Sunday 29 November 2009
Leaving London on December 6
I am travelling with the VIVA PALESTINA convoy leaving next weekend from Victoria Park in Hackney. About 150 lorries, vans and ambulances will be taking medical equipment and supplies to the people of GAZA, who are suffereing under the illegal siege of the territory. This terrible collective punishment is against international law and follows the devasting bombing and invasion of the strip early in 2009. Keep in touch through this blog
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Missing you already, darling - so much so that I seem somehow to be following you 3 times...I promise to have got the hang of the technology by the time you get back.
ReplyDeleteHi folks - just been to Gloucester to take my stuff and get it in the van - we've just had a delivery from Leicester of a shed load of drugs and medical supplies - all free from the pharmaceutical community in Leicester. we have 30 odd wheelchairs, crutches, we bought £3000 worth of medical equipment this week from the gloucester Groups budgets. There's a real buzz now - everythings organsed that can be organsed and everyhting else will work out Ins'hallah. Can't believe I'm doing this but am very excited. It's great to be 53 and still ambulant(psychologically speaking) All good things to everyone. leaving at 9.oo 2moro for a rally at aservice station at the M4/M25 junction - we go out in style!!!!
ReplyDeleteI remember that trip, I used to do it regularly. My best advice is to take the A36 to Hungerford, crossing the Martindale by-pass at Thring. Turn left down the B465 which is a lovely trip up the downs (or was it down the ups?) till you get to the Old Ford crossroads - make sure you take the left fork which takes you down the A578 to just outside Winchester, which you can skirt on the bypass (A46) till you take a right turn down the B89 (a lovely lane), goes through Henly-La-Roche - a lovely little village with a real parish pump. From there you can't miss Gaza. Be safe Bob and don't talk to any ladies who ask if they can get warm in your cab, unless they are gorgeous and completely irresistable. WE got rid of apartheid, why shouldn't you? xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
ReplyDeleteHey Bob. Have a great trip - wish I was coming along, admittedly, as much to escape the joy of a British Christmas as to embark on the adventure or for the general worthiness of it :-). Look forward to your updates.
ReplyDeleteColin
Take care Bob, its certainly something to remember in your old age. Very inspiring and full of 'daring do' Stay alert and I will keep following your progress over the xmas break.
ReplyDeleteRegards Dave
Bob, i know I'm a bit schizoid combined with paranoid, but someone's commenting on your blog under my name. The real me seems to be Mr Watson; whoever Colin is, don't believe a word he says. Hope this bad news doesn't spoil your trip; try not to worry, it's probably just a crossed wire at Mossad e-HQ.
ReplyDeleteColin (aka Mr Watson)
We arrived in Bruxelles this evening - the convoy is parked in a deserted but huge car park on the outskirts - in the day it looks like it is a huge market. Cold and soulless and we were gettingh ready to sleep in the cab, when Ahmed's sister truns up and offers all 5 of us accomodation in their flat - a magnificent town house in the centre of the city - so we have spent the evening with Faisal and Fazilla, who are south african and Zimbawean. Very nice people and a really pleasant evening> I have alos decided that HEdely and Mustafa, who are thankfully in the other vehicle, are actually certifiacly insane. I know this because I drove them across Bruxellers this evenmign and I laughed so much I was crying. Luckily no traffic around. Last night we stayed with Mustafa's boyhood friend KEmel in chingfod. 2 moro we head for GErmany and the Swiss border. I can't get the laptop to work at the moment but its a small probelm to do with the battery - so should hopefully get ion line tommorrow somewhere. This is like a mobile politics seminar - everywhere you go there are political, cultural and other arguments being explored - tune in tune out - its absolultyey fascinating and a really powerful experience to be amongst a large group of peopl,e who share one thing - a determination to break the siege of GAZA. Time for beddy bies - its two am. Sleep tight to one and all. Sorry about the spelling - can't be bothered to correct it
ReplyDeletesounds like good fun!! Bruxelles cold?? remember to wear your thermals! good luck xxxx
ReplyDeleteOh Bob it must be amazing - you must be in political heaven if there is such a thing on earth - well there is now says CYLLA
ReplyDeleteLove love love xxxxClaire
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ReplyDeleteBob,
ReplyDeleteWe, at base camp, are all impatiently awating your next blog update. Our regards and salaams to the whole team.
yeah well its all very well all the political chit chat but can't anyone fix your computer so you can actually blog? We're sitting here like a group of stiffs stood up against a stool. where are you? what is happening? go well, Pete
ReplyDeletehi folks its Friday evening the 11th and we are on the ferry from ancona to Greece. We have just had a full convoy political meeting on deck - 170 people and a great atmosphere We head out to Thessaloniki 2moro where we will be welcomed by the mayor and a big rally. we are staying there for the weekend IN A BASEBALL COURT. We are being joined in turkey by 47 american lorries, 60 Turkish lorries, 4 Malaysian lorries etc. Apparently there will be a lot of press coverage from greece onwards (al Jazeera, press TV). Key messages are that the Egyptians attitude is hardening so we might not get in but that if that happens there will be lot of international coverage. Egypt is also fulfilling its role as faithful Israeli ally by building a wall ACROSS THE Rafah crossing with 18 foot deep foundations to stop the tunnels. Contract is with an american company. Could someone research this and let me know the name of the company?
