Ireland To Gaza

international | rights, freedoms and repression | press release Friday December 18, 2009 21:59 by John Hurson - Ireland To Gaza

The story of 10 Irish Humanitarians who are travelling to Gaza with vital aid over Christmas.

On the 27th of December, 10 Irish people in 3 vehicles loaded with humanitarian aid will attempt
to cross into Gaza. They will have spent 3 weeks on the road, and cover over 4,000 miles.
They form part of a 250 vehicle convoy, driven by people from all over the World.

Irish Humanitarian Delegation Travelling To Gaza

On December 27th, the 1st anniversary of the attacks on Gaza, a Humanitarian Delegation from Ireland will attempt to cross through the Rafah Border and deliver humanitarian aid to the stricken region.
This will be the final leg of their arduous 4,000 mile journey from Ireland. Their journey has taken them through Europe, and they are currently driving through Syria, and then through Jordan and Egypt. 10 volunteers from across Ireland will be spending Christmas on the road, and upon reaching Gaza, they will deliver 2 ambulances, and a truck loaded with humanitarian aid. They are travelling as part of the “Viva Palestina Aid Convoy”, organised by George Galloway MP.

By the time they reach Gaza, there will be over 400 people from all over the world in 250 vehicles.
Over £50,000 worth of donated aid is loaded on the 3 Irish vehicles. This aid includes medical supplies, blankets, surgical supplies and equipment, construction equipment, and food, among other vital supplies. Plus, there are over 500 shoeboxes filled by children from various schools across Ireland, and these will be delivered to a school in the Jabalia district of Gaza. This school was one of the schools severely damaged in the January attack, and in some small way, these shoeboxes will bring together children of the same age, 4,000 miles apart.

Among the Irish delegation travelling on the convoy are Caoimhe Butterly and John Hurson. Caoimhe is an International Human Rights worker, and was working as a volunteer medic during the 22 day attacks in Dec/Jan by Israel. Caoimhe witnessed some horrendous attacks during her work, including the shelling of schools, hospitals, homes, and attacks on medics. Her continued tireless work for Gaza is immense, and she is a true hero to many, not only in her native Ireland, but right across the world.

Tyrone man, John Hurson, is returning to Gaza to put the finishing touches to the Gaza GAA Club he has established. John has enlisted the support of GAA legend, Peter Canavan and Professor Noam Chomsky, who have both agreed to become honorary Presidents of the club.
As part of the aid on the truck, GAA goalposts, footballs, training DVD’s, books, etc, will be delivered to the club along with jerseys. Peter Canavan has donated a full set of jerseys from his school, Holy Trinity College, Cookstown.
John drove a truck from Tyrone, filled with humanitarian aid, in February of this year on the 1st “Viva Palestina Convoy”, and to date, remains the only aid to reach Gaza from Ireland this year. Due to the siege imposed on Gaza, very little of the $5 billion pledged worldwide has got through. John has been co-ordinating the logistics for the convoy in Ireland, and will fly out to Jordan on Tuesday 22nd to join the convoy on it’s remaining miles.

They can be contacted on:

Tel: 0044 7875 396 335

E mail: johnhurson@hotmail.com

Facebook Group: “Ireland To Gaza”

Twitter: TyroneToGaza