VIVA PALESTINA CONVOY BREAKS SIEGE
AND ENTERS GAZA TO JUBILANT CROWDS
by Viva Palestina.org
Thursday 21st October 2010 - Amidst scenes of jubilation from thousands of
Palestinians there to greet the convoy, Kevin Ovenden, the convoy
director, expressed his joy at being in Gaza once again.
"We have driven
more than 3,000 miles to bring this essential aid and to break this
illegal siege of Gaza. We have been joined by supporters from Morocco
and Algeria and from the Gulf States and Jordan, to make this the
biggest convoy ever to break the siege of Gaza. We are absolutely
overjoyed to be here and to bring with us the soil from the graves of
those who were massacred on the Mavi Marmara which will be used to plant
trees as a memorial to their sacrifice."
The Viva Palestina convoy of almost 150 vehicles, 370 people
from 30
different countries and $5 million of aid has entered Gaza.
The convoy set out four weeks and five days ago from
London. It travelled through France, Italy, Greece, Turkey and Syria.
Everywhere the reception was fantastic and the generosity of
well-wishers unsurpassed. Towards the end there was a frustrating delay
in Syria whilst negotiations at the highest levels were conducted with
the Egyptian authorities. In the end it was all worth it as the Egyptian
authorities decided to allow passage of the whole convoy, sadly
excluding just 17 members of the convoy including George Galloway.
The convoy will be handed over in its entirety to the
relevant bodies tomorrow and the members of the convoy then expect to
leave Gaza and return home in the next 48 hours after celebrations and
formal thanks are given.
