Canadian Quaker Lyn Adamson tells why she is sailing to Gaza with the Freedom Flotilla

National Post Jun. 10, 2011

For five years, Gazans have lived with the effects of a punitively restrictive blockade enforced by Israel on the one side and Egypt on the other. The blockade, initiated following the election of Hamas, delegitimizes the real needs and concerns of the people living in Gaza, a place that has been referred to as an open-air prison of 1.5 million people. Gazans are systematically deprived of nutritious food and the means to grow it, clean water, safe housing and the opportunity to rebuild it. Israel still controls all access points in conjunction with Egypt. It prevents fishermen from going out far enough in the harbour to catch fish and it prevents farmers from using the rich agricultural land near the borders.

Therefore, I will be a delegate on the Canadian Boat to Gaza, the Tahrir, part of Freedom Flotilla II, which will be carrying humanitarian aid. It is very sad to see politicians line up against the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. Rather than oppose this flotilla, it is time for our politicians to fulfill Canada’s obligations under the UN Charter to uphold all human rights.

Lyn Adamson, Canadian Quaker and co-chair of the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace, Toronto.

http://www.nationalpost.com/todays-paper/next+Freedom+Flotilla/4922971/story.html