A high ranking Egyptian officer says “May Allah kill all Palestinian men, women and children and may they be chopped into pieces”
Sakir Yildirm, one of the Bristolian volunteers on the Gaza aid convoy has just txted (sorry this is shocking) to say:-
From the GazaAidConvoy stuck on the Libyan-Egyptian border trying to enter Egypt.
‘We told them we have medical aid and toys for the people of Gaza.
A high ranking Egyptian officer said “May Allah kill all Palestinian men, women and children and may they be chopped into pieces”
{jcomments on}and that he does not care a damn that we are carrying aid to Gaza.
He added that if we get permission from the interior minister or foreign minister he still won’t let us in’.
Sakir phoned friends in Bristol earlier today to relate the latest news of the British Gaza-Aid-Convoy currently stranded in no-mans-land on the border between Libya and Egypt in North Africa. He said by phone
“There are eighteen of us, mostly British nationals and eleven vehicles. We’re not allowed to continue on our journey to deliver our aid to Gaza by crossing Egypt. And we’re not allowed to return to Libya. We’ve been stranded in this crazy no-mans-land for more than five days now. Some people with pressing commitments or health issues have had to return home to the UK. We’ve appealed to the British and Egyptian Governments to help us but still we’ve still been refused.”
“This morning we decided we’d move the convoy up to the Egyptian border post. When they saw us coming the soldiers poured out and started shouting. An ambulance was at the front and they demanded to search it. But they just pulled everything out on the ground breaking things but no plans other than to cause chaos.”
“Then the soldiers started pulling people out of the vehicles trying to start a fight with us. They dragged three people away, they said for questioning. The soldiers all have guns and they were going crazy. It was all very frightening.”
“We managed to get the three people released at last. And now we’ve moved back to the Libyan border post. They’re not letting us through, but at least they’re not attacking us.”
He concludes “We’re appealing for help to escape from this no-mans-land.”
Some of the trip has been reported by the Anadolu News Agency
Sakir says their reporter was present at the incident today but pictures and report have yet to appear on their website
Money was raised in Bristol to buy a mini-bus which is loaded with donated medical and educational aid for Gaza. It has been driven by two people from Bristol on the current Gaza-Aid-Convoy-2013 on the four-thousand mile journey south through Europe and across North Africa. Sakir Yildirim, runs a Kebab business in Fishponds. Keith Darkin is a retired architectural technician from Montpelier. Both have experience of previous aid trips to Gaza.
Keith Darkin has had to return to Bristol for health reasons and is recovering at home but is available for interview.
If you want to help or interview the volunteers on the convoy please contact:
Sakir Yildirm (on the convoy) 07940505048 / +905303217308
or Keith Darkin (at home in Bristol) 07774864758
