As dozens of boats set sail in the largest civilian attempt to break Israel’s naval blockade on the Gaza Strip, protesters in cities across Italy are holding “ground support” events for the flotilla.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Hundreds of people in dozens of boats have set off from ports around the Mediterranean. It’s the largest civilian attempt to try to break Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. The effort was organized by climate activist Greta Thunberg and others. NPR’s Ruth Sherlock reports it is receiving a swell of public support in parts of Europe.
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RUTH SHERLOCK, BYLINE: It’s a late summer’s evening in Rome, and people are enjoying the aperitivos in the bars along the Tiber River.
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SHERLOCK: On the water, a boat draped in an enormous Palestinian flag sets sail.
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SHERLOCK: I’m on a boat that’s making its way down the Tiber, through the heart of Rome. Their objective? Make as much noise as they can, raise as much awareness as they can for the flotilla that’s trying to make its way to break the naval blockade on Gaza.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTIVISTS: (Chanting in Italian).
SHERLOCK: It gets a good reception. People wave at us from bridges and join in with the chants. In Barcelona and Italy’s Genoa, tens of thousands of people marched in a show of solidarity as the first boats in the flotilla to Gaza set sail.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTIVISTS: (Chanting in Italian).
SHERLOCK: An Italian group who put out a call to gather aid to send with the flotilla says they’ve been overwhelmed, receiving hundreds of tons of food.
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UNIDENTIFIED ACTIVIST: (Speaking Italian).
SHERLOCK: In cities across Italy, people are holding events they call ground support for the flotilla.
GISELLA DRAGOI: (Speaking Italian).
SHERLOCK: “There’s a common thread in humanity that links us all,” Gisella Dragoi says during a march in Rome. Faced with the images of starvation and suffering of Palestinians in the Israeli offensive against Hamas in Gaza, Dragoi says, people feel desperate and want to help in some way.
DRAGOI: (Speaking Italian).
SHERLOCK: She says, “this is a concrete action to get behind.”
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SHERLOCK: Four Italian lawmakers are joining the flotilla that include people from 44 countries. Past activist flotillas to Gaza have always failed to break the Israeli naval blockade. This one, too, is likely symbolic, but it’s the first time an action like this receives support on this scale.
Ruth Sherlock, NPR News, Rome.
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