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.
Sunday, 3 January 2010
Saturday, 26 December 2009
Day 10-13, 16th -18th December Turkey
Day 10
8am meeting to move on to the border. Its not a long run to the border with Turkey. Its a drizzly day. At the border we first of all have to present our vehicle docs at the first pass, then have to obtain a visa for 15 euro which is a sticker in the passport, this then also has to be stamped in a separate booth. Next the vehicle manifest has to be brought to a further booth and this is associated with a passport and the document is then taken to another booth to be stamped. Then this is shown to the customs people and we are done. Just beyond the border gates we can see lots of flags waving and people and noise. As we pull out of the border there are cameras flashing, people shouting support and waving. We are given bags of fruit through the windows and cakes or bread. There are a lot of supporters from IHH a large international humanitarian relief organisation. Now we have to try to get to a reception in Istanbul.
The sun sets and we head towards the city gradually, our team seems to be progressing quite well although Richard's van still has no exhaust and the frame for keeping the caravan on the trailer desperately needs welding. We get to the outskirts of town and A5 and A7 Richard get separated from us and onto a different road. I am in contact with Kamahl on mobile anyway so this should not be a problem. As we draw along it appears that there are many many supporters for the convoy in Turkey. Along motorway junctions and in towns crowds of people are waiting for us cheering, shouting, waving Palestinian and IHH flags and when we stop are trying to give us things. The drive around and through the city is quite tough with attempts to keep the team and convoy together on the CB in the rush hour traffic certainly a challenge despite the convoy having guides, the police hold all other traffic at the lights and we travel over these junctions which makes life easier. We cross through toll gates with no charge and continue over the Bosphorous bridge. We first stop at a reception where dinner is provided for us is a hotel conference room. Table cloths, press, speeeches ensue. While popping to the loo I manage to drop my UK mobile and it disappears into the squat hole. Nitemare. I had heard from Corinna earlier on and really want to get in touch with her as she is in Istanbul. Anyway I have no choice but to stick my hand it to retrieve it and thankfully it is there. I give it a quick rinse and take it apart to dry it out. This is not our overnight stop so after the food, salad rice stew of some sort. We are spoken to by Kevin about the itnerary for tomorrow which is going to include press conference, drive through town and a demonstration in the evening. We head back to the vehicles and travel a short distance to the overnight which is a sports hall nearby. On further examination I find that somehow I have managed to lose the battery for the mobi. I can't worry about it now and need to sleep after a long day. We have separate room for female members to sleep in. The sports halls have showers which is excellent and suitable for a big group like us.
Day 11
Istanbul Feshane
In the morning need to take the vehicles to a location on European side of the Bosphorous for press reception. We are not coming back to the sports hall which is a bit of a suprise as we all thought we were getting a day in Istanbul. People are confused as to whether or not they can go and see some sights or not. The vehicles look spectacular on the bridge. Meanwhile I'm trying to get hold of Corinna, to do this I need to phone pals in London who have her number as I lost the battery last night from the phone that has hers in it. We all park up and spend some time in the car park while there are pictures and speeches made. I make a cup of tea and wait for Corinna as I have managed to text her my travel number. She is so organised she has printed off copies of our itinerary from the web so knows more about what we are due to than I do and has located where we are! Next thing we need to do is take part in a city tour. Because we have such large number of vehicles we are split into groups of two teams and given a guide. I cannot find A3 boys and this delays us setting off. I am quite stressed about this as I think Turkish people are due to be receiving us on the route. Also we have to leave Istanbul later on and I don't know where we will be congregating to do this. Eventually they turn up but we are late for our guide and when we set off on the drive in the traffic it is a bit chaotic due to the amount of traffic. We get onto the same wavelength as the other team we are with on CB so the lead vehicle can inform us of where we are going but despite this the vehicle in front of us manages to take a wrong turn and six vehicles are on the wrong route. Due to the late start, the getting lost and the fact I have found out the city tour is just a drive around and not meeting anyone I decide we can just ask one of our Turkish colleagues to guide us to the Blue Mosque which is where most people want to go anyway. We have a look in there, bump into some other convoy members and go for a coffee in a small cafe. Then head back to Feshane and park up as coaches are going to be taking us to Taksim Square where there is a demonstration this evening. It is cold and begins to drizzle. We get to the square and on disembarking the coach the reception is clamorous! I am surrounded by hijab wearing women who are asking questions about the convoy and about me. Also a white South African woman approaches me and takes down some notes about me and the convoy. I still need to get a mobile phone battery, Taksim Square us close to high street shops and Corinna and I manage to find one, yeay! And a map of Turkey which we may need for the next leg. I don't catch much of the demo although was in the crowd for the beginning and the end.
