December 30, 2009
December 29, 2009
Gaza Freedom March, Jan. 1, 2010 - Manhandled at US Embassy In Cairo!
BREAKING: U.S. Citizens attacked by Egyptian Riot Police in Cairo in front of
U.S. Embassy
Call the U.S. Embassy to demand the release of those detained/that permission
is granted for the March to cross into Gaza: Telephone: (202) 2797 3300.
by Cindy Sheehan
One of my friends, Joshua Smith, just texted me from Cairo and said that some
U.S. citizens of the Gaza Freedom March went to the U.S. Embassy today there to
try and implore the staff there to intercede on behalf of the March to help get
them into Gaza--they were not so warmly welcomed.
Recently, almost 1400 people from around the globe met in Cairo to march into
Gaza to join Gazans in solidarity and to help expose their plight after years
of blockade and exactly a year after the violent attack in what Israel called
"Operation Cast Lead" that killed hundreds of innocent Gazan civilians. So far
the Marchers have been denied access (Egypt closed the Rafah crossing) and
their gatherings have become increasingly and more violently suppressed.
In my understanding of world affairs, embassies are stationed in various
countries so citizens who are traveling can seek help in times of trouble, but
this doesn’t appear to be so, right at this moment in Cairo.
Josh reports, and I also just got off the phone with my good friend and
Veterans for Peace board member, Mike Hearington, that about 50 U.S. citizens
were very roughly seized and thrown (in at least one case literally) into a
detention cell at the U.S. embassy. We are talking about U.S. citizens here
being manhandled by Egyptian riot police. According to Josh and Mike (who both
just narrowly escaped), it appears that people with cameras are especially
being targeted. Another good friend of mine, and good friend of peace, Fr.
Louis Vitale is one of those being detained. Fr. Louis is well into his
seventies!
Josh posted this on his Facebook wall about his near-detention experience:
We just got away. They were trying to drag me in but we kept moving... And most
were dog piling another guy. Then they drug him into the parking lot barricaded
riot police zone, lifted him up and threw him over the police and down into the
zone. And attacking those taking pictures or attemptingto.
When I was talking to Mike he said that an Egyptian told him that all Egyptians
are in solidarity with the Marchers and with the people of Gaza/Palestine, of
course, but the “Big Boss” (the U.S.) is calling the shots.
Egypt is third in line for U.S. foreign aid (behind Iraq and Israel) and its
dictator for life, Hosni Mubarek, is a willing puppet for his masters: the
US/Israeli cabal. Israel could not pursue its apartheid policies without the
U.S. and it’s equally important for this cabal to have a sold-out ally as its
neighbor.
Today also happens to be the anniversary of the 1890 U.S. massacre of Native
Americans (Lakota Sioux) at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. It is sad enough that
we are also living on stolen land, but also that the Israeli government had
good teachers in disposing of its indigenous population!
What are the Israeli settlements on the West Bank, if not stolen land from the
indigenous population and what is Gaza if not a mega-reservation? As at Wounded
Knee 119 years ago, the Israeli siege and attack on Gaza is nothing more than
big bullies shooting fish in a barrel.
Call the U.S. Embassy to demand the release of those detained/that permission
is granted for the March to cross into Gaza: Telephone: (20-2) 2797 3300. (US. Embassy in Cairo)
UPDATE; ALL , WHO WERE DETAINED, HAVE BEEN RELEASED BY NOW!!
Please re-post this alert and spread the word.
Was things not supposed to “change” in the Age of Obama?
Links; Huffington post Article, - Freedom March 2010 Latest news and background-
December 28, 2009
Gaza Still Under Siege
Just a short explanatory video - to explain what's all about! -
Take some time out and see for your self......
December 27, 2009
Press release from "Ireland to Gaza" convoy -
International Hunger Strike Press Release
Sunday December 27th marks the anniversary of the attack on Gaza by Israel, which left over 1,400 people dead, and over 5,000 injured in 22 days.
At 11 35 am, the time of the first attack, a group of humanitarians on the “Viva Palestina Convoy” will embark on an International Hunger Strike in the main square in Aqaba, Jordan.
The International Hunger Strike will aim to highlight the ongoing illegal siege imposed on Gaza, and to remember the victims of the attacks who died during the 22 day bombardment by Israel.
This International Hunger Strike will also highlight the refusal by Egypt, under Israeli pressure, to allow the humanitarian aid to reach the people in Gaza.
The convoy has been stranded in the city for 3 days now, having been refused permission to enter Egypt on their way to Gaza. There are 500 people from no less than 20 different countries in 250 vehicles loaded with charitable humanitarian aid. The convoy is been led by leading international politician George Galloway, having left London on December 6th.
Embarking on the International Hunger Strike are 15 people from different continents across the world. Among those taking part are Fatima Mohammidi from the United States, John Hurson and Caoimhe Butterly from Ireland, Ahasan Shamruk from Palestine, Nidal Hajaj, Hanan Chehata and Mohammed Shakiel from England, plus Kamal Mashni from Australia among others.
Each day, 15 more people from the convoy will join in the International Hunger Strike, and they will go without food until the convoy is allowed to enter safely into Egypt, and through the Rafah border to Gaza.
Speaking from Aqaba, Ahasan Shamruk, said, “I am joining this Hunger Strike to draw attention to the fact that the siege is a form of collective, sustained, and devastating punishment of 1.5 million civilian people. As we commemorate the first year anniversary of the massacres, it is important to remember, that for my brothers and sisters living under siege in Gaza, the war has not ended.”
