There were six ships that time. I was a passenger on the Greek ship, the Sfedoni. There were about two dozen people on my ship, coming from all over the world. We left from a port in Athens. After a few days of sailing, we were on the high seas about 66 miles off the coast of Gaza, clearly conducting legal activities in international waters, when a few dozen Israeli soldiers jumped onboard, their faces covered with balaclavas, and took over the ship. They used tasers and kicked some of the people who were trying to protect the captain. We were put on planes and deported.
But the real tragedy happened on the big ship in our flotilla, the Mavi Marmara. The Israelis took over that ship violently, opening fire and killing nine Turks and one Turkish-American. It was a horrible tragedy, but once again, the Israelis were never held accountable.
After such a traumatic experience, why would you ever agree to go on another flotilla a year later, and then again in 2015? What does your wife say?
My wife is sympathetic but of course she worries about me. She asks why it has to be me. I tell her, "If not me, then who?" In any case, in both 2011 and 2015, our boats were not allowed to leave the ports in Athens and Crete because of the pressure the Israeli government put on the Greek government.
How are you feeling about your upcoming trip?
This trip is happening right after the protests called the Great March of Return, when so many people in Gaza were killed and wounded because they were demanding the right to return to the villages they were forced to flee in 1948. The Great March of Return is part of a 70-year struggle for the Palestinians' right to live in the ancestral lands their families left behind.
It is so sad that they are still protesting for this basic right and that the international community has done nothing to help them after so many years. Even worse, the US government facilitates the Israeli siege of Gaza by giving billions of dollars to the Israeli military every year.
The people are living in Gaza under miserable conditions. They have no ability to enter or leave their little strip of land. There are no airports, trains, buses, or ships to take people in and out. Medicines are in short supply. They only have electricity a few hours a day, so they swelter in the heat and freeze in the cold. Living under such extreme conditions, can you blame them for protesting? Then when they protest, they are gunned down for demanding to live with dignity. The Israelis claim they have to right to shoot peaceful protesters to protect their border. But I ask, "What is the Israeli border?" They have never defined it.
What do you hope to achieve on this trip?
I want to show the people of Gaza that we care, that we are willing to put our lives on the line for them. We are willing to face the risks that they face every day.
I hope we make it to Gaza but even if we don't, our effort will inspire the people there and help bring world attention to their cause.
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