Code Pink sent a delegation to Gaza recently, and rabble's editor, Kim Elliott, was part of it. (I think I posted a couple of her reports in other threads.)
Anyhow, Kim was interviewed by the Antonia Zerbisias of the Toronto Star about what she saw while she was there, and here's the article about it.
http://www.thestar.com/article/607596
Elliott, whose interest in the Palestinians began long ago and who has visited the Middle East many times, went to Gaza so she could bear witness to the effect of the attack and Israel's long-running siege, which strangles the movement of food, medical supplies and other necessities into Gaza.
Which is why there are tunnels from Egypt.
The media emphasize that the tunnels are used to smuggle rockets and weapons into Gaza – true – but everything from zoo animals to seedlings also move underground. Just this week, Egypt seized 560 sheep that were being herded through.
"The inhumanity of the border is, oddly enough, what left the most striking impression – more than the incredible destruction of homes," Elliott explains. "The Red Crescent Society said they need at least about 1,000 trucks a day to go through every day to properly sustain the people. On average since the siege, it's about 100 trucks. Some days, there are none. Most of what is feeding the people is going through the tunnels."
So, with all the injustices around the world, why focus on Palestinians?
"I got my human rights background at Amnesty International and, up until very recently, they wouldn't touch this issue, in Canada especially. People felt so threatened!" she says.
"So, not only were the Palestinians suffering enormous human rights abuses...but the focus of the media in disenfranchising them and the way people are attacked for working this issue motivated me."
Thanks for telling it like it is, Kim!