There is some confusion about the timings of transport back down to Feshane but eventually I manage to account for everyone in the team apart form Cedric. He is in the car park when we get there. We now have the Turkish vehicles from IHH with us. There have also been joiners from Istanbul, Richard T, Dejanka and Samia. There is also a contingent of Americans who are joining. They are hoping to drive vehicles that have been parked up in Egypt for six months following a failed attempt to drive them into Gaza previously. So the number of members is now growing. One of the Belgian vehicles has a problem with fuel injection which needs to be fixed before it gets worse - they can stay in Istanbul to do this together but will need to catch up with us the next day.
I have heard from Richard T and I know he would like to drive for a bit. I think he can do this tomorrow as it is late and we are going to be night driving with some difficult bits and he does not know the van. So we jump into the vehicles and set off towards a town on the route called Adapazari. I am driving, the distance is not far but we are leaving in some traffic and progress is slow. Also on the route the convoy in front of us takes a wrong turn and adds a further half hour to hour on to our timing. We get in at 5ish and park in a town square - then are bussed to a sports hall to sleep. Amazing warm reception yet again. Only two and a half hours to sleep before we have to get on the road as there are appointments to be kept tomorrow in Adana and Ankara.
Everytime we arrive somewhere we are being plied with food, a lot of breaded or pastry type items but also fruit, yoghurt, water.
Day 12
We grab breakfast which again is all laid on with bread, egg, tea. Bus back to the square in Konye outside the municipal bulidings and a press conference is held in front of all the vehicles. A local TV company wants to interview me so I despite the two hours sleep I somehow manage to explain that the van has specialised aid in it for taking to Gaza and how much support we have had in Turkey.
We get on the road to Ankara and Konya. Ram and Juana the Malaysian reps from Padana Peace Organisation are going on ahead to be part of a delegation at Ankara. We arrive at Ankara and I am completely blown away by an Ottoman marching band that is put on for us a reception in a large sports exhibition hall. There are balloons of Palestinian flag colours decorating. The trumpets and stomping continues with finale including indoor fireworks and exploding glitter. More food and tea pressed upon us then onwards to Konya for the night.
On the road out of Ankara Richard V's vehicle's headlights fail. They pull over and it appears their alternator has gone. As luck would have it they have an alternator but the tricky bit is going to be getting the old one out and the new one in as a bolt is worn out and can't be removed from the old one. I leave them in the hands of the deputy Muj as we have to get the rest of the team on for the night in Adana. When we get there the two Belgian vehicles have arrived. They had to drive for nine hours from Istanbul to catch up with us today.
The rest of the journey is quite painless apart from some difficulties with locating the next sports hall we are due to stay in. After some directions from a security guard and telephoning we get there. It is a large modern sports and exhibition centre and again has plenty of space for our group with men's and women's rooms separate. Richard V is still trying to get in with the van and cara. He has sent on Muj ahead as they have a Turkish guide. Unfortunately the Turkish guide also leaves him so when they get to town there is some difficulty in locating us. It is now very late and they resort to hiring a cab to follow. They say go to bed to me so I do but shortly after call wakes me up - still lost. Even cab does not seem to know the way so I am still waiting up at 3.30am. Eventually Hassan from Press TV and I are outside trying to guide them in - we spot them a few blocks away driving up and down. Its a new build area with lots of unfinished apartment blocks and space so it is comical seeing them in the distance on the wrong road stopping and starting.