John Hurson, from Tyrone, who travelled on the first “Viva Palestinan Convoy”, decided to join the International Hunger Strike to draw attention to the fact that nothing has changed in the past year following the attacks.
John said, “from my time spent in Gaza, to think that in the year 2009, people are denied all the basic essentials in life, like water, electricity, medicine, blankets, books, and even footballs for the children, is just unbelievable and unacceptable.
“For Egypt to prevent this compassionate and charitable aid, donated by ordinary caring people from all over the world, unnnecessarily adds to the hardships currently endured on a daily basis, by the besieged and distressed people in Gaza.
I am hopeful that the leaders of the West will exert their influence, put pressure on Egypt, the United States, and Israel to end this inhuman blockade forced upon Gaza, and allow for the safe passage of this essential humanitarian aid. Enough is enough, this has to end now, for the sake of humanity.”
Links;
"Viva Palestina", "Ireland to Gaza "- Facebook Group
December 26, 2009
Gaza Mourning - 1 year after the war
Go to "Pics uncensored" for photos ....
Join
Facebook Group;
"The first annual commemoration of the war on Gaza"
PLEASE Invite your friends to join our group.
من فضلك أرسل دعوة لأصدقائك للانضمام إلى المجموعة
Breaking; 26 Dec. 2009 ; Six Palestinians killed in West Bank, Gaza attacks by IDF - Israeli Armed Forces
December 22, 2009
December 18, 2009
Make Peace not War
Maybe it's time to rethink the war in Afghanistan..Join the movement to stop the war
Follow the link and become a Peacemaker.
"Rethink Afghanistan War" is still a U.S. organization only, but Denmark as an active ally in Afghanistan, would be an ideal place to bring the movement across the ocean.
The tale that our soldiers are fighting, dying, loosing limbs and livelihoods in order for America/Europe/world to be "Safe" is wearing a bit thin....
It's now painfully obvious that at no point, before or during this war, has the Al Qaeda been severely hit nor impaired. The elusive Al Qaeda is not one group, orderly organized in a hierarchy with Osama Bin laden as the all mighty "Capo di tutti capi"- This is not the Cosa nostra, where the promise of Witness Protection will make some high ranked Captain wanna sing his heart out, later to be viewed as dramatised documentary on National Geography; This is not about money, the good life nor macho pride nor glamour- This is a deep, deep felt conviction of "Us Vs Them", Right Vs wrong, Divine Simplicity Vs Mundane Pleasures - This is a myriad of cells spread all over world - Bombing/shooting an already extremely poor and "underdeveloped" country into Smithereens or somewhere way beyond the Stone age, will not stop a group of fanatics in Bali/Paris/Helsinki/Moscow/Copenhagen nor Kansas from doing whatever they intend to do....
Europe is playing along on the "Us Vs Them song" - In Denmark we even help the extremists by condoning the ever growing hatred, isolation and division, by voting a xenophobic party into government....
So instead of war faring and a lengthy siege of a sovereign state, we should start to unify and integrate in our home countries; In Denmark i.e. Build Mosques worthy of worship of God, Cleanse the Media of apparent and subliminal discrimination and/or full blown racism, stop in the name of all our "freedoms"; Forcing all foreigners to be Danish with a big, bombastic, capital D.... instead of embracing and welcoming diversity....
Maybe if we started to do these few things; the recruitment of young men, willing to die for the cause, would dwindle in numbers..... Maybe not... But I can't say what it does to people to be left outside of the community all their life. All I know, is that I would huddle up with my own kind as well and build a wall in order to defend my "Homies" - instead of venturing out into a world, where I'm not in the very least welcome and when a trip "behind enemy lines" is inevitable, I would never go "unarmed"one way or the other..... Oh, but ain't that exactly what our troops are doing in Afghanistan.... !!?!
December 7, 2009
November 15, 2009
October 19, 2009
Dobbs; A History of Hate and Paranoia
This is just to fill anyone in, who hasn't wised up already...... If any...
Why do CNN even want this man on air? To compete with Murdoch's journalistic "Empire of Darkness"; Aka Fox News' and their monopoly in the area of populist, fear mongering stupidity? Catering to the lowest and most primitive instincts in human nature and interaction.... - Enough already!
October 7, 2009
October 5, 2009
September 29, 2009
America - Get a grip - part 2
"It's pure Khmer Rouge stuff" -???? Comparing the image of schoolchildren singing and praising Pres. Obama to the evilness of the Cambodian regime that wiped out 2/3 of their nations population ( See my post from June 10) is ridiculous and would be sorta laughable in a uncomfortable way, if not for the arrogance that this comparison implies....
How dare they!
Such arrogance can only come from people who have lived all their sheltered life where wars, poverty, despair, hopelessness, violence nor hunger is not a daily part of the struggle called life....
How dare they?
AMERICA !!! GET A FRIGGEN GRIP!!!
Go have a reality check and when you're opposing the issue, make some decent arguments, instead of outlandish comparisons solely based on inducing chock value & fear. You live in a Democracy, for crying out loud, and your President is legally and fairly elected and not because a court chose to give him the majority of votes!
Don't remember that we heard such stupid/Ignorant comparisons, when schoolchildren were saluting Pres. Bush ?
This hysteric frenzy is so counterproductive. As " The leader of the Free world" you are being watched from all over, and in the countries where you're sending your young to fight for freedom and democracy the American way, the Bad Guys are having an easy job, arguing against you.
