Cynthia McKinney comments on her relief mission to Gaza

Found at On The Wilder Side:

Hello!
First of all, I have to thank FreeGaza.org and Paul Larudee for tracking me down to extend the invitation to travel to Gaza to learn first-hand of the situation there, particularly since I had spoken out on it during the trip to Damascus to deliver my remarks and that never happened. I’ve since learned that one other US resident was delayed for three hours at the airport as she attempted to make it to Damascus. Seems I was being too kind to the ticket agents who seemed truly confused about where I was going and what I needed in order to get there–never once allowing me to proceed to security and to my transfer point, which was Paris. I thank her for letting me know that she, too, had the exact same experience with the ticket agents. She did, however, get to board her plane and made it safely to Damascus to participate in the event marking the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Right of Return contained in it.

Ooops, I knew I wasn’t going to have much time to write. I will connect with you again when I can. I understand the undertaking that I am now involved in: humanitarian relief–medical supplies–to the residents of Gaza. I am being called to board my flight. I am now in Prague, first stop on a journey from which I hope to return and be able to tell you more.

Oh, by the way, I asked the young people here if they remembered Prague Summer, the Brezhnev Doctrine, or if they wanted protection by the U.S. with a missile shield. No, they don’t remember Prague Summer; no, they don’t remember the Brezhnev Doctrine, and no, they don’t want to be protected by the U.S.

In Op-Ed News, Michael Calvan writes

The Green Party has yet another reason to be proud that we supported Cynthia McKinney for President.

You all know by now that the situation in Gaza has gone from intolerable to even worse. A tiny open-air prison with 1.5 million inhabitants, created by border closings and a near total blockade, is now being bombed by the Isreali Army using US military equipment. The humanitarian disaster that accompanies any bombing is aggravated by the lack of equipment and supplies at the hospitals that are swamped by the wounded.

What is Obama doing during his vacation? I’ll quote one of my favorite blogs, which says it better than I could: And Barack Obama … had a spokesmodel say that he was “closely monitoring global events.” It is, literally, the very least he can do. The spokesmodel also muttered something about there being only one president at a time, which evidently precludes Obama from responding publicly to this slaughter as a, you know, human being.

As a contrast, the person who SHOULD be our President (if the Democrats and Republicans hadn’t spoiled the election) is actually DOING something. Cynthia McKinney is courageously taking part in a shipment of medical aid that will break through the siege of Gaza. She is onboard a ship leaving from Cyprus on a mission organized by Free Gaza, a group that has successfully defied the siege several times in the last five months.

The Free Gaza movement will hold a press conference at 16:30, Monday, December 29 at the port in Larnaca. The organization is sending in the DIGNITY on an emergency mission of mercy to Gaza loaded with three to four tons of urgently needed medical supplies. On board are four physicians, including Dr. Elena Theoharous, a surgeon and Member of Parliament in Cyprus. Also going are The Hon. Cynthia McKinney, former U.S. Congresswoman and Green Party presidential candidate, and Sami al-Hajj, an Al Jazeera reporter and former detainee at Guantanamo.

Dr Khaled from the Shifa hospital ICU in Gaza City told us on Saturday that the majority of cases are critical shrapnel wounds from Israeli gunboats and helicopters, with an approximate 80% who will not survive. The medical supply list includes bandages, splints and rubber gloves, items that any medical community should have access to, but, because of Israel’s policies of collective punishment, these supplies are not available. Eliza Ernshire, one of the Free Gaza organizers says, “We have calls for surgeons willing to go into Gaza and work there throughout this crisis. The doctors inside are exhausted and unable to cope with the number of wounded. We will do our best to send in the DIGNITY as often as we can over the next few weeks, bringing in physicians and medical supplies.

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