Food. Medicine. Shelter. Freedom of movement. Water. Air.
Six bases for the survival of any human being and yet, in the last 23 months, we have watched with horror the apartheid Israel, supported by some of the most powerful governments in the world, stole the people of Gaza of these basic necessities for survival.
With a lot in the world, we have walked, spoken, boycotted – reflecting the feelings of the world’s majority. But that was not enough to put pressure on world governments to stop the headquarters of Israel in Gaza and ensure that a genocide, occurring in real time, is ended.
Although we cannot deliver the six bases listed above, we hope to break the blockade and deliver food, drugs and water to a besieged and hungry population. This is the mission of the world Flotilla Sumud (GSF).
The GSF is the largest mission of the humanitarian flotilla led by citizens in Gaza, combining previous humanitarian missions in Gaza on land, sea and air. It is based on decades of Palestinian resistance and international solidarity. It includes activists, humanitarian workers, doctors, artists, clergy and lawyers – who have all gathered to take direct measures to break the seat.
The South African delegation includes 10 people from across the country and from different horizons: Christians, Muslims, Jews, agnostics and united atheists with a common goal of helping Gaza.
Our efforts are closely aligned with the provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on January 26, 2024, and its subsequent orders of March 28 and May 24, 2024, within the framework of the South African affair against Israel. In the provisional decision, the CIJ specifically obliged Israel to take all measures in its power to allow the provision of humanitarian assistance necessary for Gaza.
However, as South Africa has always pointed out in its plea in court and in its role as leadership as co -president and founding member of the Hague group, Israel did not respect these orders. The worsening of the humanitarian disaster in Gaza clearly shows that we cannot remain silent in the face of such impunity.
This is why people of conscience began to organize fleets managed by the base to try to break the illegal Israeli seat on Gaza.
On June 9, Israeli forces intercepted the Madleen ship with humanitarian aid in international waters. Just over a month later, on July 25, the Israeli occupation forces intercepted Handala, another ship carrying supplies, around 70 naval miles (130 km) from Gaza, still in international waters.
Although we were able to make sure that the activists on board returned home, some have endured physical assault and trauma in the hands of Israeli military forces, which constitute crimes and must be the subject of an investigation. Apartheid Israel has prevented food and essential drugs on board from reaching Gaza, continuing its medieval seat, which is equivalent to a crime against humanity.
With this story of activists’ attempts to break the headquarters of Gaza, there are those who are asking, why do you think you will succeed where others have failed before?
To this, we answer: our democracy has been won by a small measure with the solidarity of the conscientious people of the world which boycotted, ceded and demanded that South Africa in apartheid be sanctioned. In this sense, navigation on the GSF is the right and human action to be taken.
We protested, we boycotted, we demanded the disinvestment of our institutions and we put pressure on governments to impose sanctions. The GSF mission is part of this continuous action.
Although many nations have the capacity to sanction Israel and even authorize the military intervention to end the genocide in progress, they did almost nothing beyond the rhetorical declarations. Although we congratulate the South African government for taking apartheid Israel to the CIJ for genocide crime, we also note that South African companies continue to export coal that feeds genocide. So far, our government has ignored our requests to impose a coal embargo.
We sail on the GSF not only to maintain the pressure but also to maintain hope. To lose hope is to abandon the inhabitants of Gaza and abandon them to an evil regime. Having a conscience requires that we do not lose hope.
Part of our strength is that the movement for justice and human rights develops as more and more people recognize that it is not a war but a genocide. This time, there is not a flotilla but more than 50 of more than 40 countries.
This important mission is made up of hundreds of people of good conscience of the whole world determined to break the seat and expose the famine provided by the Palestinians by Israel. We can be a delegation of only 10 from South Africa, but we represent the majority of South Africans. Therefore, we sail with confidence because our people will monitor us and we wish because ours is a just mission.
We may be a few hundred in the GSF mission, but we are part of a world majority that looked at the live genocide directed by Israel. As South Africans, as a citizens who want a better and fair world, we travel to the GSF, noting, as the Colombian President Gustavo Petro Urrego wrote in a letter to the flotilla, “Peace is not a utopia, but an obligation”.
The opinions expressed in this article are the own authors and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Tel Aviv Tribune.