MESSINA, Sicily (Kiaoragaza/Pacific Media Watch): A New Zealand crew from Māori Television has joined Freedom Flotilla III, has set sail from the port of Messina, Italy, to take solidarity and supplies to the besieged Palestinians in Gaza.
The Māori TV pair comprises senior journalist Ruwani Perera and camera operator Jacob Bryant.
Their participation was facilitated by Kia Ora Gaza.
The Palestinians have been suffering under a feudal-type blockade imposed by the Israeli state and the Egyptian generals.
The Ship to Gaza’s former trawler Marianne of Gothenburg has sailed out onto the Ionian sea through the strait of Messina.
During the coming week the Marianne will meet up with the other boats of the Freedom Flotilla III.
Together they will try to break the illegal blockade on Gaza through a peaceful non-violent action.
The short stop in Messina was an intensive one with meetings with peace activists and a press conference at the city hall with the mayor of Messina, the corruption fighter Renato Accorinti.
Those on board the Marianne include:
Swedish journalist, author and social critic Kajsa Ekis Ekman
Swedish-Israeli composer and activist Dror Feiler
Canadian scholar and activist Robert “Bob” Lovelace, a veteran within movements in support of Indigenous peoples’ rights
Spanish Member of the European Parliament Ana Maria Miranda Paza (Bloque Nacionalista Galego)
Professor Gerd von der Lippe, a Norwegian sport sociologist and former athletics star.
They are accompanied by the following journalists:
Nadia Kevorkova from RT (Russian Television)
The Māori Television crew
For progress updates, check kiaoragaza.net
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 New Zealand Licence.
Pacific Media Watch