Day 13
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. Theywant 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 forthem 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. One of the American contingent has cracked her leg.
8am meeting to move on to the border. Its not a long run to the border with Turkey. Its a drizzly day. At the border we first of all have to present our vehicle docs at the first pass, then have to obtain a visa for 15 euro which is a sticker in the passport, this then also has to be stamped in a separate booth. Next the vehicle manifest has to be brought to a further booth and this is associated with a passport and the document is then taken to another booth to be stamped. Then this is shown to the customs people and we are done. Just beyond the border gates we can see lots of flags waving and people and noise. As we pull out of the border there are cameras flashing, people shouting support and waving. We are given bags of fruit through the windows and cakes or bread. There are a lot of supporters from IHH a large international humanitarian relief organisation. Now we have to try to get to a reception in Istanbul.
The sun sets and we head towards the city gradually, our team seems to be progressing quite well although Richard's van still has no exhaust and the frame for keeping the caravan on the trailer desperately needs welding. We get to the outskirts of town and A5 and A7 Richard get separated from us and onto a different road. I am in contact with Kamahl on mobile anyway so this should not be a problem. As we draw along it appears that there are many many supporters for the convoy in Turkey. Along motorway junctions and in towns crowds of people are waiting for us cheering, shouting, waving Palestinian and IHH flags and when we stop are trying to give us things. The drive around and through the city is quite tough with attempts to keep the team and convoy together on the CB in the rush hour traffic certainly a challenge despite the convoy having guides, the police hold all other traffic at the lights and we travel over these junctions which makes life easier. We cross through toll gates with no charge and continue over the Bosphorous bridge. We first stop at a reception where dinner is provided for us is a hotel conference room. Table cloths, press, speeeches ensue. While popping to the loo I manage to drop my UK mobile and it disappears into the squat hole. Nitemare. I had heard from Corinna earlier on and really want to get in touch with her as she is in Istanbul. Anyway I have no choice but to stick my hand it to retrieve it and thankfully it is there. I give it a quick rinse and take it apart to dry it out. This is not our overnight stop so after the food, salad rice stew of some sort. We are spoken to by Kevin about the itnerary for tomorrow which is going to include press conference, drive through town and a demonstration in the evening. We head back to the vehicles and travel a short distance to the overnight which is a sports hall nearby. On further examination I find that somehow I have managed to lose the battery for the mobi. I can't worry about it now and need to sleep after a long day. We have separate room for female members to sleep in. The sports halls have showers which is excellent and suitable for a big group like us.
Day 11
Istanbul Feshane
In the morning need to take the vehicles to a location on European side of the Bosphorous for press reception. We are not coming back to the sports hall which is a bit of a suprise as we all thought we were getting a day in Istanbul. People are confused as to whether or not they can go and see some sights or not. The vehicles look spectacular on the bridge. Meanwhile I'm trying to get hold of Corinna, to do this I need to phone pals in London who have her number as I lost the battery last night from the phone that has hers in it. We all park up and spend some time in the car park while there are pictures and speeches made. I make a cup of tea and wait for Corinna as I have managed to text her my travel number. She is so organised she has printed off copies of our itinerary from the web so knows more about what we are due to than I do and has located where we are! Next thing we need to do is take part in a city tour. Because we have such large number of vehicles we are split into groups of two teams and given a guide. I cannot find A3 boys and this delays us setting off. I am quite stressed about this as I think Turkish people are due to be receiving us on the route. Also we have to leave Istanbul later on and I don't know where we will be congregating to do this. Eventually they turn up but we are late for our guide and when we set off on the drive in the traffic it is a bit chaotic due to the amount of traffic. We get onto the same wavelength as the other team we are with on CB so the lead vehicle can inform us of where we are going but despite this the vehicle in front of us manages to take a wrong turn and six vehicles are on the wrong route. Due to the late start, the getting lost and the fact I have found out the city tour is just a drive around and not meeting anyone I decide we can just ask one of our Turkish colleagues to guide us to the Blue Mosque which is where most people want to go anyway. We have a look in there, bump into some other convoy members and go for a coffee in a small cafe. Then head back to Feshane and park up as coaches are going to be taking us to Taksim Square where there is a demonstration this evening. It is cold and begins to drizzle. We get to the square and on disembarking the coach the reception is clamorous! I am surrounded by hijab wearing women who are asking questions about the convoy and about me. Also a white South African woman approaches me and takes down some notes about me and the convoy. I still need to get a mobile phone battery, Taksim Square us close to high street shops and Corinna and I manage to find one, yeay! And a map of Turkey which we may need for the next leg. I don't catch much of the demo although was in the crowd for the beginning and the end.
