Like the 12 passengers aboard the vessel Madleen, the 3,000 people from 36 countries who arrived in Egypt yesterday to march towards Gaza know that Israel will never allow them to reach their destination. Nevertheless, their action carries enormous significance.
The aim is to awaken a humanity that risks becoming accustomed to horror. What is happening to the Palestinian people is so extreme that we can no longer bear to look at the images. Increasingly, we turn our gaze away from the skeletal children dying helplessly, from the mutilated people pulled from rubble, from those killed whilst waiting for their oppressor to distribute meagre scraps of food, from wounded victims writhing in pain without medical care.
The three thousand activists and other citizens will march through the desert towards Gaza to send a clear message both to Netanyahu and to our own governments that what is happening – the genocide of a people – is unacceptable to humanity.
The Israeli government may characterise the march as a “Selfie March” and Instagram activism, as it did with the Maudlin, attempting to undermine the impact of a response that attracts significant publicity and exposes the barbarity of the Israeli regime. Yet this may already constitute a victory for those participating in the March to Gaza and for those protesting through other means.
Governments may have remained silent for too long, allowing Israel to implement its plan, but citizens are not silent. Under mounting pressure from citizens, governments have begun to whisper – at least – the term genocide, whilst Israel is being characterised by former officials as a pariah state.
The “March to Gaza” represents another attempt – the first at a collective citizen level – to disrupt complacent apathy. We had grown unaccustomed to collective acts of solidarity. This allowed governments to rest easy, believing they could whitewash crimes without consequence. Certainly, this is not some revolution that will automatically bring an end to the barbarity and change the international community’s stance. However, it preserves humanity.
Today the march will have already begun, aiming to cover 50 kilometres from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula to the Rafah crossing. They will travel in the early morning and late afternoon, due to the heat and sun. From our homes, we can participate by highlighting their action so it does not pass unnoticed.