Mobilise, resist, take action

Photographer-activist Shahidul Alam yesterday urged the international community to show collective courage and help ensure the success of the Gaza-bound freedom flotilla.

"If you can take action on the ground that creates the pressure to allow us to get to Gaza, that will be the best outcome, but the only way it might happen is if there is sufficient public pressure on Israel to do so.

"So this is your chance to step into the action. Mobilise, resist. Take action. This is a campaign for rights and justice, and we need to do this together."

He made the call on his verified Facebook page around noon (Bangladesh time), while addressing his concerns about possible arrest and deportation by Israeli forces in international waters.

"Given past history, it is very unlikely that they will let us through, and we are, in all probability, going to be arrested and either deported or sent to prison. When and where that will happen is impossible to pre-determine. It is certainly not in our hands."

Shahidul is the only Bangladeshi aboard the ship "Conscience", which is bound for Gaza in an attempt to end what he terms "an illegal siege" in famine-struck Palestine and stand in solidarity with journalists and health workers under attack there.

Setting sail from the coast of Italy on September 30, the Conscience was 444.6 kilometres from the Gaza Sea Port as of October 5, 16:57 UTC, according to the live tracker on the official website of the Global Sumud Flotilla.

At the end of his post, Shahidul expressed gratitude to Dr Yunus for his well wishes, saying, "I was delighted to receive a message this morning from the Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus. So good to have the messages of solidarity and support from my countryfolk and friends and well wishers across the globe."

The Conscience is the main boat of the flotilla organised by the international initiatives Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) and Thousand Madelines to Gaza (TMTG). The freedom flotilla also comprises 10 other smaller vessels, carrying journalists, medical professionals, and humanitarian workers.

The FFC is a global civil society initiative challenging the siege of Gaza, imposed by Israel since 2007.