September 24, 2009
America; Get a grip..... Revisited
Okay, I know that Americans pretty much thinks that they are all alone on the globe and that their knowledge of what goes one in the rest of the world is mostly very limited... But do they actually believe that most of Europe lives in communist dictated regimes, where we kill our old people, when they're too old to work with the masses? - I mean, if you think of it logically and are able to come down from the dizzying heights of mass hysteria, you all seem to be suffering from - Then you must be able to see the absurdity in that statement!
Have you guys any idea of exactly how ridiculous some of your so called reporters sound, when they perform their uninformed diatribes, night after night? How ignorant your "average" Americans sound/ looks when they take the microphone and compare a democratically elected president to Hitler, because he wants to make health, a commodity, regardless of income? - Is it only outside USA, we see "60 min" and "Frontline" ?- US documentaries on TV shows us, how thousands of people, sick people, stand in line for days and nights just to see a free doctor or dentist, when the modern day "traveling medicine shows" comes to town, as an act of pure charity by organizations like; "Remote Area Medical" I mean, it's not that it's a total secret how most of Americans live! - This is America 2009 and not Germany 1930's - to 40's where people with some truth could say; "We didn't know".....
Here's a link to a clip of "The Largest Free Clinic ever held in USA" set up in Texas over the weekend.... Thousands of average Americans, who cannot afford health insurance, jumped at the chance to get medical care for free!
We, the rest of the world just kinda stare in disbelief, when we see your "finest" politicians painting Europe as a " Red Commie nest" and us, the inhabitants as "zombies" with no will of our own...??!
The only way 'they' can get away with all this misinformation and lying is because, the average Joe/Jane knows absolutely nothing about anything other what channels like Fox's fuzzy version of totally biased "reports" cares to tell them - I'm amazed, that with the opportunities that this "information age" gives us, that half of you don't listen to your sound voice of reason and try and find some information your selves, try and think for yourselves and not just take everything these buffoons tells you, for granted, the absolute truth.
This here whole "Birther" thing makes you look beyond salvation..... In the 60's the US caught a lot of slack from anti Vietnam-war protesters, and over the years we've had a lot of fun with Bush and his "infinite wisdom"... But we all cheered and danced in the streets, when you guys finally saw some sense and elected Obama for President -
But, alas, then you come up with all this absurd and foolish "arguments" and "evidence" just in order to condemn a national Health reform, "Obama was not born in USA" etc etc....!?! In a few words it makes you look really bad, but I suppose you don't care, you are intent on following the Bush/Cheney road to hell, all by your lonesome, under the misguided thought, that the last "Super power" of the world knows best and needs no help whatsoever from anyone. Your country is falling apart and you're taking all of us down with you, but that doesn't seem to concern you much....
The whole idea of a Democracy is that people can have a difference of opinion, without being persecuted. To have a debate, where one can argue, in a sensible way, what one stands for, whether your opponent likes it or not. But what you're showing everyone, incl. the countries where you're fighting and loosing lives is; that Democracy, the American way, is a long flow of misinformation, overreacting and absurd comparisons as to forcibly enforce your ideas on the "other half"
Come on, America! grow up! Stop acting like a scolded teenager, hollering, screaming, banging doors, whining and dreaming up far out consequences, if you don't get it exactly your way!
Get a grip! Stand up, tell the Rep. to throw away that Karl Rove playbook already and show the rest of us "socialists" how democracy is done in the 2009 ; with honour and the dignity of giving good arguments instead of blatant misinformation and outright lies....
I've always had this infatuation with the US, - always had this dream of "Road Tripping" across your beautiful nation, but as time goes by, I see/ hear how you let yourselves be sooo manipulated, mostly because of your own comfortable ignorance (Well, half of you, how come the other sensible half is not really heard anywhere these days?) But it makes me kinda worried - if it's really true, what you say; that you're the only superpower left on the globe!
PS; The rest of the world is waiting for America to bring their house in order. But as long as the Rep. party can prolong the "debate" of the American Health Reform, they don't have to take a active stand on the all important Climate issue.... and chip in with the rest of the Globe.
This video below; was last year, but the statement still stands; And she's only 12 -
America get a grip!
September 23, 2009
September 8, 2009
Israeli Navy Incinerates Gaza Fishing Boat
Israel continues to starve the Palestinians out of Gaza by all means possible; blockade, by burning and/or annexing the farmland, by burning the fisherman's means to work; his boat!
And still the international community does nothing and says nothing - While we watch a whole country ceasing to exist little by little......
Shame on us!
September 7, 2009
Small bright diamonds on a monday
- Being a crybaby is nothing new and this morning I really felt I should share something with all of my 4-5 faithfuls out there! -
But it is Monday morning in this country, which is getting widely infamous for our inhumanity to foreigners and our unwillingness to share our riches with anyone! We are also getting some attention for the narrowness of our lack of outlook and our staunch denial of us being part of anything remotely global....
Everyday we're all bombarded with xenophobic propaganda of all sorts and I wonder what that does to a soul, to be vilified on a daily basis? Even though; you're just taking care of your family, paying your taxes (48% !!!!!!) and generally minding your own business.
But you're still being constantly boxed in with the very small percentage that don't....
On my Facebook profile, I freely share a lot of links and views on this sorry state of affairs.... Then I started to get some slack, for not being "Grateful" enough for living in this rich haven and all the gifts I was entitled to, just by living here.
Tried to argue, that just because my own little life, was okay, that doesn't mean that I should forget everyone else out there..... But still........
