Days 13-18

Two and a half hours sleep, another early start. Comfortable sleeping on the big crash mats in the gym spaces and we are provided with all meals by the local support. There is lots of bread, tea, eggs, cheese. There is a rally event in town. We have new team members in the A4 vehicle students Ian and Fiona, Muj is having some difficulty with his vehicle which is having trouble starting. They want help from a couple of lads who have been pretty handy with the engines of a number of vehicles. It turns out however that these lads are on some sort of probation and are not allowed to drive their vehicle. I have to speak to their team leader to get permission for them to come out and meet Muj. Their team leader Shak has only had them for a day or two as they were moved from the previous one. He says if I take responsibility for them then he's ok with that. They sort out Muj's vehicle and we all get on the road together. I explain to them that they can't drive their vehicle for the time being but I will discuss it later with Amer convoy vehicle lead. They are not happy about this but accept a driver form Muj's vehicle reluctantly. Tonight is our last night in Turkey at Gazantiep. We arrive at a large exhibition centre eventually after terrible directions on text message fail to indicate which exit off the motorway we should take. So a significant detour later we get into town, this time with 25 vehicles following us. Due to being late we are going to miss the reception at one location. Luckily when we get into town some police officers know where the other final destination is and we are guided by them to another sports hall. We are early which is a bonus. Vehicles are parked up on the ground behind the building which is gravelly and muddy. There is a laundry room at this location so ao couple of the lads get straight in. I have a couple of driving complaints to deal with so I approach he Belgians who are one of the complainers and also Richard T. The Belgians are not happy about the allegations. I decide we will have a whole team meeting at 8.30. I find a room at the centre which is a presentation room and has plenty of seats we pull into a circle I have also invited team leader Kieran and experienced convoyer Abid to sit in to assist. Hassan from Press TV wants to film the proceedings. So after thanking the Belgians for their long drive and Richard V and Jerome for sorting out their breakdown I raise the driving issue. The fact the Belgians have not been staying in line and cutting people up sparks an exchange. It is clear that A5 Kamal is angry about the driving and says it is dangerous. One of the Belgian drivers is defensive and there are almost insults thrown. Mrs Warsi gets snapped at when she asks who are the new Australian. An innocent comment as we have new students but not taken well by Kamal. Kieran talks through the reasons for staying in line and principles of convoy driving. I don't get a chance to introduce Fiona and Ian in the end. After the meeting I go up to the car park and speak to Kamal, Richard V, Jerome, Juana and Ram we are just standing in the car park almost planning to go somewhere but in the end just end up joking and talking in the dark by the vehicles. Richard gets out a nip of whisky. Back late to bed again.

Day 14 – Dec 19th
We are up at 7 to try to get to and through the border as soon as we can. After the timing of the arrival at Istanbul the convoy has learned that even early starts close to the border do not mean getting in at a good time. I have to drive the Slough vehicle as the boys Haroun and Rizwan are still banned for now. They have some decent tunes on cd so we get some D&B on nice for a change. The road to Syria as clear and its a straight run again after the police escort get us to the main road. The border is also very smooth in terms of processing us. The officials are very quick and helpful. The unhelpful bits are the faults of Viva Palestina. We have a friend of George's onboard now called Grant who I ask if we can move forward after Alpha group complete their paperwork quickly. He says he'd rather we waited. So duly we do. We are also waiting for what to do about the Malaysian-bought Turkish-registered vehicle. Apparently a Turkish driver has to drive the vehicle through the border because it is a Turkish van. We still don't have the registration forms which are required. Several phone calls and much waiting around later also including attempts to communicate with only around five words in common and we have worked out that our group should move across and leave the vehicle behind taking the UK drivers with us. Richard T has decided to wait with the vehicle however as the Turkish contingency is moving separately through after UK one we may lose our team members for a while. I decide to put them on the bus that has been put on for the U.S. members who joined in Istanbul. The arrangement takes a few phone calls and strategic conversations but eventually Alpha team can move on. We have moved to the end of the convoy due to the delays and patience is wearing a bit thin as a result. Nevertheless we get to set off into Syria with Damascus in our sights. The next few hours is almost surreal. Unexpected receptions for the convoy appear in our path and we find ourselves being greeted on the roadside by crowds of people in the semi-darkness – this time a marching band. Enthusiastic folks grab our hands warmly and firmly and wish us all their luck and love for the journey. It is quite overwhelming especially in conjunction with the long border corssing, convoy driving and lack of sleep in recent days. We move on from the roadside thinking Damascus next stop when again we are directed to a stop this time in a building with more formality and suit-dressed people. I sit next to a gynaecologist from Red Crescent charity – she tells me they have been waiting all day for us. We are given coffee and biscuits and speeches are made she tells me by local head of Red Crescent. There are Palestinian children there one of whom presents one of our convoy members with a plaque. There is much photo taking and hand shaking before we are ushered out again and back onto the road. It is dark and there are hills to be negotiated. Despite this we all have a good drive at a decent pace to Damascus,v some of the Cb communication is not working though so this will need to be looked at when we get a chance. Directions are accurate this time and we also have police escorts that appear at strategic moments to guide us. Arrival reveals that this time we are being put up in style. We are installed at a large resort style hotel. We park in front of the gates, stagger in with bags etc to a large dining room with three course meal provided then find our rooms. Juana and Kamal have arrived earlier due to having to get to an engagement and have kindly sorted out the beds for Leah, Cedric and I. Proper beds with ensuite bathroom – wow. George Galloway is here and members are getting snapped with him in the lobby.

