Now in UK - final hours on MM to follow

I decided to take the flight offered by Turkish Airlines yesterday and come back to UK with the main group of Brits. I intend to return to Istanbul soon however as there are still things to be done in relation to testimonies, lost property and anything else IHH may need help with.
It was wonderful to see supporters, friends and family waiting for us all. There were some cameras and news channels there. I decided to go home with parents who have with my brother done so much to field the media interest and worry about my safety and care.
The days before leaving were something else. On Friday 4th we got up and went to IHH offices, they told us about press conference in another building a short cab ride away so we made our way quickly there. I sat with Nicci Kiwi, and some of the Brits on a stage while brother Bulent (IHH President) held a press conference for Turkish press and TV. He explained how the Israelis had dropped an item on board - this was a list of 16 people from our movement with their names and photographs and the instruction at the top of the page in Hebrew "to be confronted/ challenged/ provoked (not sure of the translation)". The list included the 88 year old bishop Hilarion Kaputce so it is hardly a list of organisers - what were they hoping for in confronting the individuals? After the press conference I walked back to the office and made my way to the funeral of Cevdet Kiliglar - another massive event. In addition George Galloway is here today and he makes a speech to the assembly before the walk of the cortege and crowd to the cemetery. I go in the afternoon to the internet cafe to try to go through the numerous messages. I hear from Mehmet who I met at the forensic centre on arrival back from Israel, he suggests coming out and meeting his friends. Its great to meet them and we have a good conversation about how Mavi Marmara could have done more to keep the lost and injured people safe or planned better - however there is no getting away from the fact that simply the Israeli military turned up and started killing people. I also leave a broadcast on Gaza TV news about my experience onboard here's the report: http://ipad.io/KVB . The guys I'm with are lovely and insist on getting food and drink for me, they are Kurdish Turkish, they say things have improved for Kurdish people under this government in Turkey. I'm given a lovely Kurdish scarf and they jokingly teach me the say "Bijee Kurdistan!" which means "Free Kurdistan". THey say this does not mean a new border needs to be drawn around Kurdistan but that peoples' rights and freedoms should be respected. Absolutely. When I get back to the hotel I am thankful to see that Ken O'Keefe has now arrived in Turkey. He was beaten up by Israeli officers after demanding to be deported to Gaza not Turkey and bearing the brunt of their displeasure, see link for his words directly after arrival, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGlnsIW3zJk .
On Saturday morning again we return to IHH offices. There is a legal team there to advise and assist and we all share our contact details. Next we travel to a police station to make testimonies. This looks like it is taking ages and we are late for a rally. Three of the men killed were from or supporters of the Saadet Party in Turkey, a political party that has arranged an event about the incident and to recognise and remember the men. I go along at the last minute and we are taken in a car that gets stuck in traffic along the way and the closer we get the more I realise this is a massive event. Luckily in the car I manage to scribble down some thoughts about the mission and the men. On arrival we are ushered onto a massive stage in front of a crowd of estimate 20-50,000. Within a few minutes I have been invited onto the platform clutching my notes and have the awesome experience of speaking to the crowd for two minutes - something I will never forget. Afterwards Bulent and then Parveen and other Turkish speakers also speak. We get away from the rally after around an hour with tens of people stopping us for photographs and hugs.

Thankful to be back in Turkey with these wonderful people who I trust so much

We landed in Istanbul this morning and went straight to a press conference and health check. We then searched for baggage amongst scattered belongings 'returned' by Israel minus all laptops technology hardware and memory cards that could have contained any evidence of them. I was keeping a diary so I'll put it up here but for now just don't have it in my possession. So the next posts will go back in time a bit. We all attended an awesome funeral for one of the murdered passengers today outside the historıc Fatih Mosque. We walked from the mosque area to the cemetery in a crowd of thousands it was stunning and emotional - I found the lovely Ouassima in the crowd and we stayed together and ate afterwards. People here are amazing - when they find out we were on Mavi Marmara they hug and kiss us and take pictures. Insist on buying water and food for us and getting pictures together. I haven't had any sleep so I'm goıng to lie down now and resume when I can.

Another passenger, well 12

Yesterday we took on 12 more people who were on Challenger II that had mechanical difficulties. Amongst them is Anne Wright who is an ex US military colonel and ex diplomat who resigned over Iraq war, she said she got involved in campaigning for Gaza following the disproportionate use fo force used in bombing Gaza

We are anchored awaiting the other members of the group to join. People are playing chess, reading, studying, reporting. There is a live link area of the ship where satellite reports being made to various channels constantly. The press room is well equipped with around 20 internet enabled laptops. There is a restriction on press only on these machines and even accessing the room. We have three ships with us now we are awaiting three more.

We have onboard US citizen and Viva Palestina US team leader Fatima. She has brought with her a large suitcase of specialised medication for chemotherapy, respiratory illnesses and other conditions to the value of several thousand pounds.

Sleeping area

Violent comments

I'm not censoring the violent or hateful comments made on these pages. It only goes to expose the hateful desperate people who make them - anonymously. I wonder if you have any idea how well organised and determined the mission is. There are many peaceful yet yfearless people onboard - cowardly commentators and armed combatants against a humanitarian aid flotilla? You've lost already.

