Mavi Marmara Ship Sent Off To Palestine with Prayers

Mavi Marmara ship has been sent off with prayers from Sarayburnu Harbor in Istanbul which will sail on to Palestine together with its 750 passengers to break the embargo and will deliver 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid cargo to the people of Gaza.

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Mavi Marmara ship has been sent off with prayers from Sarayburnu Harbor in Istanbul which will sail on to Palestine together with its 750 passengers to break the embargo and deliver humanitarian aid cargo to the people of Gaza.

Thousands have attended the send-off ceremony for the ship. The harbor in Sarayburnu was adorned with Palestinian flags all over. Thousands grabbed Palestinian flags and ran off to the wharf which the ship was anchored in. The ceremony almost turned into a grand protest meeting. Some women have donated their jewelry for the ship. Small boats and ferries accompanied Mavi Marmara through the harbor.

Important guests including representatives of political parties and NGOs, artists and business people were also present during the send-off ceremony of the ship.

Prior to the departure of the ship, speeches were given by the representatives of the NGOs from Malaysia, Kuwait, Algeria, Greece, England, Ireland and officials from Free Gaza Movement and IHH, the organizer of the “Palestine Our Route, Humanitarian Aid Our Load” campaign.

MAZLUMDER General Chairman Ahmet Faruk Ünsal, Istanbul Branch Chairman Cihat Gökdemir, Vice Chairman Cüneyt Sarıyaşar and Gülden Sönmez, board members Recep Karagöz and Arif Koçer will participate the campaign.

Following the speeches, the ship was sent off with prayers. Mavi Marmara ship will be arriving in Antalya after a 40-hour journey. Most of the passengers will embark on the ship in Antalya. The ships are expected to arrive in Gaza on the 26^th of May, 2010, unless Israel tries to stop them.aign consists of 9 ships.

Several international NGOs including IHH (The Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Aid) and Free Gaza Movement have launched a humanitarian aid flotilla campaign to break the embargo which has been forced upon Gaza since 2006.

The aid flotilla consists of 9 ships in total, 3 of which are from Turkey, 1 from Greece, 1 from Ireland, 2 from England, 1 from Kuwait and 1 from Algeria.

Thousands of activists and NGOs from around 50 countries gave their support to the flotilla campaign, also known as “Palestine Our Route, Humanitarian Aid Our Load”. The campaign is the largest aid campaign to Palestine up to this date. The boats will carry loads of humanitarian aid items including medicines, medical supplies, cement, iron, precast homes, children playgrounds…etc. to Palestine. 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid cargo will be delivered to the region through this campaign.

3 ships have left Istanbul so far including 1 passenger ship and 2 cargo ships. The ships will meet the others that sail from Europe at international open waters.

The ships will sail on to Gaza from Antalya on Tuesday, the 25^th of May, 2010. The flotilla is expected to arrive in Gaza within 24 hours from then, unless Israel attempts to stop the ships.

Information Office of MAZLUMDER