DAY 14 – Dec 20th
Again we are supposed to be up for 8. I don't manage this but don't get there too late. While I am getting breakfast which is fresh tomatoes, olives, bread, yoghurt and very nice I bump into Mustapha. He introduces me to a man Mohamed Abu Redah who was in Belmarsh in UK for 8 years with no trial. He is a Palestinian who was only released on condition he went to Syria. He did not see his family for so many years and his case was worked with by Amnesty International. I am quite embarrassed that I don't recognise his name. After a short time however his face becomes one I do recognise from the newspaper and I would like to talk to him more but he's moved off and speaking to other people. Leah is knocked out by a migraine today and spends the day sleeping in bed trying to recover. I have lots of details to complete for paperwork that needs to be done for he Syrian-Jordanian border. We have to make sure that all the right people are in the right vehices and all the cargo manifests are up to date and that I have an accurate idea of who I have in my team. I will have a little time to do this at night. A team leaders's meeting has been called for 4pm with a group meeting at 5pm for the whole convoy. So a few hours to get into Damascus and get a look around. Cedric is very sensible and pushes off early. As I have info to chase I can't do this. Eventually I get away and Richard V, Jerome, Kamal and I make our way to town. The first step is to try to get a taxi – the reception tell us to go to the road. Once at the road outside the hotel gates it becomes clear that people just flag down drivers to get a lift. After ten to 15 minutes an open back mini-van stops. The boys jump in the back and I get the cab. The driver is a carpenter and we have to drop a piece of wood at a job first. Then taken into town. Dropped off at a grubby modern intersection we ask directions into the old town. Short walk later and we are into one corner of the large old town area of Damascus. Not having much time it is difficult to know where to start so we just walk about a bit randomly. Grab a coffee in an empty coffee house/ restaurant then continue. Through a bit of souk with many stalls selling perfume oil, spices, nuts, jewellery, bags, pot pourri, tat. We end up outside the Ummayah mosque one of the oldest mosques in the Muslim world built within 40 or 50 years of the beginning of Islam. I am abit distracted by knowing I need to be back up at the hotel for 4pm so shortly have to go and get a cab back. However on return I can see that I'm the only team leader to have the message or even to turn up. I grab some lunch from the dining room, chicken and rice. There are Palestinian refugees who live in Syria coming to the hotel to meet us this afternoon. There is going to be a press conference and George will be speaking. Already a few people are milling about in different areas of the hotel. It is quite difficult to see what is going on and who is who now. As we have the 70 vehicles added from Turkey, Syrian and Palestinian visitors, UK convoy members all milling about the scene is quite chaotic. Someone manages to get a sign up on the wall with an approximate timetable of what is happening where. However a number of convoyers have gone into town and not got back in good time so they will probably not be aware. I am approached by one of the Belgians in our group who is concerned. He has heard a rumour that a Hamas speaker is addressing the reception this evening. I am not aware of who this is or of the details of the reception so I am unable to confirm either way. I do say that there is bound to be some involvement from the administration in Gaza at some point on our journey. I say that if they are not happy then of course they should not attend. Said says he would like to know more about who it is that we are meeting on the way and who we are delivieirng the aid to. I say that we have an NGO (non-governmental organisation) acting as an umbrella organisation in Gaza to whom the aid is going for distribution. I meet a woman and her children in the lobby area of the hotel, she is Palestinian and she has good English. She explains that her family were refugees in 1948, her parents separated from their friends and family and she has not seen Palestine.
We finally get team leaders together with Nicci one of the organisers and get set up in an ante room where there is a power supply and she can plug in laptops and printer. Team leaders turn up gradually with their info to be updated. Its going to be a long night making sure the data is upto date. In Alpha team we have the Slough boys and new Malaysian vehicles to accommodate. Ram and Juana work hard to get the info in accurately, finally we have the registration documents for the new vehicles. Meanwhile there has been a reception in a hall at the gates of the hotel. I manage to get down there to have a look. As I walk towards the building I can see many people around it. Moving inside it has a metal detector arch set up for people to walk through but by the time I get there so many people are moving about the security don't seem to be bothering any more. The hall is set up full of rows of chairs with more people standing at the sides and back. There is loud music blaring interchanging with intense voices over the PA addressing the crowd. The atmosphere is quite intense. There are people giving out flags, caps and neck scarves. The meeting is a political rally. As I am not sure about what is being said by whom I am a bit bemused. Certainly the crowd are behave in a disciplined and responsive way. There are some children and hijab-wearing women in the room. Women sit towards the back. I've missed most of the event but there are several members in the room. Finishing the data seems more important.

