Saturday, August 9, 2008

We brave death to break the Gaza siege

Press TV producer and presenter Yvonne Ridley talks to George Galloway from a gulf in Greek waters. Yvonne and her fellow peace activists are sailing to Gaza to break the Israeli blockade of the coastal strip and deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians.

George Galloway: Why is she in a Greek gulf? Is she sheltering from a storm to come? However, she cannot shelter from the storms still to come because they are to sail all the way to Gaza.

May God go with them and certainly, they have the highest hopes of all good people from all around the world. Here, we have Yvonne Ridley as the first caller on Comment this evening. Hello Yvonne Ridley welcome to Comment on Press TV. You are sheltering from a storm was it a typhoon or what?

Yvonne Ridley: No, we have got two boats: the Free Gaza and the Liberty that are sailing towards Cyprus and the trip has been delayed because of high winds, and so I, myself flew to a secret destination to link up with the boats to film the whole voyage for Press TV. Everything is shrouded in secrecy because of course Israel has a history of trying to scupper these little ventures. So that's why I am secretive at the moment about our exact location, as my mother used to say, "Loose lips sink ships".

George Galloway: Yes exactly, now you have a secret weapon on board and that is the sister-in-law of Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, Lauren Booth. She is of course a great supporter of the Palestinian people. That's quiet an achievement to get her on board.

Yvonne Ridley: Yes, she is a great fan. She is like you George. She shoots from her lips, and she speaks the truth and she's actually thrown the challenge to Tony Blair, because of course he tried to get into Gaza and backed off when the intelligent services in Israel told him that he could be a target. She said to him come onboard the ship, have the guts to sail with us to break the siege of Gaza.

George Galloway: Well, Yvonne you have, as I say, the best wishes of everyone watching this, all your friends around the world. It is a very brave thing that you are doing. What are the chances of you steaming into the harbor in Gaza? It would be such a lift to the people there.

Yvonne Ridley: It would be terrific. Nearly 40 activists from nearly 20 countries around the world including an 83-year-old Holocaust survivor, Hedy Epstein, have joined us. We are all determined that we are not going to be stopped. They can try every trick in the book. They are trying international diplomacy. They are trying to bully different governments. They are trying also to stop us from going ahead. We are determined through hell and high waters to sail into Gaza. There are tens of thousands of people expected to come on the beaches to greet us. In short, George unless the Israelis are trying to blow us up on the waters, we are not going to stop. Both skippers on these boats are Irish because we know the determination of Irish. So I think we have got a good chance of doing it

George Galloway: well it seems that you have got the winds in your sails. You have the prayer of the good people of the world. May God go with you! We look forward to seeing you touching the sands of Gaza, lifting the hearts and the spirits of the besieged people there. Thank you very much Yvonne Ridley of Press TV!

1 comment:

Joobin Zarvan said...

The dream to see, one day, a free and peaceful Palestine is certainly real, just as your collective actions are. The hope exists, and that counts for a waking dream. One bolstered up by a strong will that transcends the fear that makes us give in. You see, the day breaks and the sky lights up only when we're well into the darkest moments of night...And so will be the dawn of freedom for those in Gaza...Way to go Yvonne and Friends ! More power to you all !! Sail on in peace !!