On April the 20th 2010, a group of 100 individuals from the UK hope to take part in a boat convoy to the besieged GAZA strip Inshallah.
Most of us are veterans of two previous convoys with Viva Palestina who managed to break the siege with vehicles filled with aid to GAZA in March 09 and January 10. On the recent convoy we were very honoured to travel with a large group from INSANI YARDIM VAKFI an Islamic Turkish Charity and human rights organisation which is recognised by the United Nations
http://www.ihh.org.tr/12/en/
During our travels with I.H.H. we became increasingly impressed with their organisational abilities, their commitment and the fact that they had the support of their government behind them.
Now, I.H.H. have given us the chance to co-operate with them in a boat convoy, we hope to have one hundred experienced convoyers from the U.K. on board one of the 5 ships that they are purchasing, to travel as part of an international flotilla the first time that such an enterprise has been attempted. We want YOU to be part of that success.
We need to form a cohesive group in the U.K. We need 100 volunteers preferably from those who have been on previous convoys, who all have the same goal in mind and that is to help alleviate the suffering of the people of GAZA in any small way we can, even though this time we are not thinking small instead of a vehicle of medicines we plan to take cargo boats full of supplies denied to GAZANS under the blockade. Although our volunteers will be from Manchester, Bradford, Birmingham and London with many other cities in between we all need to work together completely unselfishly so that we can raise money to cover the expenses of a boat and to fill it with important cargo. To achieve this we all need to realise there is no place for "prima donnas" in this organisation, that each and every one of us is bringing a particular skill that is needed by the whole group to achieve our objective. Every individual on this boat will be picked for their ability to work unselfishly together as part of a team.
We need people to work in groups in each town, some will be on the boat and some will be helping with the fund raising here in the U.K. overall we need to know about every event that is arranged so that we can be co-ordinated.
On the 12th - 14th of March two of the directors of I.H.H. who already travelled with us on the previous convoy, will be coming to the U.K. The reason for their visit here is to see what we have managed to achieve so far and how we can work together with them on future projects. We must must MUST all work hard in an exceptionally short space of time to give them the best impression possible of unity and of purpose, we may only have this one chance to prove to them that the British can work together to do something good, after all Britain has a lot to make up for when you think of past errors like the Balfour agreement, the Iraq war and other invasions, we need to work twice as hard and be twice as good to show that the majority of Britains are good and caring people Inshallah.
Today Shak is preparing 10,000 leaftlets to kick off the fund raising campaign and Inshallah we will have a website up and running with all the details plus application forms for those wishing to register to take part today or tomorrow Inshallah. Anyone with skills that could be usefull whether it be I.T. art work, publicity, fund raising, networking, we desperately need your skills. We need to mobilise all the troops to get into the mosques, the community centres, the local shops and busineses and raise the profile of this convoy. We need every shop, every business in the neighbourhood to know about this project, and we need YOUR help of achieve it. Every workplace tell your colleagues Muslim or non Muslim, those of you who have been to GAZA it is your duty to spread the message of what you have seen there. Tell them what we managed to achieve before and how this time we are planning a HUGE amount of aid that will make a difference to the lives of a lot of people in GAZA. We need people to dig deep into their pockets to make this convoy a huge success. Raising the profile of this convoy locally and nationally will be a support to us, everyone should feel involved in achieving it's success, everyone should be following the story on the T.V. and on the internet, we ask everyone to support us and contact the local news papers and the local radio to inform them of this mission and especially when we leave that they make a loud noise if the Israelis try to block our progress. We need the eyes of the people in the community and all of the way up to national level watching what happens to our convoy so that the realities of life and GAZA and the Israeli aggression and Israeli/Egytian oppression is revealed on every radio station every T.V. channel and in every newspaper.
Do you have local press contacts?
Can you start a blog about the GAZA BOAT CONVOY?
Never before has such a valuable cargo been carried into GAZA! We aim to take building materials, the bricks the cement and building equipment which the Israeli and Egyptian governments have denied the people of GAZA. We want to take equipment so that people can make things and work to support themselves making items to sell that they are unable to get in GAZA  under the blockade, we need to give these people the chance of a bit of dignity, the Gazans are the last who will put out their hands and beg for money, they are proud people who only want the chance and most of all the FREEDOM to be able to support themselves. Those dignified/hospitabl e/humble GAZANS who spent another winter living in tents in refugee camps and in tents pitched beside the bombed out rubble of their homes, whilst their so called brothers and sisters and the free world looks the other way.
Don't delay in contacting us so that we can connect you to the team working in your community to achieve this GAZA BOAT CONVOY Inshallah. We need your help and we need it URGENTLY!
Birmingham = Shakiel 07772000297
London = Laura 07814135897
Bradford = Sid 07970666656
Manchester = Muz 047912218012