Aussie activists return home after Israeli detention
Australians who were part of the flotilla trying to bring aid to Gaza are returning home after being released from detention in Israel.
Last week, 11 Australians were among the 400 people detained by Israel in international waters west of Cyprus.
Video streamed live on the Global Sumud Festival’s website showed black-clad soldiers boarding the ships, and later footage taken by other flotilla participants showed abandoned ships bobbing at sea as Palestinian flags fluttered in the wind.
Seven Australians will arrive in Sydney on Monday morning, while the others will land in Melbourne and Brisbane.
Dual diagnosis care worker Surya McEwen, from Mullumbimby, is among those returning to Australia after his third attempt to deliver aid via a fleet.
He claims that during his last detention, he was held for 80 hours and beaten in a room while Israeli soldiers were singing the national anthem.
Other Australians in the flotilla claim they were denied food and water and were physically attacked.
Mr. McEwen likened the prison ships used by Israel to prisoner of war camps with nowhere to sleep, few toilets and platforms from which soldiers indiscriminately fire rubber bullets.
“We are all exhausted, battered and bruised,” he told AAP during a stopover before arriving in Sydney.
“I am in some physical pain, but I also have a strong determination.
“When I was imprisoned, I thought about the thousands of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, including hundreds of children, and that many of them were held for no reason.”
Israel’s foreign ministry called the flotilla a “provocation for provocation purposes” and had previously denied allegations of misconduct by participants.
But members of the relief mission are talking to lawyers about their experiences.
They want the evidence collected to support allegations of abuse against Palestinians to be used at the International Criminal Court.
While Mr McEwen did not yet know what the next steps would be for the fleet mission, he said the pressure for the liberation of Palestine was stronger than ever.
“What we know about the human spirit is that when overwhelming horror occurs for millions of people, as in Gaza, it is part of collective nature to find a way to intervene,” he said.
“This does not mean that the dangers or the struggle of this movement make people less likely to get involved. On the contrary, we have developed a greater determination to be stronger, more creative and thoughtful in doing this work.
“The only thing Israel has is violence, but we have love, care, community and human solidarity… (this movement) will definitely grow, get stronger and the tactics will evolve.”
