Food. Medication. Shelter. Freedom of movement. Water. Air.
Six basics for the survival of any human being and yet, for the past 23 months, we have watched with horror as apartheid Israel, backed by some of the most powerful governments in the world, has robbed the people of Gaza of these basic necessities for survival.
Together with many in the world, we have marched, spoken up, boycotted – reflecting the sentiments of the global majority. But this has not been enough to pressure world governments to stop Israel’s siege on Gaza and ensure that a genocide, occurring in real time, is put to an end.
While we are unable to deliver all six of the basics listed above, we hope to break the blockade and deliver food, medication and water to a besieged and starving population. This is the mission of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF).
The GSF is the largest citizen-led humanitarian flotilla mission to Gaza ever, combining previous humanitarian missions to Gaza over land, sea and air. It builds on decades of Palestinian resistance and international solidarity. It includes activists, humanitarians, doctors, artists, clergy and lawyers – all of whom have come together to take direct action to break the siege.
The South African delegation includes 10 people coming from all over the country and from different backgrounds: Christians, Muslims, Jews, agnostics and atheists united in a common goal of bringing aid to Gaza.
Our efforts are closely aligned with the provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on January 26, 2024, and its subsequent orders from March 28 and May 24, 2024, as part of the case of South Africa vs Israel. In the provisional ruling, the ICJ specifically required Israel to take all measures within its power to enable the provision of urgently needed humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
Yet, as South Africa has consistently highlighted in its advocacy before the court and in its leadership role as co-chair and founding member of The Hague Group, Israel has to date failed to comply with these orders. The worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza makes it clear that we cannot remain silent in the face of such impunity.
That is why people of conscience started organising grassroots-run flotillas in an attempt to break the illegal Israeli siege on Gaza.
On June 9, Israeli forces intercepted the Madleen vessel carrying humanitarian aid in international waters. A little more than a month later, on July 25, the Israeli occupation forces intercepted the Handala, another ship carrying supplies, about 70 nautical miles (130km) from Gaza, again in international waters.
While we were able to ensure that the activists on board returned home, some endured physical assaults and trauma at the hands of the Israeli military forces, which constitute crimes and need to be investigated. Apartheid Israel prevented the much-needed food and medicines on board from reaching Gaza, continuing its medieval siege, which amounts to a crime against humanity.
With this history of activists’ attempts at breaking the siege of Gaza, there are those who will ask, why do you think that you will succeed where others have failed before?
To this we answer: Our democracy was won by no small measure with solidarity from the conscientious people of the world who boycotted, divested and demanded that apartheid South Africa be sanctioned. In this sense, sailing on the GSF is the right and humane action to take.
We have protested, we have boycotted, we have demanded divestment from our institutions and we have pressured governments to impose sanctions. The GSF mission is part of this continued action.
Although many nations have the capacity to sanction Israel and even authorise military intervention to end the ongoing genocide, they have done almost nothing beyond rhetorical statements. While we commend the South African government for taking apartheid Israel to the ICJ for the crime of genocide, we also take note that South African companies continue to export coal that fuels the genocide. So far, our government has ignored our demands to impose a coal embargo.
We are sailing on the GSF not only to keep up the pressure but also to sustain hope. To lose hope is to give up on the people of Gaza and surrender them to an evil regime. Having a conscience demands that we do not lose hope.
Part of our strength is that the movement for justice and human rights is growing as more and more people recognise that this is not a war but a genocide. This time around, there is not one flotilla but over 50 from more than 40 countries.
This important mission is comprised of hundreds of people of good conscience from all over the world determined to break the siege and help expose Israel’s planned starvation of the Palestinians. We may be a delegation of only 10 from South Africa, but we represent the majority of South Africans. We, therefore, sail with confidence as our people will be watching and wishing us well because ours is a just mission.
We may be a few hundred on the GSF mission, but we are part of a global majority who have been watching the livestreamed genocide carried out by Israel. As South Africans, as citizens who want a better and just world, we travel on the GSF, noting, as Colombian President Gustavo Petro Urrego wrote in a letter to the flotilla, “Peace is not a utopia, but an obligation.”
The views expressed in this article are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
