New Events

International

no events posted in last week

Blog Feeds

Anti-Empire

Anti-Empire

offsite link North Korea Increases Aid to Russia, Mos... Tue Nov 19, 2024 12:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link Trump Assembles a War Cabinet Sat Nov 16, 2024 10:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link Slavgrinder Ramps Up Into Overdrive Tue Nov 12, 2024 10:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link ?Existential? Culling to Continue on Com... Mon Nov 11, 2024 10:28 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link US to Deploy Military Contractors to Ukr... Sun Nov 10, 2024 02:37 | Field Empty

Anti-Empire >>

The Saker

Indymedia ireland

Indymedia Ireland is a volunteer-run non-commercial open publishing website for local and international news, opinion & analysis, press releases and events. Its main objective is to enable the public to participate in reporting and analysis of the news and other important events and aspects of our daily lives and thereby give a voice to people.

offsite link Army Sergeant Travis Decker Murdered His Three Children After Being Denied Mental Health Care at JBL... Sat Jun 07, 2025 04:52 | JBLM Whistleblowers
A corrupt military police force and incompetent Commander who denied emergency mental health care and crisis counseling to an American service member resulted in the murder of the sergeant's three young daughters

offsite link Gaza doctor grieves her nine children killed in Israeli strike Sun May 25, 2025 20:00 | imc
Israeli regime continues it's slaughter
'The children were completely charred'

Paediatrician Alaa al-Najjar was treating victims of Israeli attacks when her children were killed by an Israeli strike on their home

offsite link British doctors working in Gaza describe territory as a ?slaughterhouse? Sat May 24, 2025 00:23 | imc
There?s no food getting in so people are starving,? surgeon Tom Potokar says
British doctors working in Gaza have described the territory as a ?slaughterhouse,? where the patients they are treating are severely malnourished.

Plastic surgeons and orthopedic specialists from the UK are based at the Amal and Nasser hospitals in Khan Younis in the south of the territory.

Dr. Tom Potokar, a plastic surgeon specializing in burn injuries, has worked in Gaza 16 times but said this mission had revealed a level of destruction far greater than his last visit in 2023,

offsite link It is time to talk about the Out of Control Immigration. Mon Mar 31, 2025 22:12 | imc
For the last few years since the CV19 scamdemic undocumented immigration into Ireland has surged. No one is allowed discuss it because they do not want any rational debate about it. If you do you are labelled an extremist. However this out of control immigration is fully facilitated by the Irish government and the EU and the shady figure behind the Neo Con movement pushing for endless war, wokeism and globalist agenda.

offsite link [Dublin] National Demonstration for Palestine: End Israeli Apartheid & Genocide Thu Mar 06, 2025 22:35 | ipsc
Sat, 22 March 2025, 13:00 Assemble at the Garden of Remembrance, Parnell Square, Dublin 1
The Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, supported by over 150 Irish civil society organisations, has called another National Demonstration for Palestine on Saturday 22nd March.

The march will begin at the Garden of Remembrance at 1pm and finish outside the D?il on Molesworth Street/Kildare Street to bring our demands to the Irish government?s doorstep.

The Saker >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link World Economic Forum?s Klaus Schwab ?Rigged Data? to Make Brexit Look Like Failure Mon Jul 21, 2025 15:14 | Will Jones
The World Economic Forum's Klaus Schwab has been accused of rigging research to make Brexit look like a failure, intervening in the WEF?s annual Global Competitiveness Report to push the UK down the rankings.
The post World Economic Forum’s Klaus Schwab “Rigged Data” to Make Brexit Look Like Failure appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Afghan Debacle in Camden Mon Jul 21, 2025 13:00 | Anonymous Local
A much-loved community centre in Camden was demolished and turned into a "ghetto" to house asylum seekers from Afghanistan, enraging locals. It?s a snapshot of how appallingly Britain is now governed.
The post Afghan Debacle in Camden appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link BP Replaces Pro-Net Zero Chairman Amid Return to Oil and Gas Mon Jul 21, 2025 11:23 | Will Jones
BP has replaced its pro-Net Zero chairman as it faces pressure from shareholders to switch its focus?away from renewables after its disastrous 2020 commitment to cut hydrocarbon output by 40%.
The post BP Replaces Pro-Net Zero Chairman Amid Return to Oil and Gas appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Dale Vince Collects Wind Farm Subsidies of ?145 Million Over 20 Years ? And Still Charges His Custom... Mon Jul 21, 2025 09:00 | Chris Morrison
Dale Vince has raked in ?145 million in wind farm subsidies, charges above the price cap and still can't make wind pay ? Chris Morrison isn't buying his 'cheapest energy' claim.
The post Dale Vince Collects Wind Farm Subsidies of ?145 Million Over 20 Years ? And Still Charges His Customers More Than the Ofgem Price Cap appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link The British State Is Finally Having to Listen to Indigenous Brits Mon Jul 21, 2025 07:00 | Laurie Wastell
Britain's two-tier justice system might not be fixed, says Laurie Wastell, but as public anger mounts, the state is at last starting to listen to the white majority.
The post The British State Is Finally Having to Listen to Indigenous Brits appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link Will intergovernmental institutions withstand the end of the "American Empire"?,... Sat Apr 05, 2025 07:15 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?127 Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:38 | en