There is some confusion about the timings of transport back down to Feshane but eventually I manage to account for everyone in the team apart form Cedric. He is in the car park when we get there. We now have the Turkish vehicles from IHH with us. There have also been joiners from Istanbul, Richard T, Dejanka and Samia. There is also a contingent of Americans who are joining. They are hoping to drive vehicles that have been parked up in Egypt for six months following a failed attempt to drive them into Gaza previously. So the number of members is now growing. One of the Belgian vehicles has a problem with fuel injection which needs to be fixed before it gets worse - they can stay in Istanbul to do this together but will need to catch up with us the next day.
I have heard from Richard T and I know he would like to drive for a bit. I think he can do this tomorrow as it is late and we are going to be night driving with some difficult bits and he does not know the van. So we jump into the vehicles and set off towards a town on the route called Adapazari. I am driving, the distance is not far but we are leaving in some traffic and progress is slow. Also on the route the convoy in front of us takes a wrong turn and adds a further half hour to hour on to our timing. We get in at 5ish and park in a town square - then are bussed to a sports hall to sleep. Amazing warm reception yet again. Only two and a half hours to sleep before we have to get on the road as there are appointments to be kept tomorrow in Adana and Ankara.
Everytime we arrive somewhere we are being plied with food, a lot of breaded or pastry type items but also fruit, yoghurt, water.
Day 12
We grab breakfast which again is all laid on with bread, egg, tea. Bus back to the square in Konye outside the municipal bulidings and a press conference is held in front of all the vehicles. A local TV company wants to interview me so I despite the two hours sleep I somehow manage to explain that the van has specialised aid in it for taking to Gaza and how much support we have had in Turkey.
We get on the road to Ankara and Konya. Ram and Juana the Malaysian reps from Padana Peace Organisation are going on ahead to be part of a delegation at Ankara. We arrive at Ankara and I am completely blown away by an Ottoman marching band that is put on for us a reception in a large sports exhibition hall. There are balloons of Palestinian flag colours decorating. The trumpets and stomping continues with finale including indoor fireworks and exploding glitter. More food and tea pressed upon us then onwards to Konya for the night.
On the road out of Ankara Richard V's vehicle's headlights fail. They pull over and it appears their alternator has gone. As luck would have it they have an alternator but the tricky bit is going to be getting the old one out and the new one in as a bolt is worn out and can't be removed from the old one. I leave them in the hands of the deputy Muj as we have to get the rest of the team on for the night in Adana. When we get there the two Belgian vehicles have arrived. They had to drive for nine hours from Istanbul to catch up with us today.
The rest of the journey is quite painless apart from some difficulties with locating the next sports hall we are due to stay in. After some directions from a security guard and telephoning we get there. It is a large modern sports and exhibition centre and again has plenty of space for our group with men's and women's rooms separate. Richard V is still trying to get in with the van and cara. He has sent on Muj ahead as they have a Turkish guide. Unfortunately the Turkish guide also leaves him so when they get to town there is some difficulty in locating us. It is now very late and they resort to hiring a cab to follow. They say go to bed to me so I do but shortly after call wakes me up - still lost. Even cab does not seem to know the way so I am still waiting up at 3.30am. Eventually Hassan from Press TV and I are outside trying to guide them in - we spot them a few blocks away driving up and down. Its a new build area with lots of unfinished apartment blocks and space so it is comical seeing them in the distance on the wrong road stopping and starting.
