There is news that cannot be told, but that it is necessary to support with all your strength. That of the “Global Sumud Flotilla” is one of these, and we at Greenme are proud to act as a megaphone to this extraordinary civil mobilization. The largest ever organized for Gaza.
The news is that on August 31st, the first Italian branch of the international fleet will sail from the port of Genoa which aims to break the Israeli naval block, in progress since 2007, to deliver vital humanitarian aid. An action of hope to which Italy responds present, with a second departure scheduled for Sicily on September 4, simultaneously with the boats that will give up the moorings from Tunisia.
Italy joins the largest naval civil mobilization ever organized for Gaza. The news is that on August 31st the first Italian branch of the “Global Sumud Flotilla” will sail on 31 August, the international fleet that aims to break the Israeli naval block, in progress since 2007, to deliver vital humanitarian aid. A second departure from our country is scheduled for Sicily on September 4, simultaneously with the boats that will give up the moorings from Tunisia.
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The operation sees civil society of 44 countries taking on a mission of nonviolent disobedience in the face of what United Nations call an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. The departure from Genoa is not an isolated gesture, but part of a global convoy that will also take the sea from Barcelona and Valencia on August 31st. On board the dozens of vessels there will be no weapons, but food, medicines, school material and above all people: over 15,000 registered volunteers, including doctors, journalists, lawyers and activists.
From Zerocalcare to Greta Thunberg, a network of global solidarity
In Genoa, the mobilization is concrete. Thanks to the commitment of reality such as Music for Peace and the autonomous collective port workers (Calp), a collection started to stow 45 tons of food on the boats. The initiative has received strong support from the world of Italian culture and entertainment, necessary to keep media attention high. Among the many, the cartoonist Zerocalcare, the historian Alessandro Barbero, the actors Alessandro Gassman and Claudio Santamaria and musicians such as Fiorella Mannoia and Subsonica expressed their support. These are joined by international faces such as the climatic activist Greta Thunberg, who participates in his second mission after the one intercepted in June, and the actors Susan Sarandon, Mark Ruffalo and Liam Cunningham.
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Sumud: the strength of nonviolent resilience
The Arab word chosen for the mission, “Sumud”, means “resilience” and defines the nature of the action: a peaceful resistance that opposes a total siege. “Each boat represents a community and the refusal to remain silent in front of the genocide,” the coalition promoters write.
The organizers know they don’t have an easy task. Previous attempts to force the blockade, such as the “Madleen” and “Handala” ships missions, were stopped by the Israeli army in international waters. However, the scale of this operation and the public pressure generated are considered a potentially decisive factor. The fleet, born from the union of initiatives such as the Freedom Flotilla Coalition and the global movement for Gaza, is structured to be logistically resilient, with multiple departures from different points in the Mediterranean.
Not only aid: a request for rights and dignity
The fundamental point, reiterated by the organizers, is that the action is not purely humanitarian, but intrinsically political. “The ship will be full of people, words, art. We have no missiles, we have hands. And those hands bring food, care, dignity,” said a spokesman for the international collective on board the “Nadir” ship, departing from Spain. The mission intends to force, visually and materially, a corridor of humanity. As Maria Elena Delia, spokesman for the Italian delegation: “The Palestinian people do not need to be saved. He can save themselves. We are only listening to what he asks, and what he asks is that his rights are respected: the right to live, the right to feed himself, the right to be free with dignity”.
We at Greenme we are there!
Faced with humanitarian crises of this reach, silence makes accomplices. For this, we have chosen to tell the Global Sumud Flotilla not with the distance of the reporter, but with the participation of those who share the cause. We do it because we believe that in the face of certain injustices, information has the duty to take sides on the side of rights and nonviolence. Our way of acting is to give voice to those who act, breaking that sense of helplessness that often makes us feel only spectators. For this, we will be megaphone of the mission, to make sure that his message of peace and resilience will arrive strong and clear.
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