There’s Only One Sky Above Us: Stay Human
As of Sunday June 26, the Audacity of Hope is still at the dock. A complaint was filed saying that the boat was not "seaworthy". The crew and its passengers are waiting for it to pass inspection. Many believe this to be the work of our own government putting pressure on Greek authorities to use all means possible to keep the boat from leaving. Stay tuned.
Injustice like a boil can never be healed until it is exposed.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
With one blue sky above us all, the International Freedom Flotilla II—Stay Human will set sail in a few days for Gaza to break Israel’s blockade, the longest in modern warfare. As of today there are nine boats with somewhere between 500 to 1,000 people from 22 countries. They are leaving from all over the Mediterranean including Turkey and Greece.
According to various news reports, the Turkish and Greek governments have been heavily lobbied by Israeli officials. They want them to block the boats from leaving the dock. They have threatened them with all kinds of economic and political repercussions including trade cancellations. Is this why Turkey’s boat the Mavi Marmarva is not joining the fleet again this year? Or is it because the boat is still under repair from damages suffered during last year’s attack? Or is it because Israeli and US propaganda has accused the Turkish activists of being Hamas sympathisizers and so they pulled out so as not to “complicate” the mission? We do not know the real reason why the Turkish boat is not going only that economic sanctions and punishments have been issued to both countries in an effort to get them to stop the boats from leaving their docks.
Israel’s navy chief said that the Israeli navy is under orders from the government to enforce the Israeli blockade over Gaza because it is crucial to prevent the flow of arms to Hamas. In addition he said “The goal of the organizers is to clash with soldiers and to create a media provocation and to de-legitimize Israel.”
According to the US boat’s organizers even the United Nation’s General Ban Ki-moon has asked governments to use their influence to discourage the flotilla instead of moving forward on the invitation to inspect the cargo in the flotilla and ensure safe passage.
And in the U.S. our State Department issued a “travel warning” to Americans telling them not to try and enter Gaza either by land or sea. Then on Thursday, Secretary Clinton issued another statement saying this flotilla could be seen as an act of provocation, which would allow Israel to legitimately use force to defend itself. She warned again against coming to Gaza. Some see this as sending a green light to Israel to to what it feels justified to do.
It appears our State Department does not see that its role is to protect its citizens or to speak out against impending violence or condemn the ongoing violation of human rights in Gaza, which include among other things denying people the right to self-determination and freedom of movement. It does not call the blockade illegal or a form of collective punishment against the Gazans for choosing Hamas leaders. It does not cite all the Geneva conventions that it breaks by denying the over 1.5 billion Gazans the right to food security, clean water, education, health or medical care, or the opportunity not to live in dire poverty. It says nothing for years about Israel’s war crimes and then when American citizens move to intervene it issues a warning for them to stay out or else suffer the consequences.
On Friday in response to pressure from activists from around the country and/or the bold witness of these freedom sailors, six members of Congress led by Denis Kucinich signed onto a letter that calls Secretary Clinton to work with the Israeli government to ensure safety for these American citizens. In addition, Just Foreign Policy has started an online petition to Secretary Clinton also asking for protection and safe passage.
Safety ensured or not and in spite of lack of support from our government, about fifty Americans are expected to board The Audacity of Hope and join this international nonviolent act of solidarity. The passengers range from people in their twenties to their eighties. A quarter of them are Jewish. Amongst the passengers are some famous celebrities like writer Alice Walker, Code Pink leader Medea Benjamin, and funny man Patch Adams and other long time activists like Holocaust survivor Heddy Epstein and Kathy Kelly from Creative Voices for Nonviolence. There are many others including some old time and recent friends I met at Code Pink’s MoveOver AIPAC Conference in May. In addition to writers, bloggers and journalists, teachers and students, there are lawyers and people with medical training.
You can see read their statements at the Code Pink website or other online resources listed at the end of this article. You can also listen to the interview Amy Goodman did with Kathy Kelly and Richard Levy at Democracy Now. Former U.S. diplomat and retired military colonel Ann Wright bluntly says, “Citizen activists are coming to the Mediterranean from all over the world to confront the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza and U.S. government protection of Israeli criminal acts.”
This motley crew of seasoned and new activists is joining this modern day freedom ride to call attention to the inhumanity of this ongoing maritime siege and the continued occupation of the Palestinian people by the Israeli government. They have been trained in nonviolence and are carrying no goods other than thousands of letters from the U.S. civil society to Gaza’s civil society. Unlike the other boats who are carrying humanitarian supplies like medical or educational supplies, or construction materials for rebuilding homes or fixing damaged sewers, the Audacity of Hope is carrying only passengers and love letters to Gaza.
Like me, you might ask why aren’t they carrying much needed humanitarian aid? Aren’t children lacking food and others medical supplies? Or what about pipes for repairing the sewage system for clean drinking water? Or simply other goods that have been blocked by this ongoing siege? Why not carry much needed goods or supplies?
