Alice Walker: Gaza boot is de ‘freedom ride’ van deze eeuw - Main contents

Wereldberoemd en Amerikaans schrijfster Alice Walker ondersteunt de Gaza flottielje. Vijftig jaar geleden waren het de bussen met activisten, die de zwarte mensen in New Orleans ondersteunden bij hun strijd tegen de rassensegregatie: de Freedom Rides. In de VS was het de strijd tegen het racisme, in Zuid Afrika de strijd tegen de apartheid, en nu is het de strijd tegen het racistische systeem van apartheid en bezetting tegen de Palestijnen.

“Fifty years ago, on May 4, 1961, the first bus of the Freedom Rides left Washington D.C. headed to New Orleans, with people committed to challenging segregation. The Freedom Rides were one of the sparks that contributed to a movement to dismantle a degrading system that violated human rights.

In an interview with organizers from The U.S. Boat to Gaza, Alice Walker, one of our nation’s foremost contemporary writers and the first African-American woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize, likened the planned Freedom Flotilla II to Gaza to the Freedom Rides by saying “this is the Freedom Ride of this era.” In the U.S. the racist system of segregation was challenged; in South Africa the racist system of apartheid was challenged; in Palestine the racist system of occupation and apartheid, enforced by the Israeli government and supported by the U.S government, is being challenged and will come to an end.

The sixty people from the U.S. on THE AUDACITY OF HOPE - our boat from the U.S. - are sailing with the international Freedom Flotilla II to demand an end to the illegal Israeli naval blockade of Gaza. We are sailing to support the Palestinian struggle for freedom and justice.

And throughout this country thousands more are building support for this effort and getting on board this massive campaign. Take a moment to view this short video of Alice Walker, and check ustogaza.org to learn more about what you can do today to help ensure the success of this mission.”