Day 15- Dec 21st
We have asked team members to be at their vehicles by 7am. Some people are ready for this others do not seem to be. I am trying to ring the Slough vehicle, our deputy vehicle and the minibus of Muj's lads with no luck. The down time however we are able to sort out the CB issue on my vehicle with skilled intervention from Jerome A7, also we sticker the new vehicles and reorder everyone to reflect the new members. When everybody eventually turns up I have a quick meeting with everybody to thank those who are on time and express dissatisfaction with the late people. I also need to tell people to take the jihadi stickers off their vehicles that have appeared. Some of the scarves and baseball hats also have a logo on it which is representative of one of the armed brigades. Carrying this material is contrary to our values and therefore we need to remove it. Because we are not familiar with the organisations it is difficult to know exactly what logos mean what but we need to be on the safe side.

Eventually we get out of the hotel car park in formation with the team and are guided by police escort towards the route. Again it is not very far to the border with Jordan. The initial stage of the border is very easy. On the Syrian side a man approaches me to help – he says he is a Hamas volunteer and he seems to know everyone in the border office. He explains that his family is Palestinian but were refugees and he has never lived in Palestine. He facilitates Alpha group passports being processed. On the Jordanian side because we have sent the cargo manifests through in advance the office there has prepared the paperwork and we sail though customs section. The first passport section is more difficult as the officers collect everyone's passport in the whole convoy and they are all mixed up together. When we get them back they need to be sorted out from a large sack in the back of a pick up we are just awaiting the final gate when a problem arises. I get a call from one of the Malaysian vehicles ahead. He says he has not been given his passport back. I jump out to speak to Amer about this. All the Turkish vehicles have gone through and some of the UK ones. Some of the lads at the front are saying they don't want to give their passports and are slightly defensive. Amer gets on the phone to Kevin to check what the procedure should be now. Meanwhile we send a message down the line not to hand over passports now. Too ma y individuals are gathering at the top of the line giving their opinions. I get Amer and the other available team leaders and ask Amer what the answer from Kevin is. He explains that they have said it is fine to cooperate with the Jordanian border officials in this wa as we are not being asked to pay for visas or insurance for the entire group. I am satisfied it is going to be ok to do this now however many people in the group are unsure. Therefore we pull together a meeting for me to explain. Time is goign by and what was originally a quick passing has become very slow again and it is getting dark. Finally all drivers hand over their passports and we move on.

The directions into Amman appear to work this time however the drive is quite mental. The police appear to be trying to slow us down and there is some paranoia about this, expecially after the passport debacle. Calls on the cb are for us to bunch up together and stick together so the driving is a bit hairy. We arrive at a union headquarters in town where food and tea is available for us all. We are later than the first half of the convoy due to the delay at the border therefore have very little time before convoy organisers are calling for us to be arranged for onward transport. There are three different locations for members to stay at. Female convoyers are required to one minibus, it is absolutely packed with stuff and people. There is a limit on numbers and I have to get off to facilitate an older woman for whom mixed accommodation would not be suitable. I end up on a minibus with the US members, the students and the Belgians from our group. We are dropped at a youth hostel. The accommodation is basic but fine. I'm tired and crash out.