Day 13
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. Theywant 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 forthem 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. One of the American contingent has cracked her leg.
Friday, 18 December 2009
Day 6-9, 11th to 14th December 09
Ring through to the lads stranded at the services without a key and they have found the key! Amazing. It was under the drivers seat down through the seat, they were in the process of taking the vehicle apart when it appeared. Much joy. So they head in to Ancona and rest of Alpha team and the main convoy all make their way to port. We have been told the ferry is leaving at 4pm. Short team meeting to explain to everyone the ferry booking process and the fact that we have some time to spare. Prices are going to be 90 euro for the vehicle, 30 euro per person then extra for a four person cabin. In our group the Malaysian contingent are planning to get a cabin and Kamahl from Oz as well. So with two cabins in the team we think we can deal. The idea is the rest of us can crash out wherever and grab a shower if necessary from one of the cabins. So convoy goes to to book their tickets. It rapidly becomes clear that our ferry company does not have a 4pm sailing but in fact we are all on 1.30pm departure. Action stations.
Onboard those without cabins are directed to the 10th floor of the ship. This is the deck area and the plastic benches are part exposed to the elements so this does not appear entirely suitable particularly for the grandparents couple in our team.
There are showers on the top deck though so I take the opportunity while everyone is running around the ship settling in to jump in. On wandering around I bump into Talat Group leader for Manchester – he says he would like me to try and get some sort of accommodation for him and a few others. Rumour has it that the captain can be consulted for negotiations on cabins. I wait my turn to speak to him and explain about Viva Palestina, the age of the couple and the students – they give us eight passes to the dormitories and two passes to reclining air seats for free. Sorted.
There is a team meeting for whole convoy on the top deck. Kevin thanks everyone for making it so far and explains that if all goes to plan then after Istanbul where we are to be supported by IHH international medical aid charity there could be upto 200 vehicles in convoy for Gaza.
At question time Saj and Muqtal say that they have some concerns over the organisation and communications as they are saying that if they had not rung their team leader they would not know that the ferry was leaving earlier. However the majority of people appear to want to say positive comments and thank convoy leaders and VP. A Muslim brother gives a motivational speech. Team leaders then get called to a team meeting – I haven't eaten yet and having ordered food before that cannot be taken into the lounge we are sitting in this is long. Anyway after this its a nice evening – couple of beers and chat.
Day 7
Ferry pulls into Igoumenitsa at 6am. We are then on a beautiful sweeping route to Thessaloniki through mountains, tunnels, valleys. Snow on the hills and fog make the journey quite steady but the road is fantastically easy, new and clear. I am able to copy and burn two discs worth of reggae from the hard drive onto cd so we have some different music.
We have one stop where we grab coffee and some people have breakfast.
We arrive in good time at the outskirts of the city receiving text message information from convoy leaders. We are with some vehicles from D team when the vehicle in front of us takes a wrong turn and we end up separated from convoy. However with nine vehicles we wait in a quiet road and call VP who send a Greek host to find us and guide us in by following his car. We manage this by putting Cedric on a wireless radio handset in the lead car. He directs us through a few traffic lights and eventually to the basket ball stadium which is where we are staying we have made it by 5pm. There are pre-pack sandwiches which no-one touches because they are ham and cheese, cups of tea or coffee are available and the end of a basket ball practice taking place. Cedric is concerned after chatting with the guide who said they had only heard from Viva Palestina a few days ago for assistance. I check with convoy leader Kevin about this and he says the support group in Thessaloniki did have short notice because the previous one let them down.