Anyways.... I can't invite them all to the white house or my house for a Ramadan dinner but I can do something within my means;
I have now decided that this week is gonna be my "I' so grateful - week"
I''ll show my gratefulness in my status, every day, by saying thank you to the "foreigners" who lives in this country and who contribute to the "greatness" of Denmark in their own unique ways, because without them, life here would be so dull, undifferentiated & indistinguishable....
I would like to share this little band with you;
Just to brighten up your Monday!
My Brightest Diamond - Inside a Boy from My Brightest Diamond on Vimeo.
August 17, 2009
Courtroom Intifada -Mohammad Katib
Some more on the Wall and on Mohammad Katib.......- And the end of thousand year old olive groves - the livelihood of many families, now denied them.
Watch this and then tell me about the right of the Israelis!
August 16, 2009
The Great Wall of Shame
Bil'in - Mohammad Katib under the boot of the topdog! -
If I lived in other places on the globe, things would be very different.
If I lived say, in Gaza or the West Bank, then my whole life would be nothing but an uphill struggle I guess.... This letter from the "Free Gaza" movement tells of a part of that struggle:
"At 3AM on Monday, August 3, the Israeli army raided Bil’in and arrested Mohammad Khatib, along with six other Palestinian community activists and one American human rights observer from the village. This move is an attempt by Israeli authorities to silence a popular resistance movement gaining international attention and inspiring other Palestinian communities. This West Bank agricultural village, known for its weekly protests against the Israeli apartheid wall, has become a symbol for the Palestinian popular resistance to Israel’s ongoing military occupation.
While many are quick to condemn Palestinians when they resort to armed resistance, Israel has been left free to harass, imprison and sometimes kill Palestinians who nonviolently resist the confiscation and destruction of their land in Bil’in and elsewhere.
In June 2009, Mohammed Khatib traveled to Canada for preliminary hearings on an historic lawsuit launched by Bil’in village against two Quebec-based companies, Green Park International and Green Mount International. Both companies are building illegal Israeli-only settlements on Bil’in’s land.
Mohammad’s arrest is just one in a series of many carried out by the Israeli military in Bil’in since June 2009, coinciding with the beginning of these legal proceedings. Video of the ongoing struggle in Bil’in, including interviews with Mohammad Khatib and Israeli human rights lawyer Michael Sfard, can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TySr95aKSlU.
To date, 25 people (most under 18) have been arrested, and 18 of them remain in detention. Having experienced Israel's interrogation/ intimidation/torture tactics, two of the arrested minors 'confessed' that the Bil'in Popular Committee urges the demonstrators to throw stones. Then based on these forced 'confessions', Israeli forces arrested Mohammad Khatib and other leaders in Bil’in. They have been charged with "incitement to damage the security of the area."
An August 13, 2009 statement issued by the Bil’in popular committee declared that Mohammad Khatib, Adeeb Abu Rahmeh and other leaders of the Palestinian popular struggle, “are being targeted because they mobilize Palestinians to resist non-violently. "Israel is stealing our land from us and then prosecuting us as criminals because we struggle non-violently for justice," said the statement.
In September 2007, after four years of Friday afternoon protests in Bil’in that underscored the violence and injustice of the Israeli occupation, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled in favor of the village. Contrary to the Opinion of the International Court of Justice, the Israeli Supreme Court did not find the apartheid wall was illegal. But it did find the wall’s route through Bil’in was not designed to separate settlers from potential Palestinian terrorists; it was designed to make Modi’in Illit, the giant orthodox Jewish settlement next to Bil’in, bigger by about 2,000 dunams of farmland owned by Bil’in villagers. The Court ordered the army to reroute the fence and give the people of Bil’in back at least part of the land taken from them.
The very next day, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled to legalize the Israeli settlement of Mattiyahu East (part of Modi’inIllit’s expansion), built on Bil'in's land to the west of the wall, which separates the village from 60% of its farming land. The villagers vowed to continue their resistance against the wall and settlements on its land and hundreds of them along with other Palestinians, international and Israeli supporters are still protesting every week.
Israeli soldiers are still injuring and killing them every Friday afternoon with Billy clubs, tear-gas canisters fired at close range, and rubber bullets. With no justice from Israeli courts, the villagers of Bil’in turned to the international arena and, with the help of Canadian lawyers and backed by the Canadian solidarity movement, filed litigation in Canada.
Mohammad Khatib’s arrest is an attempt by Israel to thwart such international support for justice for Palestinians.
Mohammad Khatib joins an estimated 11,000 Palestinian prisoners – including over 400 children -detained by Israeli authorities, many without charge or trial. According to a recent report from Amnesty International, many Palestinian prisoners “face medical negligence, routine beatings, position torture and strip searches by Israeli prison authorities.” According to the Palestinian section of Defense for Children International, “each year, hundreds of Palestinian children are arrested, interrogated, abused and imprisoned by the Israeli military authorities often amounting to torture.”" -
Here's some links for people who want to know more;
A Facebook group against children and teens incarcerated (This is a global issue USA, Iran, UK, Israel - everywhere.... But in Norway they have a very different approach to this with some amazing results loads of links here!)
Some great Blogs;
It's things and 'news' like these that gets me out of my existence-slumber.... Oh, and some shameful Danish issues on human rights violations and such, which you no longer can take for granted in this a-here little peace-loving nation.... But more on this later....
July 30, 2009
Pirates in shallow waters
"Watch the video and decide for yourself how many international and maritime laws Israel has broken. The Israeli navy hijacked the Spirit of Humanity in international waters. The Israeli government hijacks Palestinian fishing boats, in Palestinian territorial waters, kidnaps the fishermen, and sends its military out to shoot to wound and kill them as they struggle to make a living. After watching this video, you will be convinced that Israel has committed acts of piracy against Palestinians and against internationals. No other country would be allowed to do what Israel does on a daily basis.