The reason has to do with the mission of the Flotilla itself, which took me awhile to get just as it took me awhile to get why on Fridays people all over the West Bank people attend demonstrations where they are continuously beaten, tear gassed, shot at, arrested or all of the above. Both the flotilla and these demonstrations share the goal of shining a light on the occupation and its ongoing violation of human rights. The navy chief is correct, the flotilla does aim to throw into question Israel’s claim that the blockade is legitimate.
In Al’Masara, we were not only demonstrating against the “Separation Wall’ that was cutting through Palestinian land or even against the confiscation of land by the illegal settlements, we were demonstrating against the occupation. At the same time, we were trying to exercise our democratic right to freedom of assembly---to express our opposition to Israeli government policies. Yes, one goal was stopping the wall or more illegal settlements but the larger goal was for freedom of movement and self-determination. These are human rights that everyone is guaranteed in our constitution and by international law. These rights are also guaranteed in the international court and are outlined in the Geneva conventions and in UN Resolutions. The four-year-old blockade is an illegal siege and must be challenged if not by international governments then by its people.
The International Freedom Flotilla II---Stay Human like these other nonviolent protests seeks to target the denial of Palestinian self-determination as its primary goal. Yes, there is a humanitarian crisis but the aim is higher than international charity or even achieving a functional economy. The goal is to join Palestinians in their call for freedom, their right to have sovereignty over their coasts and lands. The goal is to support their hope through audacious solidarity.
Our State Department and Clinton are wrong when they condone the blockade by issuing warnings instead of protection because the blockade is illegal. However, they are correct in saying it is “provocative”. To demand and stand for freedom, to expose injustice, is provocative if you are standing up to those who have justified it as a matter of security. To demand and stand for freedom, to expose injustice is provocative for it shines a bright light on the injustice and invites others to join you in the movement. In the language of Gandhi, it forces the oppressor to show his teeth or it opens the space for moral conscience. America’s citizens, if not its country, have joined a growing constituency of conscience around Palestine’s call for freedom and we should be proud.
Let us join these freedom sailors in spirit and prayer:
With love, sisters and brothers
in Gaza and throughout the occupied territories,
you are not alone
we are with you in spirit
we will stay the course
demand your liberty
Courage, sisters and brothers
you do not go alone
We are with you in spirit
on this freedom bound voyage
Stay human even if they…
even when they…
or if they…
We too will stay human
even when we don’t want to
even when we want to scream
in protest or horror
We will stay human
even when we are talking
to our bought off
or deaf elected officials
We will stay human
even when they say you asked for it
provoked us, had to…
We will stay human
when we wear black for our loss
pink for our refusal to give in to fear
blue for the same sky above us
With love and courage,
sisters and brothers
you do not go alone
we are with you
until your homes are safe
until you come home
*About my title: “Stay Human” is a slogan from the recently assassinated International Solidarity Activist Vitorrio Arrigoni. The flotilla is named after him. ”There’s only one sky above us”” comes from the children of Afghanistan who said this to Kathy Kelly when they gave her a blue scarf to wear as a reminder.
ACT NOW: Call the state Department (202-647-5291 and press 1 to leavee4comment) or call the white house 202 456 1111
Links and Blogs for More Information
Code Pink is a good way to keep up with Medea’s journey on the Audacity of Hope and other issues related to Israel and Palestine www.codepink4peace.org/flotilla
For up to date information about the Audacity of Hope and what is happening; lists also bloggers and tweets www.ustogaza.org
Institute for Middle East understanding: discussion about humanitarian crisis. http://imeu.net/
Democracy Now for interview of Kathy Kelly and Richard Levy www.democracy.now.org/2011/6/20/the_audacity_of_hope_us_people
Report and petition: "Six Members of Congress Call on Clinton to help "ensure the safety of the U.S. citizens on board" the U.S. Boat to Gaza", http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/node/949
"Letter from a Naive Peace Activist to an Israeli Naval Officer," Robert Naiman, Huffington Post, 06/22/11, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/gaza-blockade-flotilla_b_882689.html
"State Department Travel Warning: "If You Try to Sail to Gaza, Israel May Kill You," Ali Ghraib, Think Progress Blog, 06/22/11, http://thinkprogress.org/security/2011/06/22/251355/state-travel-warning-israel/
"Alice Walker: Why I'm Sailing to Gaza," Alice Walker, CNN On-line, 06/21/11, http://articles.cnn.com/2011-06-21/opinion/alice.walker.gaza_1_muslim-child-gaza-gandhi?_s=PM:OPINION
Robert Naiman, Huffington Post Blog: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman
"For Gaza, but not Against Israel," Esther Cepeda, Chicago Sun-Times, 06/19/11, http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=190629
An American Jew writes in Haaretz why he is joining the freedom flotilla
An ex Jew (now Pagan) Starhawk writes brilliantly on the Gaza flotilla
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