The Voyage to Gaza

On Saturday 23 August two boats of the Free Gaza Movement arrive in Gaza after months of secret preparations. The SS Free Gaza and SS Liberty set sail from the Port of Larnaca in Cyprus, 30 hours earlier, crewed by 46 international activists, amongst them artists, journalists and an 81 year old nun.

In June 2007 Israel stepped up its blockades of the Gaza strip, after the Islamist movement Hamas won the elections. Today, 1.3 million Palestinians are de facto held prisoners on a strip of land that measures 40 km by 10 km, making it one of the most densely populated spots in the world. Israeli military operations, blockades and severe restrictions on basic supplies of raw materials, fuel, food and water are all part of the daily plight in the Gaza strip. Yet, despite the daily difficulties people face there is an overwhelming sense of resistance through their stern determination to simply lead ordinary lives, says Christos Giovanopoulos.

Christos was a crew member onboard the SS Free Gaza. First involved as a cameraman for a documentary, his trip was to stop short in Cyprus. Then his crash-course in the satellite telecommunications equipment onboard, earned him a place on the boat that for the first time broke Israeli blockades. Yet, his training could not prepare him for the 15 hours spent at sea without any contact to land. For half of the trip all communications broke down, which Christos attributes to Israeli intervention.

"The company that provided the satellite service informed us on our return to Cyprus, that since we were the only ones with the problem in the area either someone had interfered with the signal or we had faulty equipment. But around midday, on the second day at sea, it started to work again without any further problems" he says.

"The communications was crucial because if something had happened to the boats, this was the only connection we had to the outside world. All we had left was a radio transmitter that could send signals only as far as 25 nautical miles." Free Gaza had experienced severe diplomatic pressure from Israel in the run up to the trip and was uncertain of what the Israeli Defence Force may do to prevent them from reaching their destination.

Shortly after entering Palestinian national waters Israeli radio announced, the boats would not be stopped. A sigh of relief reverberated around the boats. Soon after, boats overflowing with cheering people came out to meet the two vessels. The image resembled boats crowded with fleeing immigrants, but in reverse.

"When we approached the port, what first looked like dykes going into the sea to break the waves, turned out to be thousands of people waiting for us, jumping in the sea and swimming towards us. We had to switch off the engines. There were kids swimming around the boats and trying to get onboard in whatever way. It was an amazing moment. Everyone wanted to embrace you, to shake your hand, speak to you and get a photo with you."

On Land

Then, Christos set foot in the most luxurious hotel in Gaza, where he and the other crew members were to stay. What he saw there whirled him out of one world and threw him in another. Young Palestinians who he describes as "the kids of the elite of Gaza" were hanging out drinking coffee and smoking Shisha, blissfully ignorant to what was going on by the port. This image of affluence and comfort was a far cry from what he had just witnessed. "Many of those who came to greet us in the port said they had never seen the hotel from the inside before"

Disgruntled by their lavish accommodation, the crew members were torn between respecting their hosts' wishes to treat them in the best possible way and the desire to see the money spent on them, go to better use. Staying in the residential neighbourhoods with Palestinian families was more of what they had in mind. Finally, the disarming concern for the crew's security sealed the deal. Keeping everyone in one place was the best protection from Israeli intervention.

Grafitti

Christos recalls how the main form of defiance and resistance by the Palestinians is their strength to not allow the occupation crush their dreams and trivial joys of life. The water is polluted due to a block on chlorine imports by Israel, the electricity supply is at the mercy of a push of a button, nearly every basic material need is scarce and it may seem like there is no room for dreams. Yet despite the problems they face, proportionally Palestinians hold the highest number of PhDs in the world. Despite the hardships –or perhaps in spite of them – the difficulty of living is juxtaposed with a life affirming attitude to what it means to live.

"For example one thing that impressed me, Gaza is full of graffiti. The wall is the only medium of communication they have and it's full of graffiti. The most striking ones are hearts painted on the wall, decorated with vivid colours and flowers. Hearts are the most common symbol you see - probably every 200 meters a heart and what they are is wedding invitations."

The fight against Israeli occupation has become a fact of life, yet Palestinians are also acutely aware of the lack of intervention by other Arab nations. It is this betrayal that cuts deep. “They consider the Arab countries like their natural kind of friends and they were very disappointed by the position that the Arabs have taken against the Palestinian issue. They said characteristically, that if one Arab nation sent a boat to Gaza each month, then the political situation would be very different. They also underlined – Don’t forget the Rafah border, that we are besieged by the Egyptians also.”

Raw materials, fuel and food are smuggled through hundreds of tunnels, leading under the crossing to Egypt. Although this must be happening with some degree of tolerance from the Egyptian authorities, their soldiers stationed on the border to Gaza, are ‘prison wardens’ too. The death toll of people buried in collapsing tunnels rises monthly.

Palestinians agree that their only hope for freedom is if they stand united. This was also part of the thinking behind the boat trips to Gaza explains Christos, to unite all the political forces in Palestine. Since, the two Palestinian authorities in Gaza and the Westbank have resumed talks.

The western media portrayal of Hamas contrasted with Christos' experience of the 'threat' that Hamas poses in the area, was for him the most interesting part, he explains.

"The Palestinians have their own values and morals and of course they also have their own problems but their society is charged much less ideologically from how they are represented in the West. The way Palestinians think and how they voted in June 2007, was much more synchronised with how we are voting in the west. What they were saying was that they didn't vote for Hamas but against Fatah because it was so corrupt. This breaks down all the myths and stereotypes that we have of their society."

Activists of the Free Gaza Movement are still in Gaza, working together with Palestinian fishermen and farmers to reclaim their waters and land. One goal is to establish a permanent ferry line between Gaza and Cyprus. If you would like to help visit www.freegaza.org

Christos Giovanopoulos lives in London where he is a PhD Researcher of Film and Cultural Studies at the University of Westminster.