The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) volunteers were accompanying fishermen to document attacks on them by the Israeli Navy, and to provide a deterrence to these attacks. (www.palsolidarity.org) For more information and current reports about Gaza fishermen: fishingunderfire.blogspot.com"
From Free Gaza News
July 29, 2009
Shout it from the mountains;
I have to go to bed, as I'm getting up early in the morning, but I find this news way too important to lay as dormant as I'm hopefully gonna be in a moment;
The filmmaker; Dhondup Wangchen is being charged by the Chinese gov for "Inciting separatism" and his lawyers barred from representing him in court!
Oh, China you've still have a looooong way ! "Democracy" is still just a word in the dictionary as a explanation for Western fancies !
This is what China is showing her dependent fans on how to treat opponents (real as well as imagined); Just take a look at Burma or Sudan/Darfur !
July 21, 2009
Gaza Reality - Mud houses
This is reality and needs no comments from a
summer-drained psudoairhead like yours truly!
July 19, 2009
Six Months later;
Here's 2 of a series of seven photos from how life looks in present Gaza; Six months has passed since the assault on civilians.... Even the Israeli soldiers are experiencing a moment of shame
Looks like the world is slowly waking up to reality - and actually acknowledge the damage done by the fanatics in both camps!
July 12, 2009
Camping as a way of life - Six months later and still no reconstruction of Gaza!
Mahmoud Abu al-Anzain and his wife, Umm Naim, and their three children used to live in a two-room, cement-roofed house. It wasn't a palace, but it was a home. The house was completely destroyed by Israeli army fire during last January's assault on the Gaza Strip.
Since that day, al-Anzain, 32, and his family have lived in a tent in al-Rayan refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. "As you can see, under the heat of the July sun, and with the fear of mosquitos and snakes, we have lived in this tent for six months with no one taking care of us," said al-Anzain, as he reclined on a mattress on the ground.
Al-Anzain's is one of 10 displaced families from the northern Gaza Strip living in al-Rayan refugee camp, recently erected by local nongovernmental organizations with a total of 93 tents. Other families sleep there at night, and others still come during the day, each according to its own circumstances caused by the Israeli assault. The al-Rayan refugee camp houses families from three areas in the northern Gaza Strip: Jabaliya refugee camp, Beit Lahiya and Sheikh Zayed.
"I used to live in Block 1 in the Jabaliya refugee camp, before my house was destroyed by Israeli shells," al-Anzain explained. "I don't have work, I only take compensation payment of 750 Israeli shekels monthly [$190 dollars]." This amount, provided by a Palestinian society that assists those injured during the conflict, is insufficient to rent a house and cover his family's other needs. "I am forced to stay in this tent, despite difficult conditions," said al-Anzain, serving Pepsi out of disposable cups, since he felt they could offer better hospitality to his guests than the glasses he keeps in the tent.
To make matters even more difficult, Umm Naim is about to deliver a baby, and one of the couple's children recently had to be taken to the hospital for an infection that came on top of other health complications. "What care can I provide for my new baby?" al-Anzain said. "Even dogs could not bear such a life!"
The al-Anzain's tent has two main parts: a "living room" where the family sits and sleeps, and a "bedroom" where they pile up their mattresses, blankets and clothes. Just near the living room, there is a small corner used as kitchen, with a kerosene stove, a frying pan and a pot for cooking. Opposite the living room, a "bathroom" consists of a small basin.
Umm Naim, sitting in the bedroom holding a broom, and finding little relief from the midday heat, spoke of the difficulty of caring for her children in a tent. "The place is not clean at all, there is dust everywhere inside and out," she complained. "I often can't get enough water even to wash the kitchen utensils." She expressed the constant fear that her children, her husband or herself might be bitten by a snake. "Life in this tent is unbearable," she said.
With a deep sigh, Umm Naim uttered an old Palestinian proverb: "What forces you to bear something bitter? Only that which is more bitter."
Umm Abdallah Abu Eita sat in her own tent in al-Rayan camp, where she has lived since the Israeli army destroyed her home in Block 3 of Jabaliya refugee camp. In her early sixties, she is old enough to have survived the original displacement from historic Palestine to refugee camps in the Gaza Strip and elsewhere. Indeed, the erection of six new refugee camps in Gaza, each of about 100 tents, recalls the 1948 Nakba, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced from their homes in what became Israel, and sought refuge in "temporary" camps such as these. Eighty percent of the Palestinians in Gaza are refugees from the Nakba or their descendants.
Each morning, Umm Abdallah comes to the camp and spends time with a friend, Umm Khamis, whose tent is next to hers, and they cook and chat. By sunset they leave their tents and head to relatives' houses where they sleep.
Abu Nimer Hasan, 53, welcomed this reporter into his tidy tent where he spends the night along with his four children.
"My house was hit by an Israeli shell on 17 January at 3am, in Beit Lahiya residential neighborhood," Hasan said. "My two-story building was completely burned."
Hasan and his children stay in the tent because they have no place else: "I have a married son who lives with his in-laws, while my wife sleeps at her parents' house."
"This is the most difficult time I have ever gone through in my life," Hasan said. "Can you imagine? On the weekends, we all gather from the different places we are scattered in, just to see each other and talk."
