Audaciously sailing on, with hope!

By Hagit Drills

For 44 years, people in the territories occupied by Israel in 1967 are awaiting their freedom. In Gaza, has people waited five years to a transition from the world's largest open air prison; for resumption of at least some measure of freedom of movement for the resumption of safe fishing and raw materials for re-emergence of trade and industry. Since Operation Cast lead, two and a half years ago, they have been also been waiting the arrival of building materials, which would allow them to rebuild their homes, their schools, their hospitals, their infrastructure destroyed by Israel.

For six months now, and like my 40 colleagues passengers, I expected to sail to Gaza. For more than a year, Ann and Jane and Laurie and Helaine and Nic and so many others worked tirelessly on the US boat to Gaza. Sometime last winter, our individual efforts CAME together to become the stream would be Audacity of hope.

For more than a year now, the organisers and passengers in 22 other countries worked continuously in order to bring about their own sail to Gaza. In more than four years, have freedom of movement within Gaza worked to bring both to Gaza. Start with a boat, and then another, and another, and finally, last year, a flotilla.

Even last spring, all of these streams came together to become a Gaza-bound River – flotilla II: stay human River, bringing many of us to Greece, where another powerful river running. The River is originated from the popular uprising of the people of Greece against the austerity measures imposed on them by the Government of Greece, which in turn was dictated by the IMF, largely controlled by the US corporate interests, and of the financial institutions in the EU. It is on the reverse of the Greek population, it appears that the debts incurred through governmental and corporate mismanagement, corruption and greed is payable.

On 1 July 2011, the actions of the Greek Government caused our rivers to merge. The day, just as people in Syntagma Square, we also unarmed and non-violent, accounts for a disproportionate display of force. Also, we were, prevented abandoned our right to protest injustice, when the Greek Government decided to confront us with faceless commandos and automatic weapons. When it is selected to act, once again as an enforcer of diktats originating elsewhere – this time from Israel with the backing of the European Union and the United States.

Our boat was forced back to Athens, and our captain was arrested. But on many important points, we are very much still in the open sea. Inadvertently, the Audacity of hope, in his valiant attempt to break away, has become a symbol of standing up to the control and the abuse of the powerful and the mighty. We have been speakers truth to power. Already has our path has been followed by Tahrir, the Canadian boat with its splendid very nearly successful attempt to escape the Hellenic Coast Guard on July 4th, at Guernica, Spanish boat whose passengers now occupied the Spanish Embassy in Athens, refuses to leave until given permission to sail, and Juliano, Greek/Norwegian/Swedish ship. Freshly repaired after being sabotaged on 27. June, Juliano has already forced the Hellenic Coast Guard to move on July 6th, with continued hope that it will be able to break away and join the French ship, Le whole-El Karameh in international waters. Already, our river has expanded and its bed has been deepened by our joint actions with the Greek demonstrators in marches and demonstrations in Syntagma Square, in front of the Greek Ministry of citizen protection in front of isrælske and American embassies in Athens, and in the Spanish Embassy in front.

As the Audacity of hope is now negotiating its passage from the concrete to the symbolic, from the current of history, our river flows on to merge with our latest mentors – organizers of Arab spring in Tunisia, in Egypt and in Yemen, in Libya, Syria and Bahrain, which has taught us so much about the truth and power. Every day, dolls lines in this new and ever-so-old divide more clearly. Every day, is a choice made by individuals, institutions and Governments. On our side is that the Palestinian people, people in the Middle East and North Africa, the Greek people, the people of Wisconsin, Portugal and France people and so many others.

And who is on the second page? A little to be said about the isrælske Government, which has now connected to international coercion and systematically lying to his list of achievements. Or whether the United States's Government, which will not bother to hide from us or from the world's attitude to our mission. In a very public statement gave Secretary Clinton practical Israel green light to attack unarmed American citizens. US Embassy officials in Athens, on the other hand, the Greek sicced police on our handful of hunger strikers twice on July 4th. But on the other side is also the IMF and the corporate and banking interests which it represents, and many, all too many European governments. How sad that this is the page, as the Government of Greece has chosen, most recently with his votes on 21. on June 28 and 29. June and her decision to use "all necessary means" to stop our boats.

No, our journey is not. 23 August, 2008, liberty, the first ship movement free Gaza sailed to Gaza and its 41 activists were the first internationals to enter Gaza by sea in 41 years. Less than three years later, more than 500,000 people have volunteered to sail with the bo human flotilla. How many more this week? The next month? Next year? How many more coming by sea, landing at airports, marching at the borders? Assembling in the city squares and along boulevards? Challenging Governments and corporations? Pushing against the blockade after the blockade? How many more rivers merge to flow into Gaza and further?

For our journey is just want to start, and we sail on, audaciously, and with hope.

-Hagit Drills moved from Israel to the United States to study in 1977. She became an American citizen in 1992 and is a professor of Linguistics at USC. (This article was contributed to PalestineChronicle.com.)