Day 16 – Dec 22nd
Morning breakfast is provided in a longish room lit up by the sun. Breakfast is flat bread, white cheese, boiled egg, youghurt jam, simple and tasty. There is wifi in the room so I can getonline for a little while. Cedric and other non-UK nationals have been told they need to check they have an affidavit to absolve their governments of any responsibility for them as they plan to enter a war zone. Cedric is annoyed about this as he was not informed sooner so if it prevents him from entering Gaza he will be very angry. He and others set off for their embassies in Amman centre. There are meetings or speeches back at the union but I need some time to myself and stay at the hostel until the afternoon when there is one other member who also wants to get to the union. He is Kuwaiti and said he has called his embassy and they are sending a car to give him a lift. Soon it arrives and we head to the centre – I wonder who he must be if he can just ring his embassy for a car. When I get to the centre It turns out the other groups who did not come to the youth hostel have been put in fairly expensive hotels in town. When I see Riz, Tom and Haroun from the rogue vehicle SL1 that joined our group Riz offers me his room, I go and get my stufff from the youth hostel. Cedric turns up and is not very happy because the embassy have told him he should have obtained an affidavit in Switzerland. Buses turn up to transport people back to hotels so we jump in the one to the Jerusalem hotel. Kamal, Cedric and I go out and hit a kebab shop locally where we eat humus, grilled meat, salad. Back at the hotel SL1 have been talking to a doctor who has some specialist medical equipment for a hospital in Gaza. He would like it to be put in one of the vehicles. We work out the Malaysian vehicles may be the best option. I need to call them to obtain keys and organise – it is about 11.30pm. The lads introduce me then head off with the doctor to look at the stuff. Later on I call them and they have managed to load up the equipment which is $250,000 worth of internal stethoscopy equipment. Fantastic. The doctor needs to ensure that he registers with the central committee for distributing the aid that we will be handing everything over to. Richard V, Kamal and I go to the well hidden hotel bar and have a beer.

Day 17 – Dec 23rd
We gather atthe vehicles in the morning in the car park outside the union again and order up to get going. Heading for Aqaba today. We have a team meeting where I ask everyone to prepare for the difficulties ahead. Egypt will be a challenge where we will need to be vigilant and stick together. I ask people not to leave vehicles unattended or with the keys in. We must remove all Hamas stickers that have appeared on the vans and get rid of Hamas caps and literature. The drive is quite painless and at stages beautiful especially when we head down onto a desert plain not far from Aqaba. On the way we are recieved at a roadside reception where we are given bread type snacks and water and given lots of encouragement, smiles and support. We are trailing a little way behind the other teams so we don't catch any speeches from George Galloway who has apparently been there before us. It is dark when we draw up to Aqaba. We expect to be boarding the ferry this evening at 1am. Instead we guided to a custom car park outside of town and asked to park then jump into small buses and get taken to another reception in town. IT is not what anyone wants to do as it is late and dark and some are not enjoying the regular rallies and speeches. There are flags and loud speeches at these events and as it is not in English it is hard to know what exactly is being said. We are taken whizzing down the hill in the dark to a building, compound and yard in town. There's a slight sense of foreboding at leaving the vehicles in a distant car park and being whisked away. It is hard to tell whether or not the building is a mosque or not but it is fairly large with three or four floors. Outside in the yard are a few hundred people seated in plastic chairs facing the outdoor stage. There is loud music, bright lights. The women are again seated at the back and I am guided in that direction as welll. The women rush to help us sit passing over plastic chairs. The event begins with loud speeches again I can't understand. There is lots of green - caps, flags with emblems and arabic script. I ask Juana if she has any idea where we are or whats going on. She said it is an opposition party political event. It turns out these guys are looking after us – after the rally we are all invited into the building and provided with a packet containing burger, chips and drink. It turns out that the convoy has been informed it will not be able to continue through the port of Nuweiba. After this they arrange for the women to be accommodated away from the centre and transport arrives. This is also unsettling as we have been split from the vehicles and now the men. We get taken to a building which has some 2 bed flats in it. Everyone tries to find a spot – there are sofas and the owner brings out lots of mattresses for us all. He also gives us three boxes of fresh dates – most girls are knackered so crash out. I am up late because there are still some more women coming in a car from the compound and they need to get sorted.