offsite link Disintegration of Western democracy begins in France Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:00 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?126 Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:39 | en

offsite link The International Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism by Amichai Chikli and Na... Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:31 | en

Voltaire Network >>

The Road to Gaza

category international | rights, freedoms and repression | news report author Tuesday October 12, 2010 22:59author by Daniel O'Leary - Tipp2Gaza Report this post to the editors

Nenagh's finest, Joe and Seamus, write back from Syria on the Viva Palestina Convoy

On Thursday, September 16th, Joe Gilmartin and Seamus O’Nualláin left Tipperary with a van full of aid to drive 5000 km to Gaza.
Along with others from the north and the UK, they are part of the international VIva Palestina convoy of almost 200 vehicles, $3million of medical aid, and 400 people from 30 different countries, for the people of Gaza.
Having crossed through France, Italy, Greece and Turkey, the latest news is that that the convoy is waiting in Latakia, Syria, to get a ferry to Egypt and then travel into Gaza.
The Egyptian government is currently threatening not to allow them through.

Here is the diary that Joe and Seamus have sent back. To follow their progress go to facebook page “Tipp2Gaza”.
Seamus and Teresa Ferris, who visited the convoy in Latakia
Seamus and Teresa Ferris, who visited the convoy in Latakia

JOE'S DIARY
So far
So far the most enlightening thing has been this camp here in Latakia, where we’ve been for the last 3 days. It’s like a mini UN! There are all sorts here. There are Irish, Italian, French, Algerian, American, English, Muslims from Birmingham, atheist republicans, trade unionists: all united in the same goal to obtain justice for Palestinians. We’ve also met 2 Muslim converts on the trip, one called Muhammed Ali! And a French doctor who speaks 6 languages. The co-operation between the cultures and religions has been extraordinary. As has been the welcome we’ve received along the way.

Where is Latakia?
Latakia is a mediterranean port city in southern Syria. The convoy is parked next to a Palestinian refugee camp, by the beach. There’s over 400 of us staying in the camp, all broken up into different groups, and nationalities. There are 4 bunks in a room. I’m sharing with Seamus, Tony Upton (Belfast), and Fra Hughes. All our food is being donated by restaurants and businesses in the area. Breakfast, dinner and supper. The hospitality of people is humbling.

In general the Syrian people and Palestinians seem to get on well. There’s not any resentment, although you can see that the area of the refugee camp really lags behind the city. The weekly wage is only about 50 euro/week. And these are the people lucky enough to be in employment.

The Refugee Camp
Yesterday, we got a tour of the Palestinian refugee camp. We met some of the original refugees, part of the 700,000 Palestinians who in 1948 were driven from their homes to make way for the new state of Israel.
While the spirit of the people is strong, poverty is rampant, unemployment rate is over 50 %. Even though most people have been born in Syria, anybody we spoke to wants to go home to Palestine, which in this camp means the City of Haifa, in modern day Israel.

Culture shock
Drinking chai with Abu Hussan at a coffee stall. He has no English, but yet we can sit and pass time. The pace of life seems slower here. People seem to have more respect for each other.
I admit I would have had preconceptions about some of the Muslims, when you see fellas with large beards and dress-like gown!! But then you get talking to them, and you see another angle. In a way, you can see the attraction of religion, there are Muslims there from so many countries, yet they all fit in because of their common. A real surprise for me is that in that it’s not a dour thing, like I thought it would be.

2 days ago we also had a football International with a difference. A team of locals made up of Palestinian Refugees played a side made up of members of the viva convoy, from nearly 30 nations.

SEAMUS' DIARY
To me it’s been a huge eye opener. We thought we came with an open mind, but we didn’t have an open mind. The character of the people is extraordinary, as well as the camaraderie in the group, among people of all religions and none.