EU statement, UN call

European Union Brussels May 28 2010

Statement of the spokesperson of High Representative Catherine Ashton on the flotilla saılıng to Gaza

The spokesperson of Hıgh Representative of the Unıon for Foreign Affaırs and Security Policy/Vıce President of the Commission Catherine Ashton issued the following statement today:

''We strongly urge that all involved act with a sense of restraint and responsibility and work for a constructive resolution. The EU remains gravely concerned by the humanitarian situation in Gaza. The continued policy of closure is unacceptable and politically counterproductive.

We would like to reiterate the EU,s call for an immediate sustained and unconditional openimg of crossings for the flow of humanitarian aid, commercial goods and persons to and from Gaza.''

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

John Ging Director of United Nations Relief Work Agency on the situation in Gaza ın March 2010:

''I have no cement or steel or iron. We can't get in one bag of cement, one pane of glass 10 months later to actually begin the reconstruction''

All at sea

Last night everyone got settled on the ship. Many people opted to sleep on deck. The tug boat took the ship to sea and she set off steadily and smoothly. We ate dinner from tinned meat and beans and people sat around talking or went to lie down. It has been a smooth and uneventful journey so far.







This morning coffee olives bread jam cheese and a stroll on deck and to visit the press suite where there are several laptops set up and connected via satellite. A journalist from Istanbul wrote a short piece on me and other flotilla members and he shows me the article and says it will be ok to put up some news on one of the laptops. I dont want to use up valuable bandwidth if media people are using it. The man in charge says its fine so here I am. On this keyboard I cant find the comma or the apostrophe so apologies!

A few details...

The IHH ship Mavi Marmara is setting sail with 563 passengers onboard.

In addition to the 369 Turkish participants there are 194 others from 31 different countries sharing the facilities on the converted passenger ship.

There are 31 British participants, 32 Algerian including 10 MPs, 32 Jordanian including 1 MP, 16 Kuwaitis including 1 MP, 11 Malaysian, 11 Indonesian, 5 Israel residents of 1948 land including one female MP, 5 Bahrainian including 1 MP, 5 Moroccan including 1 MP, 4 Yemeni including 3 MPs, 4 Lebanese, 3 Belgian, 3 Spanish, 3 Macedonian, 3 German, 3 Australian, 2 Swedish, 2 Palestinian, 2 Egyptian both MPs, 2 Canadian, 2 Syrian, 2 Pakistani, 2 Mauritanian, 2 USA, 1 Kosovan, 1 Greek, 1 Irish, 1 South African, 1 French. In addition there is a previous Archbishop of Jerusalem named Archbishop Ilarion Kaputce who was imprisoned in 1974 in Israel convicted of assisting Palestinan resistance and he currently lives in exile in the Vatican. He was given a 12 year sentence in 1974 but was released to Rome after the Pope’s intervention on condition he never returned to Palestine.

The following media are represented onboard (journalists/ reporters):

Al Jazeera Arabic x 2
Al Jazeera English x 3
Al Jazeera documentary team x 3
El Quds x 1
El Aqsa TV x 1
Venezuela-Telesur TV x 1
Kuwait News Agency x 2
Press TV UK x 1
South Africa Radio 786 x 1
Al Hiwar UK 1 + 1
Gulf News Agency x 1
Indonesia TV One x 1
Indonesia The Brunei Times x 2
Indonesia Islamic Magazine, Suara Hidayatullah x 1
Indonesia Al Jazeera x 1
Indonesia Eramuslim Group x 1
AJ TV Pakistan x 2
Malaysia x 5
Jordan x 1
Spain x 2

In terms of cargo onboard the 2 IHH cargo ships these have been listed as follows:

The Ship ‘Gaza’
Cement – 2104 tons
Iron bars – 600 tons (8-12-14-16 mm diameter, 150 tons each)

Ceramic tile adhesive – 50 tons

The Ship ‘Defne Y’
Iron – 150 tons (for use in building pontoons and floats)

Power Units (5 units of 85kws – 2 units of 145 kws – 6 of 150 kws – 3 of 165 kws – 1 of 100 kws and 1 of 35 kws)

Power Units (80 units of 1-2-5 kws)

Prefab homes – 50 units of 58m2 and 40 units of 12.5 m2

Childrens’ playgrounds – 16 units (combined sets, seesaws and slides)

Medical equipment – Ultrasound Scan device, Electric patient bed, dentistry unit, Doppler echocardiography devices, wheelchairs, disabled electric mobility scooters, stretchers, deambulators, autoclaves, mammography device, microscopes, haemodialysis machines, radiology monitors, crutches, ENT Units, operating beds, gynaecological couches.

Medicines (a container load of assorted medicines)

Construction supplies including tiles, timber, fibreboard, cage, plumbing supplies, electric equipment, plastic window frames, glass, steel cables, measuring tools, hand carts, nails, mountings, bathroom fittings, paint, power distribution units, ladders, isolation materials,

Hardware supplies: electric hand tools, machines, ovens)

Stationery items – pens, pencils, erasers, notebooks, playdough, toys.

Textiles (towels, bedding, shoes, fabric, carpets, kitchenware, quilts, blamkets, couches and beds)

Food items (dried lima beans, chickpeas)

The largest cargo ship was bought by Algeria and the other by Kuwait.