ReplyDeleteWe are all doing fine. Vehicles are running well, but Headley had a minor accident in Italy yesterday with the police involved and we got randomly hassled as well by a couple of traffic officers - but basically everything very easy. Conditions will get harder from now on practically and possibly politically but there is also a much much higher level of awareness of the issues in Greece and turkey and Syria. We expect things to really challenging in Jordan and Egypt. When I heard the news about the Egyptian wall I was reminded of the great evil of the Warsaw ghetto. The parallels are obvious I think. Gloucester are in group F - 12 vehicles with a really good group leader, and Abi is the deputy . Abi got a mention in despatches in the meeting with Mustafa because they stayed behind in luxembourg with another vehicle to help with repairs and stayed with them for 3 days. Heroes!!!!! Headley and Mustafa are very funny (some would say insanely so) and Me Abi and Ahmed try our best to behave like adults. Signing off for a bit now as am starving. Will try and find the way to upload some photos later on this site. All love to everyone. The other thing to stress by the way is that we may get into a waiting game with the egyptians where they refuse to let us in in the hope that we will have to go home (for work etc) and they can wear us down. We'll need to discuss as a group our response to this and how long we can wait to get in . Personally I can't imagine going to all this trouble to let myself be defeated by regional alliances that are happy to consign a whole people to the scrapheap and turn a blind eye to sending them back to the stone age.
Hey Bob, I've got the hang of the blogging thing and now I can comment to my heart's content - and you have to read it! I can tell you about my cake baking, sock darning, make-up tips, all the things a modern, liberated girl needs to think about while one of her very good friends is off saving the world. I know that you've gone all political on us now, so someone has to stay behind and remind you what really matters in the world.xxxx
ReplyDeletein between the cake icing, have been doing some looking and it appears that the wall is being built by US army engineers, amongst others, but no-one is being clear about it and some US commentators/diplomats are saying that America knows nothing about it. There's quite a lot being said about it, though - even got into the Telegraph. Will keep you updated once I've read through the Sunday papers xx
ReplyDeletenow its the Sunday 13th. We've been in Thessalonian for a day. Greek society is very pro Palestinian so we were welcomed last night by the mayor of the suburb where we are staying, two agree MP's, and a Greek MEP, and a Palestinian community leader. We are staying in a huge basketball court in a working class suburb, so there was this 70's feel to the whole event - a platform at the front of the room, with all the speakers sitting in a line, and that very formal leftist protocol that I last came across when I was a member of the ligue communiste revolutionnaire in France in the 70's ! WE went out for a coffee last night and chatted to people who were all very supportive and seemed to have some knowledge of the situation in the Palestinian territories. This morning we had a police escort to drive all 100 vehicles into the centre of the city and rallied on the sea front. Lots of ambulance sirens, lights flashing, noise, people waving and all.......
ReplyDeleteThere are lots of conversations everywhere - political, theological, discussions about the rights of women, the role of marriage and I have made some friends I think. The Gloucester group are in good form and everyone getting on well and we are all really sad that Mustafa has to come bail from Istanbul. He's got an exam, but also feels as an Algerian that going to Egypt is a bit of a risk at the moment (something to do with football apparently!) He's one seriously nice geezer. Some of us are beginning to talk about what happens after the convoy and how we all keep in touch afterwards for political support and to keep ourselves active to repay the investment that the People of GAZA will be making by hosting us. We have to keep active raising consciousness about the issue. At the rally this morning, Kevin, the convoy leader made refere3nce to the fact that where were were there had been a massacre of the Jewish population of the city in 1943 under the Nazis. What a thread of abuse! The holocaust was most savage expression of racism that Europe has ever seen, and it is commonly used as an excuse or explanation for the actions of a racist Israeli state - The Palestinians have been paying the price for Europe's racism for 60 years and we are all responsible for doing what we can to bring about an equitable solution in the region. Rant over. Love from Abi, Bob, Mustafa, HEadley and Ahmed. Will next communicate from Istanbul
dad i heard there was some sort of accident with your vehicle??? please write to let us all know you are safe and sound!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeletewhite light love uuuu
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