Ireland to Greece
After leaving Ireland, we travelled to Luton, where the UK vans were being loaded up. We were accommodated in a house given by a Pakistani man. Then we travelled to Bagnlolet in Paris, an area with a strong socialist ethos, with a large immigrant population. In Lyon too we received a huge reception. There are a lot of people of Algerian origin there. The French police gave us a right checking out on route to Italy, but we made it to Turin, where we stayed overnight, then onto Milan, a very beautiful city, the following morning. In most of these places the convoy drove around the town and created a bit of a stir.

From there we travelled to Ancona where we had a lovely ferry crossing to Greece. People in Greece were very supportive. We had a fairly long drive to Thessalonika, but we were at least very impressed by the motorway system. In Thessalonika we stopped for 2 days, there onto Alexandria, where we had a swim. After that we drove nonstop to Istanbul.

Turkey to Syria
Istanbul is a massive city of over 12 million people. The traffic was unbelievably chaotic. The reception was provided by IHH, a Turkish charitable organisation. Although criticised in some quarters, IHH has been very active in Haiti and in Pakistan. It is a very effective and motivated group.

We got an unbelievably welcome in Turkey. Some of vehicles needed serious repair. The Turks fixed all the vans for FREE.

It was when we were leaving Turkey that I became sick. I had a temperature, high blood pressure, and a lot more besides. They put me on a sleeping bag on the floor of one of the busses. I was out for 4 days, and I honestly thought the trip was over. There were probably many reasons for it, the hard driving, the long hours, getting dehydrated.

What now?
Everyone is quite frustrated at the moment. We have been here in Latakia in Syria for nearly a week. In that time more vehicles have arrived, and a lot more aid has been donated. The Jordanians have just sent 40 brand new Hyundai vans which have been filled with aid. There’s also a refridgerated lorry with chemicals to treat cancer patients. There are over 150 vehicles. 40 have gone to the port today, as a signal that we are ready to depart. But while we have all this aid to deliver to Gaza, we’re still playing footsie with the Egyptian authorities, for no logical reason other than that Egypt is appeasing Israel and the United States.

When we finally depart, we will plan to pass by the spot and lay wreaths on the sea where the Turkish ship, the Mavi Marmara, was attacked by Israeli commandos in May.

The Irish members have raised over $50,000 in aid and donations from private individuals, family and friends. This is a remarkable figure. When our 5 vehicles filled with aid arrive in Gaza, the Irish flag will fly proudly once again in Palestine.

Keep up the support, as it continues to be an inspiration and motivation to everyone here.

Ireland to Gaza page
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=238347355199&v=info#!/group.php?gid=238347355199

Tipp2Gaza page
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=238347355199&v=info#!/group.php?gid=118483754864995

Antrim to Gaza page
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=238347355199&v=info#!/group.php?gid=141567582533142

Related Link: http://www.vivapalestina.org/home.htm

Joe and some locals from the Palestinian refugee camp in Latakia
Joe and some locals from the Palestinian refugee camp in Latakia

the tipp2gaza van
the tipp2gaza van

l'état, c'est moi. Joe in Lyon
l'état, c'est moi. Joe in Lyon

Caption: Video Id: CxSz3TGK3bU Type: Youtube Video
Report from the Syrian Port of Latakia


author by TD - Act For Palestinepublication date Tue Oct 12, 2010 23:56author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Heartening to read, Daniel, Joe's and Seamus's diary of conscience in action, for they inspire all in Ireland with humanitarian values and further afield to strive further for Palestine.

author by Mrs Murphypublication date Thu Oct 14, 2010 12:49author address author phone Report this post to the editors

As an Irishwoman (living in London) and a Muslim, it's lovely to read about the Irish humanitarian efforts for Palestine. God bless you and protect you all.

author by opus diablos - the regressive hypocrite partypublication date Thu Oct 14, 2010 13:36author address author phone Report this post to the editors

According to al jazeera today Syria had a word in the cluas. Not there yet, but move on. Apparently the next flotilla is deferred till March.

Meantime, back at the bulldozer, the lobbyists are cranking the media case to ensure Palestine gets the blame(all the usual Krauthammers delivering the formulaic shock)for the refusal of the Netenyahoo 'peace with ongoing plantation' ostrich to get airborne.

 
© 2001-2025 Independent Media Centre Ireland. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by Independent Media Centre Ireland. Disclaimer | Privacy