VIVA PALESTINA’s 5th Land Convoy to Gaza

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

السلام عليكم رحمة الله وبركاته

VIVA PALESTINA’s 5th Land Convoy
‘A Global Lifeline to Gaza’

Kuala Lumpur, 17th September 2010………The biggest ever contingent from Malaysia to participate in a gigantic land convoy left over the past 2 days to London. On 18th September 2010, they will depart London and join convoys from Casablanca and Doha, carrying supplies such as medicine, medical equipment, educational & building materials to Gaza.

Viva Palestina Malaysia (VPM) successfully raised funds to be a part of this 5th Land Convoy ‘A Global Lifeline to Gaza’. Our funds enabled the purchase of 6 vehicles which will be filled with desperately needed aid and this includes supplies for the construction of a school for orphans and a maternity hospital.

VPM members who will be participating in the ‘Global Lifeline to Gaza’ Convoy are:

Azra Banu
Siti Azura Dato Nordin Torji
Mohd Faisal Mohd Idrus
Abd Wahab Yahya
Rofazlin Jusoh
Mohd Yusof Ahmad
Azmi Katiman
Mohd Taupek Abd Rahman
Mohd Zin Kandar
Norazmi Talib
Dato Dr Musa Mohd. Nordin
Dato Adnan Mohd Tahir


The Malaysian contingent of 12 volunteers, including 2 ladies, would drive and co-drive the 6 vehicles. Ten (10) left for London on the 15th and 16th September to begin this month long road trip.

Dato Mohd Adnan Tahir, chairman of VPM and Dato Dr Musa Mohd. Nordin will meet the convoy in Damascus on 5th October. Joining them will be two crew members from TV3 Jaffry Azman & Azhar Shamsuddin.

Our generous donors included FIMA & IMAM with RM55, 000; a local pharmaceutical company with RM110, 000; and Aqsa Sharif, an NGO affliated with VPM with RM165,000. Additional funds came in through generous donations and sale of VPM paraphernalia at Masjid Negara, Masjid Wilayah and the Shah Alam pasar tani. The association of wives and female staff of Telekom Malaysia contributed RM5, 000. Anonymous donors banked various amounts direct into VPM’s account. VPM is very grateful to everyone who has made possible the first phase of this global mission.

We now enter the second phase; the actual road trip. It’s going to be a long and hard few weeks for our volunteers as they drive the aid laden vehicles from London through France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Egypt and God willing into Gaza by October 10th. We ask all Malaysians to pray for the safe, speedy and successful delivery of this aid to the besieged people of Gaza and the safe return of all our volunteers.

Viva Palestina Malaysia is proud to be a part of this momentous event and join the growing voices around the world to proclaim:

FREE PALESTINE
END THE OCCUPATION

It is extremely important that this international convoy is supported and highly publicised. Apart from the delivery of much needed humanitarian aid & highlighting the blockade's damaging effects, this convoy is the 5th in a series of land convoys and sea flotillas to unrelentlessly make a loud moral statement on Israel's horrendous crimes in Gaza and to inspire international public opinion to END THE SIEGE. In the words of Nelson Mandela, "justice to the Palestinians, has become the greatest moral issue of our time"

Where world leaders have failed miserably, civil society must take over the initiative to END THE OCCUPATION. To paraphrase Robert Fisk, “Western leaders are too cowardly to help save lives. It is a fact that it is ordinary people, activists, call them what you will, who now take decisions to change events.”

VPM calls upon all peace loving Malaysians to support and widely publicise this humanitarian mission. The land stealing, ethnic cleansing and inhumane treatment of an entire people based on the racist ideology of Zionism is abominable. Freeing Palestine is not simply about restoring a small piece of territory between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, but is all about fighting for the treasured values of peace, freedom, social justice and democracy.

Let us all together be part of this peaceful civil society initiative to FREE PALESTINE AND END THE OCCUPATION, and galvanise our families and friends to hop on board this month long “LAND CONVOY TO GAZA”.

Source: http://www.vivapalestina-my.org