Twelve people used to live in Hasan's house. "We had many things and furniture, but everything was burned," he said. The tent now contains all their belongings: a few pieces of furniture provided by local charities, and a few plates and kitchen utensils.
His face reddening, Hasan added, "Can you imagine, I have even been deprived of my own basic human right to live with my wife under one roof for the past six months."
Khaled Abu Ali, who as a member of a local higher committee in charge of services for al-Rayan camp, says it is increasingly difficult to care for the residents who enjoy little privacy or space: "Financial support has eroded considerably, but the displaced people have no choice but to be steadfast."
According to local and international estimates, thousands of Palestinians in Gaza remain displaced after the Israeli attack there. A more than two-year-long blockade has prevented building supplies from entering the territory, thus internationally-pledged reconstruction efforts have yet to even begin.
Last week, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) issued a lengthy report on the humanitarian situation in Gaza. The report described woresning conditions six months after the Israeli attacks on the coastal territory.
"The objective of this report is to raise awareness, and to call on Israel and others to take all possible measures to reopen the crossing points so that the population of Gaza stops paying the price for this conflict," Antoine Grad, head of ICRC Gaza sub-delegation, told The Electronic Intifada. "What I can say is if the situation continues, the people of Gaza will get poorer and poorer, and more and more people will fall into poverty and misery."
Rami Almeghari is a journalist and university lecturer based in the Gaza Strip .
This article comes from the site; Electronic Intifada
July 6, 2009
5th July 09 : Free Gaza; "Prisoners"
This is a 5 min video; which explains how Israel keeps thousands in jail, either the "real prison" or by just having to live in Gaza - People have been incarcerated for years without fair trials
- Take 5 min off your busy day and watch this Free Gaza org. video and then act, do something! Just in any way that you know how! You can start by forwarding this post to your friends, - We can no longer proclaim innocence and "no knowledge" of these crimes committed against humanity and use this as an excuse for keeping our hands folded and doing nothing.....
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And I want to give you another link to a fantastic video made and posted on FB by Sameh Brill; Caution, the video contains graphic images! - Here's the 3 major points Brill touches in this excellently edited video;
1- Amnesty International official report on Gaza, (released July 2009) regarding the 22-day Israeli assault reveals that Israel committed war crimes and carried out reckless attacks and acts of wanton destruction in its Gaza offensive. Hundreds of Palestinian civilians were killed using high-precision weapons, while others were shot at close range, the report concluded that Israel committed frank war crimes in Gaza.
2-Biased Corporate Media in America, and how media in the united states are neither objective nor completely honest in their portrayal of important issues, as they convey the news with lack of neutrality.
3-On Tuesday June 30 afternoon Israeli Naval Forces attacked and boarded the Free Gaza Movement boat, the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, 23 miles off the coast of Gaza, abducting 21 human rights workers from 11 countries. Which is an outrageous violation of international law, The Boat held humanitarian andReconstruction supplies to be given to the people of Gaza whom 80% of Gazans depends on UN aid since the Israeli blockade on the Gaza strip which is currently still on. This incidence was not the first, months earlier IDF navy boats rammed DIGNITY boat which on a humanitarian mission to Gaza.........
July 4, 2009
Report from a Israeli Prison cell;
Report from the Kidnapped Passengers in Ramle Prison, July 4, 2009
On Monday, June 30, 21 passengers going to challenge the blockade of Gaza on board the Spirit of Humanity were seized by the Israeli Navy and taken to Israel against their will. All their equipment was taken and some of were roughed up. All were thrown into prison to await Israel’s decision on how and when they would be deported.
The majority of the group ended up in Ramle Prison. Those of us who are Free Gaza organizers had been hearing some news from them, statements, interviews and letters since they arrived. From the first night, the Free Gaza 21 have been busy trying to get news out of the prison about the illegality of Israel’s actions in relation to themselves and the other inmates inside Ramle Prison who have no voice.
Report from E: I received a 2am phone call during one of the first sleepless nights from Ramle Prison to let me know that in one of the cells, four of the FG group had been busy writing a press release on an old phone one of their cellmates had loaned them. It had taken them hours to write the press release. but they were just ready to send it out, and ‘could I check my email to see if I had received it?’
Since that first night I have been hearing more increasingly about the plight of the other inmates of the prison; men and women who have not nearly as good an opportunity as our folk for media coverage of their stories and not nearly as good an opportunity as our folk of ever getting out of Ramle Prison.
To Fathi Jaouadi, Adie Mormesh, Ishmael Blagrove, and Captain Denis Healy, the situation of their fellow inmates is something they want to talk about and act upon. Fathi wanted to pass on news of what they have been doing inside Ramle prison; he wanted to let everyone who supports the Free Gaza Movement know that ‘Free Gaza Members are never lost for things to do when it comes to trying to expose Israel’s appalling treatment of not just Palestinians, but all people who come to Palestine and get caught up in Israel’s abuse of justice and the law.’
Fathi Jaouadi has been actively involved in Palestinian rights since he was 15 years old. Now in Ramle prison, he has already managed to organize a meeting with a UN representative and to raise the issue of the other inmates with him. He said that the UN official has agreed to follow up on some of the cases; Fathi has also been in contact with local NGO’s to raise the issue of many of the inmate’s situations. He told me he wants to focus on the fact that none of the inmates have any access to legal advice or help, most of the inmates have not been able to contact family to let them know of their situation and none of the inmates have committed anything that warrants them to be held indefinitely inside Ramle prison.
