We hope that this will not be the case.
In the morning we expect to board the ship in the afternoon and it will be a very long journey, rather uncomfortable as it is a cargo ferry and we will be sleeping on the deck, hope I don’t slide off as I cant swim. But I do have an inflatable plastic pillow which I will not let out of my sight. If that fails, I will stay close to someone who is fatter than me as I am told that fat people float. Mmm.
We hope that it will be a safe journey but we will be passing the exact co ordinates in international waters in which the Mavi Marmara was attacked by Israel. We hope this will not happen, but there is a small chance that the Israelis might board our ship. Is that happens I will once again find a fat person to hide behind. Or play dead hoping they might not notice me.
I may not be able to update this journal any further for some time if there is no internet access in the seas, or in Egyptian prisons. But I will try my best to do so when I can.
On a serious note I hope all goes well as we really don’t want any trouble this time around. For everyones sake. Enough blood has been lost on the Mavi Marmara an in previous convoys.
I wonder if we ask nicely, the Egyptians might take us for a tour of the Pyramids. I always wanted to go and see the Pyramids and the Sphinx. But I would much rather be home with my friends and family. See you soon everyone.
Saturday 16th October
I slept in this morning as I like to do so as often as I can if I can get away with it. Up at 10am missed breakfast as I often do too. Well there is little else to do. But we are all excited as we now have confirmation that we will be leaving from Lattakia on Sunday morning. A briefing is given to everyone as to what to expect and any questions are answered as best as they could be.
Hugh, who we now call Mr Big , or Clint Eastwood, and I put stickers and banners on around 25 of the ambulances in the hot sweltering heat and it takes us most of the day. The vehicles are now looking wicked as can be. We are proud of our handiwork and stand back and admire while we compliment each other. After that we take a well deserved rest for an hour or so and have some cold drinks.
We hand in all our passports to the admin team so that all arrangements for boarding the ship in the morning can be taken care of. Amar is kind enough to go and get us some falafals, which are essentially donnor kebabs which went down just nice.
In the evening at around 8pm there is a press conference and a big public rally to give us a bib send off. Syria has been absolutely marvelous to us and we will never forget the hospitality they have given us not just on this convoy but the last convoy too.
Late this evening the big man George Galloway himself will come to join us from Lebanon.he will wave us all off as he will not be allowed to enter Egypt unfortunately. In our opinion this is a mistake for the Egyptians to decapitate the convoy in such manner but as GG said, it’s a small price to pay if all the other members and all our aid gets into Gaza.
There is still some question whether some of us who were on previous convoys will be allowed to enter Egypt, we may get deported from Al Arish and not allowed any further. But we shall see. We hope that this will not be the case.
In the morning we expect to board the ship in the afternoon and it will be a very long journey, rather uncomfortable as it is a cargo ferry and we will be sleeping on the deck, hope I don’t slide off as I cant swim. But I do have an inflatable plastic pillow which I will not let out of my sight. If that fails, I will stay close to someone who is fatter than me as I am told that fat people float. Mmm.
We hope that it will be a safe journey but we will be passing the exact co ordinates in international waters in which the Mavi Marmara was attacked by Israel. We hope this will not happen, but there is a small chance that the Israelis might board our ship. Is that happens I will once again find a fat person to hide behind. Or play dead hoping they might not notice me.
I may not be able to update this journal any further for some time if there is no internet access in the seas, or in Egyptian prisons. But I will try my best to do so when I can.
On a serious note I hope all goes well as we really don’t want any trouble this time around. For everyones sake. Enough blood has been lost on the Mavi Marmara an in previous convoys.
I wonder if we ask nicely, the Egyptians might take us for a tour of the Pyramids. I always wanted to go and see the Pyramids and the Sphinx. But I would much rather be home with my friends and family. See you soon everyone.
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