For Immediate Release
September 12, 2016
September 12, 2016
Barcelona, Spain – From September 12-14, the
sailing vessels Amal-Hope and Zaytouna-Oliva will moor at Bosch i Alsina
dock in the port of Barcelona where various events (concerts, talks,
nonviolent workshops, a street parade and visits to the boats) will take
place as farewell for the women leaving to break the blockade on Gaza.
According to Laura Arau, with Rumba a Gaza,
Spain’s WBG partner, the launch point from Barcelona has special meaning
for the community there. “We have been a sister city with Gaza since
1998, yet we have been unable to visit with one another,” she says. “We
want our sisters in Gaza to know they are not forgotten and that with
these boats and women, we are sending to them our message of hope, love
and solidarity.”
The boats will depart on September 14th
to Ajaccio, France and then travel through another Western
Mediterranean port before reaching the shores of Gaza in early October.
For the Barcelona-Ajaccio leg, the passenger lists include Malin Björk,
a Member of European Parliament from Sweden; Zohar Chamberlain Regev,
an Israeli who currently lives in Spain and Ann Wright, a retired U.S.
Army Colonel and former U.S. diplomat who resigned in 2003 in opposition
to the invasion of Iraq. The women participants, who differ for each
leg of the journey, represent over 15 countries across six continents.
However, as Chamberlain Regev, who chairs WBG’s steering committee,
explains “While we come from very different cultural and professional
backgrounds, we all share a common bond. We find the blockade of Gaza
and the occupation of Palestine absolutely unacceptable. And as long as
governments continue to ignore this political-humanitarian crisis, we,
as global citizens of goodwill, have no choice but to continue our
efforts to break this inhumane blockade.”
For a schedule of program activities Barcelona, visit here.
Press Contacts: Laura Arau +34 636 00 36 01 /prensa@rumboagaza.org Or see campaign media spokespeople here: https://wbg.freedomflotilla.org/media-room
The Women’s Boat to Gaza is an initiative of
the Freedom Flotilla Coalition composed of civil society organizations
and campaigns from more than a dozen countries. For more information,
visit www.womensboattogaza.org.
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