Fathi is in the process of collecting statements from all the inmates, and he is translating them from Arabic. He says the majority of the inmates in their cell are from Arab countries, and they have not had access to their embassy officials. He will follow up with the UN and other organizations once he is released, contact all the families and give statements and details to the relevant embassies.
Ishmael Blagrove is a well-known documentary filmmaker and has been speaking extensively about the Palestinian struggle for more than twenty years. In Ramle prison, he has been working tirelessly to get contact with refugee councils and organizations in Britain to present to them the case of the refugees inside. He says that many of the men from neighbouring Arab countries just want to go home, they don’t want to stay in Israel and yet they are not being given the opportunity to speak. Ishmael says that many of the inmates are entitled to legal representation, but they do not know this, nor do they have any idea how to contact any refugee organization to advise them. Ishmael is in the process of establishing links between the refugee councils in Britain and the inmates of his cell in Ramle Prison.
Fathi and Ishmael have already established channels to publish these issues in Britain on their release.
When we called Ramle Prison today Fathi said that Adie had just finished his daily English lesson with the inmates. Adie is reportedly very happy with the progress of his students and said this morning they had successfully completed an intense session on Past Participles. Adie Mormesh has also been very active for the rights of Palestinians for many years. He spent two weeks in the West Bank with the Olive Coop (Zeitoun) and Action Palestine in 2007. He worked with and documented the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction Campaign and participated in the World Social Forums for Palestine in Porto Alegre and Mumbai in 2003 and 2004. He has now become a teacher of English in Ramle prison.
Captain Denis Healey who has been the Free Gaza Movement’s captain since October 2008 and bravely steered the DIGNITY to safety in December when she was attacked by the Israeli Navy at sea, has also been quite busy; he has been giving in-depth lectures to his fellow inmates about life at sea. Apparently there are many interested parties amongst the inmates; some hope that they may pursue a life on the sea when (and sadly if) they ever get out. They are full of questions as to the procedure of getting qualified to work on and sail boats in the Mediterranean, and Captain Denis is giving them a good run down on what they should do to follow such a dream.
This is how four of our passengers have been keeping busy during the past week, they wanted to let you all know; they also said they realize the news they are sending out is not new to any of us. We have all been working with these issues of injustice for years. But that doesn’t mean that every new story about the violation of human rights, about the cruelty, brutality and flagrant misuse of justice by Israel should not be published.
Our friends are stuck in Ramle prison, because they tried to visit the war-stricken people of Gaza, and they are furious at what they are seeing. They know they have generated media interest around the world, and that sooner or later, they will leave Ramle Prison, but they also know that the other inmates of the prison have no such privilege, and without our interest in them, they could well be stuck inside Ramle prison for the rest of their lives, or exiled to some foreign country that is not their home, facing a life without family or loved ones to share it with. And so it is for the 11,000 Palestinian prisoners at present inside Israeli jails. Every one of them has a story that ought to be heard.
Statement #1 taken by Fathi Jaouadi.
From Ramle Prison, 3rd July 2009.
My name is M.
I am 26 years old.
I am a Palestinian born in Al Quds and I hold a birth certificate showing this. My family comes from a village called Sour Bahr.
We have two houses there owned by my grandfather who fled in ’48 to Jordan and left the houses with my Aunt.
When I was 5 years old I went with my family to Jordan to bring back the papers that proved our ownership of these two houses. We stayed in Jordan for 2 years and then, when we had all the papers we came back to Sour Bahr.
I lived all my life in one of the houses and some of my family lived in the other. We always used to make our way between our two houses which were only minutes apart from each other.
However when the Wall was built, it split our two houses apart. It used to take minutes and then it took 4 ½ hours to go from house to house.
The house I lived in was in the West Bank, the other on the side of the Wall that is Al Quds.
When I was 16 I began the process to try and obtain Israeli ID so that I could continue to enter Al Quds and go to our house that was on the other side of the Wall.
Every day my mother would go to the Interior Ministry to try and obtain my ID. She contacted many lawyers about the case but although she worked on this for 8 years, there was no result. During this time I tried often to visit our house on the Al Quds side of the wall and every time I was caught by the Israeli forces and sent back to the West Bank.
When I was 24 years old I had a fight with a friend, I was caught by Israel during the fight and imprisoned for 1 ½ years.
I am a normal Palestinian trying to live a normal life. I am not involved in any political movement and I have no security issues with Israel. I am just trying to live my life, but when I had served my time in prison for fighting with a friend, Israel could not decide where to release me.
My birth certificate said Al Quds but I had no Israeli ID. When Israel started investigating, they discovered that when I was 5 years old I had gone with my family to Jordan for 2 years.
It was then that I was told by an Israeli judge that the Law states:
‘Any Palestinian who spends 2 years outside Israel has no right to return’
I have since seen Judge twice in the past two months. and he has told me that I will be returned to Jordan.
But Jordan has refused to accept me. So now I have been told I will just have to wait in prison.
I am very depressed now and hate my life. I am afraid of how long they will make me wait. It could be years. I am afraid I will be sent to Jordan. I have no one in Jordan. I was there when I was 5 years old! All my family are in Palestine. I know if they send me to Jordan I will never be allowed back into Palestine. I will never be allowed to see my family again. And I have done nothing.
I just want to be allowed to live a simple life with my family and the people I know and love, in my own land......
Several Links worth a look;
and of course; Free Gaza.org
Where this report came from in the first place.....
