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Scottish Medical Aid Convoy
(Jusice for Palestine)
Monday 8 March,
00:00am
The Scottish convoy taking desperately-needed medical aid supplies
to Gaza entered the besieged territory via the Rafah crossing on
Saturday afternoon with four 7.5 ton trucks, four transit vans,
an ambulance and a jeep. The volunteers - from Scotland and Preston
beat the huge Viva Palestina convoy (200+ vehicles, led by George
Galloway MP and Yvonne Ridley) who are still stuck in El-Arich after
having been turned away from the borders at Rafah-crossing early
on Sunday afternoon.
Bruce Whitehead (freelance journalist), a volunteer driver on the
Scottish convoy, had earlier reported that shellz fired by Israeli
fighter jets, exploded only a few hundred metres from the convoy
- just around the time when the convoy vehicles entered Gaza on
Saturday.
Abdul Aziz, a driver and a spokesperson on the convoy, said that
t he medical supplies they were carrying have been handed directly
over to the Al-Shifa hospital, the largest in Gaza. Keys to the
aid (7.5 ton) trucks have also been handed over to the hospital
authorities. He describes conditions in the hospital as "very
desperate", saying that a doctor from Manchester (working at
the hospital) had told him that people were dying due to the lack
of medicine that would only cost around £10.
But Abdul Aziz takes a very spiritually-uplifting outlook for the
days ahead. He says:
"I hope that a lasting memory for the people of Gaza will be
the knowledge that these people travelled thousands of miles across
two continents to bring aid to the besieged people of Gaza, and
the knowledge that people on the other side of the world cared about
them."
Saair Yildirim, a driver from Bristol who joined up with the Scottish
convoy, after setting out independently with his ambulance, agreed
that the reception in Gaza had been "tremendous." He expresses
his shock and horror after witnessing at first-hand, the wreckage
of ambulances, destroyed by Israeli fire (during the onslaught earlier
this year).
Bruce Whitehead adds:
"The welcome we have received from the Hamas Government could
not have been better. We travelled through the cold of eastern Europe
to the warmth of the Arab world. It's good to have finally hand-delivered
these much-needed medical supplies to the besieged people of Gaza."
*The Scottish Aid Convoy sends its' best wishes to the Viva Palestina
convoy and stands in total solidarity with them after hearing reports
of their entry into Gaza (via Rafah-crossing) was refused by the
Egyptian authorities on Sunday. The Scottish Aid Convoy anxiously
awaits the arrival of their comrades and counterparts of Viva Palestina
on the opposite side of the Rafah-crossing.
End the siege of Gaza! Allow the medicines through!
Salaams,
I had no idea we were in a race, but I know they wanted to rush
people through Rafah the day before we arrived, so well done.
You took the high road but the Viva Palestina low road journey was
the one which captured the headlines!
As they say in some circles, it's the second mouse that gets the
cheese.
Best of luck in all of your endeavours, stay safe.
Yvonne Ridley
Scottish
Medical Aid Convoy leave Glasgow
20/02/2009
The convoy will pass George Sq. and head down towards London . The
Scottish aid convoy will be joined by volunteers and convoys from
Lancashire and West Yorkshire . From London the convoy will continue
on its' epic journey - of over 3000 miles across mainland Europe
. The Scottish aid convoy is expected to link up with George Galloway's
convoy "Viva Palestina" at the Rafah/Gaza crossing. The
convoy is leaving under the banner of “Justice for Palestine”.
Akhtar Khan
said “This task had originally started simply because of the
fact that the Scottish people could not stand back and watch innocent
women and children being massacred and suffer excruciating pain
from severe injuries before and especially now in the aftermath
of this recent war in Gaza. This Scottish humanitarian aid mission
was orchestrated mainly from Glasgow, and very quickly it expanded
far and wide. The aid convoy consists mainly of urgently needed
medical supplies. The project started sometime before the recent
onslaught in Gaza (on 27th Dec. 2008), but after the Israeli Blitz
the humanitarian cause gathered unprecedented momentum.”
“Volunteers
and professionals from a myriad of different backgrounds offered
their time, skills and support. One evening recently, there were
upto fifty volunteers sorting out, packaging/re-packaging the medical
aid into boxes and loading them into the 7.5ton trucks. Leading
heart surgeons and local pharmacists working alongside students
and young people, sorting out medicines, is truly representative
of the caring and hardworking nature of Scottish people.”
Rizi Mohammed,
Scottish Medical Aid to Gaza Co-ordinator comments, “Bonnie
Scotland shines brightly again as the brightest beacon of hope through
this collective effort, on an international level, as a true caring
nation. Although unprecedented, generosity of this magnitude could
only have come from people who are blessed with a tender heart and
from a caring, multi-cultural, multi-faith community. This vital,
life-saving medical aid convoy will travel across Europe and the
Middle East , with the journey taking around 14-18 days. We are
truly indebted from the depths of our hearts, to the very decent
caring people of Scotland .”
Bolton
Viva Palestina convoy driver Imran Manjra
has been writing a blog and uploading his photos to his website
when possible along the route - His
latest posting can be viewed here.
