Why we are sailing to Gaza on the Global Sumud Flotilla

Food. Medication. Shelter. Freedom of movement. Water. Air.

Six basics for the endurance of immoderate quality being and yet, for the past 23 months, we person watched with fearfulness arsenic apartheid Israel, backed by immoderate of the astir almighty governments successful the world, has robbed the radical of Gaza of these basal necessities for survival.

Together with galore successful the world, we person marched, spoken up, boycotted – reflecting the sentiments of the planetary majority. But this has not been capable to unit satellite governments to halt Israel’s siege connected Gaza and guarantee that a genocide, occurring successful existent time, is enactment to an end.

While we are incapable to present each six of the basics listed above, we anticipation to interruption the blockade and present food, medicine and h2o to a besieged and starving population. This is the ngo of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF).

The GSF is the largest citizen-led humanitarian flotilla ngo to Gaza ever, combining erstwhile humanitarian missions to Gaza implicit land, oversea and air. It builds connected decades of Palestinian absorption and planetary solidarity. It includes activists, humanitarians, doctors, artists, clergy and lawyers – each of whom person travel unneurotic to instrumentality nonstop enactment to interruption the siege.

The South African delegation includes 10 radical coming from each implicit the state and from antithetic backgrounds: Christians, Muslims, Jews, agnostics and atheists agreed successful a communal extremity of bringing assistance to Gaza.

Our efforts are intimately aligned with the provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) connected January 26, 2024, and its consequent orders from March 28 and May 24, 2024, arsenic portion of the lawsuit of South Africa vs Israel. In the provisional ruling, the ICJ specifically required Israel to instrumentality each measures wrong its powerfulness to alteration the proviso of urgently needed humanitarian assistance successful Gaza.

Yet, arsenic South Africa has consistently highlighted successful its advocacy earlier the tribunal and successful its enactment relation arsenic co-chair and founding subordinate of The Hague Group, Israel has to day failed to comply with these orders. The worsening humanitarian catastrophe successful Gaza makes it wide that we cannot stay soundless successful the look of specified impunity.

That is wherefore radical of conscience started organising grassroots-run flotillas successful an effort to interruption the amerciable Israeli siege connected Gaza.

On June 9, Israeli forces intercepted the Madleen vas carrying humanitarian assistance successful planetary waters. A small much than a period later, connected July 25, the Israeli concern forces intercepted the Handala, different vessel carrying supplies, astir 70 nautical miles (130km) from Gaza, again successful planetary waters.

While we were capable to guarantee that the activists connected committee returned home, immoderate endured carnal assaults and trauma astatine the hands of the Israeli subject forces, which represent crimes and request to beryllium investigated. Apartheid Israel prevented the much-needed nutrient and medicines connected committee from reaching Gaza, continuing its medieval siege, which amounts to a transgression against humanity.

With this past of activists’ attempts astatine breaking the siege of Gaza, determination are those who volition ask, wherefore bash you deliberation that you volition win wherever others person failed before?

To this we answer: Our ideology was won by nary tiny measurement with solidarity from the conscientious radical of the satellite who boycotted, divested and demanded that apartheid South Africa beryllium sanctioned. In this sense, sailing connected the GSF is the close and humane enactment to take.

We person protested, we person boycotted, we person demanded divestment from our institutions and we person pressured governments to enforce sanctions. The GSF ngo is portion of this continued action.

Although galore nations person the capableness to authorisation Israel and adjacent authorise subject involution to extremity the ongoing genocide, they person done astir thing beyond rhetorical statements. While we commend the South African authorities for taking apartheid Israel to the ICJ for the transgression of genocide, we besides instrumentality enactment that South African companies proceed to export ember that fuels the genocide. So far, our authorities has ignored our demands to enforce a ember embargo.

We are sailing connected the GSF not lone to support up the unit but besides to prolong hope. To suffer anticipation is to springiness up connected the radical of Gaza and surrender them to an evil regime. Having a conscience demands that we bash not suffer hope.

Part of our spot is that the question for justness and quality rights is increasing arsenic much and much radical recognise that this is not a warfare but a genocide. This clip around, determination is not 1 flotilla but over 50 from much than 40 countries.

This important ngo is comprised of hundreds of radical of bully conscience from each implicit the satellite determined to interruption the siege and assistance exposure Israel’s planned starvation of the Palestinians. We whitethorn beryllium a delegation of lone 10 from South Africa, but we correspond the bulk of South Africans. We, therefore, sail with assurance arsenic our radical volition beryllium watching and wishing america good due to the fact that ours is simply a conscionable mission.

We whitethorn beryllium a fewer 100 connected the GSF mission, but we are portion of a planetary bulk who person been watching the livestreamed genocide carried retired by Israel. As South Africans, arsenic citizens who privation a amended and conscionable world, we question connected the GSF, noting, arsenic Colombian President Gustavo Petro Urrego wrote successful a missive to the flotilla, “Peace is not a utopia, but an obligation.”

The views expressed successful this nonfiction are the authors’ ain and bash not needfully bespeak Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.