June 30, 2009
ISRAEL ATTACKS JUSTICE BOAT; KIDNAPS HUMAN RIGHTS WORKERS; CONFISCATES MEDICINE, TOYS AND OLIVE TREES
[23 miles off the coast of Gaza, 15:30pm] - Today Israeli Occupation Forces attacked and boarded the Free Gaza Movement boat, the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, abducting 21 human rights workers from 11 countries, including Noble laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (see below for a complete list of passengers). The passengers and crew are being forcibly dragged toward Israel.
“This is an outrageous violation of international law against us. Our boat was not in Israeli waters, and we were on a human rights mission to the Gaza Strip,” said Cynthia McKinney, a former U.S. Congresswoman and presidential candidate. “President Obama just told Israel to let in humanitarian and reconstruction supplies, and that’s exactly what we tried to do. We're asking the international community to demand our release so we can resume our journey.”
According to an International Committee of the Red Cross report released yesterday, the Palestinians living in Gaza are “trapped in despair.” Thousands of Gazans whose homes were destroyed earlier during Israel’s December/January massacre are still without shelter despite pledges of almost $4.5 billion in aid, because Israel refuses to allow cement and other building material into the Gaza Strip. The report also notes that hospitals are struggling to meet the needs of their patients due to Israel’s disruption of medical supplies.
“The aid we were carrying is a symbol of hope for the people of Gaza, hope that the sea route would open for them, and they would be able to transport their own materials to begin to reconstruct the schools, hospitals and thousands of homes destroyed during the onslaught of "Cast Lead”. Our mission is a gesture to the people of Gaza that we stand by them and that they are not alone" said fellow passenger Mairead Maguire, winner of a Noble Peace Prize for her work in Northern Ireland.
Just before being kidnapped by Israel, Huwaida Arraf, Free Gaza Movement chairperson and delegation co-coordinator on this voyage, stated that: “No one could possibly believe that our small boat constitutes any sort of threat to Israel. We carry medical and reconstruction supplies, and children’s toys. Our passengers include a Nobel peace prize laureate and a former U.S. congressperson. Our boat was searched and received a security clearance by Cypriot Port Authorities before we departed, and at no time did we ever approach Israeli waters.”
Arraf continued, “Israel’s deliberate and premeditated attack on our unarmed boat is a clear violation of international law and we demand our immediate and unconditional release.”
###
WHAT YOU CAN DO!
CONTACT the Israeli Ministry of Justice
tel: +972 2646 6666 or +972 2646 6340
fax: +972 2646 6357
CONTACT the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
tel: +972 2530 3111
fax: +972 2530 3367
CONTACT Mark Regev in the Prime Minister's office at:
tel: +972 5 0620 3264 or +972 2670 5354
mark.regev@it.pmo.gov.il
CONTACT the International Committee of the Red Cross to ask for their assistance in establishing the wellbeing of the kidnapped human rights workers and help in securing their immediate release!
Red Cross Israel
tel: +972 3524 5286
fax: +972 3527 0370
tel_aviv.tel@icrc.org
Red Cross Switzerland:
tel: +41 22 730 3443
fax: +41 22 734 8280
Red Cross USA:
tel: +1 212 599 6021
fax: +1 212 599 6009
###
Kidnapped Passengers from the Spirit of Humanity include:
Khalad Abdelkader, Bahrain
Khalad is an engineer representing the Islamic Charitable Association of Bahrain.
Othman Abufalah, Jordan
Othman is a world-renowned journalist with al-Jazeera TV.
Khaled Al-Shenoo, Bahrain
Khaled is a lecturer with the University of Bahrain.
Mansour Al-Abi, Yemen
Mansour is a cameraman with Al-Jazeera TV.
Fatima Al-Attawi, Bahrain
Fatima is a relief worker and community activist from Bahrain.
Juhaina Alqaed, Bahrain
Juhaina is a journalist & human rights activist.
Huwaida Arraf, US
Huwaida is the Chair of the Free Gaza Movement and delegation co-coordinator for this voyage.
Ishmahil Blagrove, UK
Ishmahil is a Jamaican-born journalist, documentary film maker and founder of the Rice & Peas film production company. His documentaries focus on international struggles for social justice.
Kaltham Ghloom, Bahrain
Kaltham is a community activist.
Derek Graham, Ireland
Derek Graham is an electrician, Free Gaza organizer, and first mate aboard the Spirit of Humanity.
Alex Harrison, UK
Alex is a solidarity worker from Britain. She is traveling to Gaza to do long-term human rights monitoring.
Denis Healey, UK
Denis is Captain of the Spirit of Humanity. This will be his fifth voyage to Gaza.
Fathi Jaouadi, UK
Fathi is a British journalist, Free Gaza organizer, and delegation co-coordinator for this voyage.
Mairead Maguire, Ireland
Mairead is a Nobel laureate and renowned peace activist.
Lubna Masarwa, Palestine/Israel
Lubna is a Palestinian human rights activist and Free Gaza organizer.
Theresa McDermott, Scotland
Theresa is a solidarity worker from Scotland. She is traveling to Gaza to do long-term human rights monitoring.
Cynthia McKinney, US
Cynthia McKinney is an outspoken advocate for human rights and social justice issues, as well as a former U.S. congressperson and presidential candidate.
Adnan Mormesh, UK
Adnan is a solidarity worker from Britain. He is traveling to Gaza to do long-term human rights monitoring.
Adam Qvist, Denmark
Adam is a solidarity worker from Denmark. He is traveling to Gaza to do human rights monitoring.
Adam Shapiro, US
Adam is an American documentary film maker and human rights activist.
Kathy Sheetz, US
Kathy is a nurse and film maker, traveling to Gaza to do human rights monitoring.
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