UPDATED #2 VIVA PALESTINA~DERRY TO GAZA UPDATE 5 JANUARY

What he is referring to is this from Alice Howard:

My last message to all of you was that the Viva Palestina convoy members have arrived into Al-Arish and were just hours away from breaking the siege of Gaza.

Now, I report to you that in the past hour 157 Viva Palestina convoy members passports were taken away at Al-Arish airport by the Egyptian authorities. The Egyptians also removed the passport’s of British MP George Galloway and convoy leader Kevin Ovenden.

All passports were stamped in on entry but also received an exit stamp too. The Egyptian’s wanted 157 convoy members to drive tonight to Gaza and forget about the other 400 Viva Palestina volunteers that were yet to fly into Al-Arish tonight.

Egyptian authorities say that the 400 volunteers would not be allowed entry! Convoy members started a sit down riot and refused to move or leave without their fellow convoy Brothers and Sisters!

I am now pleased to say that all passports have been returned back to their rightful owners and exit stamps have been removed – We won that battle! – Now convoy members are scouting for hotels for tonight and will return tomorrow to be reunited with all convoy members, before moving on, to pick up their vehicles and head for their final destination, Gaza!

Well as you can see that the situation is changing by the hour and I am now calling for all of you to gather at Egyptian Embassies, consulates and interests tomorrow. It will be either to shame the Egyptian government for blocking the convoy further or to celebrate Viva Palestina entering Gaza and organising further solidarity.

Viva Palestina convoy will fight all the way to deliver the aid to Gaza!
Alice Howard
information@vivapalestine.org

http://irish4palestine.blogspot.com/2010/01/2-viva-palestinaderry-to-gaza-update-5.html

HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

In this past Summer of 2009 ,many in our community were working hard collecting money so needed medical supplies would be bought and send to help our people in the Gaza Stripe .More than $1.2 were collected according to the leadership of Viva Palestina. According to those same leaders only $245,000.00 (less than 20% ) were used to buy medical supplies .Since late July ,the local leaders of this effort have been dragging their feet trying to get the National Viva Palestina leadership explain were the rest of the money went .
Some of this local leadership is spear heading an effort of collecting funds so they can help Palestinian Refugees who were forced to leave Iraq, and who are coming to resettle in the United States. Over $65,000.00 in cash were collected so far , 3 cars and tens of Thousands of Dollars worth of used and new furniture and clothing’s .An internet wish list was established and our people and their friends got on their keyboards and showed their willingness to help the new comers.
Unfortunately, the same tactics that were used in getting our community to donate for Viva Palestina effort are being used for this project by the same leaders. Your mail box(es) are filled with coded messages that emphasis on the need for Emergency funds to help resettle the refugees .Thousands of dollars are coming in ,but some of the refugees are still calling in crying they do not have bread in their new homes so they can feed their kids.
Many attempts were taken to try to understand where this effort is heading ,and were the money being collected will be used since it’s not used to provide bread for the refugees ,but all these attempts were blocked .After more than three months of collecting money ,they are still calling for emergency fundraising .Were is the money going ? Is it being paid for office and staff, like Viva Palestina? Or is it going to be used for the reason people are told it will be used for? Unfortuantly no one knows, but we need to know, because it will be a shame if some small percentage of these thousands is used like in Viva Palestina .The money is there so who could explain why at least two out of the 4 families in San Diego called in crying for bread. Why assistance agencies whose only work is to help the refugees are being trashed by these people and community based organizations are asked not to help if the help was not to be credited for this leadership? Why many of our community leaders are shying away from this secretive always in emergency mode effort ,even though no tangible financial support for the refugee families has taken place here or anywhere else in the US. Why other communities are taking care of the refugees on their own and are not getting any financial support from the people who collected more than $65.000.00 so far.
There are many questions that needed to be answered by this always in an emergency mode leadership .They need to open up the books to all and tell us how much they collected so far, how much they spend and on what .We need to know how much cash they gave each the refugee families .Once they do this if they ever do it, we all will know that we are being subjected to another Viva Palestina fiasco led by some of the same people.
http://wewillreturn.blogspot.com/

Viva Palestina Convoy in Greece

The Third Viva Palestina convoy has now reached Greece and is currently driving through snow and fog in the mountains on route to Thessaloniki.

You can follow the convoy on various websites including

www.vivapalestina.org
http://readingpsc.org.uk/convoy/
http://twitter.com/viva_palestina
http://twitter.com/georgegallowayImportant notice to those joining the convoy in Turkey

All registered Viva Palestina volunteers who are joining the convoy in Turkey, please can you contact Amena Saleem on 07703100772. Amena will be your point of contact for Turkey and will be able to advise you on the meetings points.

Please do contact Amena as soon as possible, and please do remember to state your VRN Number at the point of your call.

For all other registered Viva Palestina volunteers who are joining at the last meeting point in Damascus, please do remember that you will require a visa to enter Syria. This can be easily obtained from the Syrian Embassy in London http://syremb.com/
Requirements for a Syrian Visa Application
A passport (must be valid for six months on submission and have at least two blank pages & should not bear any Israeli stamps)
Letter from current employer on headed note paper confirming employment and current position
2 colour passport photographs
2 Syrian visa forms (per person) to be completed and signed
For postal applications, a registered or recorded self-addressed envelope with exact postage must be enclosed
Visa Fees (check the website)

Third Viva Palestina aid convoy sets off for Gaza

Video from Press TV. Sadly, unlikely to see many reports in the UK media - unless someone gets arrested for being a 'terrorist'.

Around 200 peace activists have left the UK on a humanitarian mission to Gaza. The Viva Palestina convoy, organised by prominent politician George Galloway, is carrying medical aid to a people under Israeli economic siege. The convoy aims to arrive in Gaza on December 27, the anniversary of Israel's war on Gaza. Roshan Muhammed Salih reports from London.


Here's a report from a local paper in London on the convoy's departure.
http://gazasolidarity.blogspot.com/