Warm welcome after snow, fog

source: NST 2009/12/14

By Alang Bendahara

KUALA LUMPUR: The Viva Palestina convoy has reached Thessaloniki, Greece, and received a warm welcome from the mayor at a basketball stadium.The convoy had driven through snow and fog to reach the sprawling city.

Viva Palestina, the British-based charity, is on a mission to provide humanitarian aid such as essential goods and medical supplies to civilians trapped in Gaza.

In the convoy are members of Perdana Global Peace Organisation (PGPO), Juana Jaafar and Ram Karthigasu.

The Malaysian pair are taking turns driving an ambulance from London to Gaza.

Tweeting her journey and experiences, Juana said she had visited the city to try the local cuisine for dinner and to meet the people.

She said the team would be spending another night there to get some rest and have their laundry done in anticipation of a long drive to Istanbul.

It has been eight days since the Viva Palestina convoy departed from London for Gaza.

The final leg will be from Syria to Rafah in Egypt via Jordan. The convoy expects to arrive in Rafah on Dec 27.

Juana and Ram hope to hand over the vehicles to the people of Gaza on arrival.

The PGPO's involvement in the convoy came after a meeting between former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and international peace activist George Galloway, a British member of parliament, in October. Galloway was a speaker at PGPO's Criminalise War Conference here.

More vehicles will join the convoy en route to Gaza.

PGPO is a Malaysian non-governmental organisation headed by Dr Mahathir.

Besides participating in the Viva Palestina convoy, PGPO had also committed to securing a boat for the Free Gaza Movement, which is expected to leave from the port of Larnaca in Cyprus.

It will attempt to break the siege of Gaza by sea, which is most likely take place early next year. Over US$300,000 (RM1 million) has been raised for the endeavour.