Title: The Freedom Flotilla: A First-Person Account

Speakers: Alex Harrison, The Free Gaza Movement

 

Date: 30th July 2010 at 18:45

Venue: Abrar House, 45 Crawford Place, W1H 4LP

 

Event details:

In response to Hamas taking over control of Gaza, Israel declared a blockade on the strip and severely limited what is allowed to enter.  Israel fences Gaza’s land borders and the navy controls maritime access.  Rejecting Hamas’s control over the strip, Egypt has also imposed its own blockade on the border it shares with Gaza.  These measures have left the 1.5m residents of Gaza living under dire conditions.  The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation says 61% of Gazans are "food insecure" and the World Health Organization says the blockade has led to a general "worsening of the health conditions of the population" and "accelerated the degeneration" of the health system.  The UN reports that 70% of Gazans live on less than $1 a day, 75% rely on food aid and 60% have no daily access to water.

Despite public outcry, the blockade continues.

Disturbed by the humanitarian condition in Gaza, The Free Gaza Movement, a group backed by Desmond Tutu and Noam Chomsky, has organised nine attempts to break the blockade by delivering aid by sea.  The most recent of these attempts is the “Freedom Flotilla”, which took to sea in May 2010.  The flotilla, which aimed to deliver food, medicine and construction materials, was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters and then diverted to the port of Ashdod.  It has been reported that as many as 11 activists were killed in the raid.

Alex Harrison was one of the activists who took part in the Freedom Flotilla.  In this talk, she recounts her experience of the journey to Gaza, the raid and what followed.  The talk will be followed by an open discussion.

 

Free entrance. All welcome

 

The speaker:

Alex Harrison is a human rights activist and advocate living between London and the Middle East.  She lived and worked in Balata, Nablus in the occupied West Bank during the second Intifada.  The Israeli authorities denied her entry to Palestine when she tried to visit family there in 2006 and 2008.

Alex was on board the Spirit of Humanity when Israeli forces hijacked the boat and abducted the passengers.  She is determined to return to Palestine and plans to work in Gaza in the coming year.

 

For further information, please contact Sid Djerfi on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 07786212486.