In the early hours of May 31, Israeli commandos illegally boarded and seized six ships carrying 663 unarmed humanitarian aid activists from 37 countries, and over 10,000 tons of badly needed aid for the people of Gaza. When the raid was over, nine passengers were dead, dozens more were injured, and hundreds were transferred to Israeli jails.

This illegal military assault on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla has, once again, focused the world’s attention on the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. The flotilla’s cargo included food, medicine, medical equipment, toys, books, paper, school supplies, clothing, building materials, and electricity generators – items that Israel has kept out of Gaza since it imposed its illegal blockade in 2007.

Farooq Burney and Kevin Neish, two of three Canadians who participated in the flotilla, were aboard the Mavi Marmara when it was attacked by Israeli commandos. Farooq and Kevin share their eyewitness accounts of the raid and their experiences in Israeli detention.

Kevin Neish is a social justice and peace activist based in Victoria, BC. A retired engineer, he has participated in numerous solidarity campaigns in Canada, Latin America, and Palestine.

They spoke in Toronto on July 8, 2010 at an event co-organized by:

Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid http://www.caiaweb.org
Toronto Coalition to Stop the War http://www.nowar.ca
Students Against Israeli Apartheid, a working group of OPIRG Toronto
 
Video Production: Anita Krajnc for rabbletv