The ambulance in our team that had lost its keys is reporting some issues with losing power, Mohammed A2 is also reporting losing power. Minibus and caravan A7 exhaust has fallen off so driving through the tunnels sounds like a B52 is flying overhead. The stopping place is on top of a hill overlooking Thessaloniki and is quite exposed to the cold air. In the evening a local delegation including the local mayor and one or two others arrive and speak to us, it is hard to make out what they are saying as the words are translated and the translator is unfortunately quite quiet and does not have all the vocab to express what they are saying. 
After this food is brought in for us in the form of hard boiled eggs, bread, feta cheese, apples – enormous apples. After this I am wandering about bump into Richard V and ask if he would like to go for a wander down the hill.
Most of the younger convoy members take the opportunity to have a run about, play some ball games and do some exercise on the mats and with the weights. Muj and his team have made some tomato rice dinner and givec me some. I share it with Hassan who starts talking to me – he explains how important his Muslim beliefs are to him and I explain how I am not religious at all. The place is a short walk from a high street with a couple of taverna, shops and rumour has it an internet shop. There is a gaming shop, small independent retailers couple of bars. Richard V and I wander down with the students from our group an American lad and a French girl Ingrid who lives in Swansea. We go into a bar where a number of other convoyers are gathered. It is relaxed, low light dark wooden furniture and a number of Greek locals out on saturday evening, The bottles of beer are expensive at 4 euros each. One of the bar waiters tells us that there is a band playing tonight and this will cost 5 euros – we say we will probably not go for this and agree with each other to move on after this beer. The performance starts up and is quite amusing as the lead man looks a bit like Pete Doherty and is prancing and striding around. It seems to be mixture of drama and music as there is narration and singing and then the band – not songs as such. Also there are women in the audience who participate in interacting with the lead with additional lines or actions. Nevertheless some of us decide to move on this time with one of the Irish contingent from Cork. Walking back up we stick our heads into a taverna where we are seated in a cubby and order Amstel. The Irishman tells us about a Gaelic football initiative which will mean setting up a Gaelic football team in Gaza for young people. He has goal posts and materials and ground work has been done by one of his colleagues which will mean Gaza has an official Gaelic football team which is part of a global network. He explains how the game has a strong network and this will respond to the needs of any young person who takes part in the game. The taverna turns out to be run by a Russian man and he is friendly and gives us a pizza. The beer is much cheaper here than in the other place but we don't stay out for another one.
Back up the hill to crash in the warm sports hall after a hot shower, it is late and most people are crashed out over the basketball court in their sleeping bags as Iqbal describes them as caterpillars.
Day 8
We have a more structured day ahead and there is going to be a drive down to the sea front of the town with a police escort. We manage to get almost the whole convoy down through town in spectacular style with the lights flashing and sirens on.
Thessaloniki town has a long sea front and we snake along it and onto the promenade where there are then photo opportunities, some speaking by Kevin and some free time to spend before the evening to return as we wish to the basketball court.
Leah and I sit on a park bench and eat food we have been given by an Albanian supporter on the ferry – vegetable pancakes, olives, roast parsnips. Then need to find wifi – unfortunately the only available appears to be Starbucks on the sea front. We sit there for a while, Leah gets chatting to Nargis and Tariq who come in as well. I leave to get back up the hill, bump into Zuber another team leader on the way back to the van and follow him and Peter back to base – after getting significantly lost in a nearby suburb. There are a few ancient looking ruins in the town, lots of small high streets and the sea front is quite developed. Weather is cold.
After finding base Zuber and Peter suggest going to get some food. I have lots to do because convoy leaders need us to ensure that all the members in our teams have their indemnity forms signed and that vehicles are aware of the fact their customs manifest forms must be done.
Because we are stopped for another night and there is a high street nearby people are scattered about a bit. I'm worried because I can't find my UK mobile phone anywhere. We go to the Russian taverna where I check for the mobile – not there, we stay for food. First hurdle is ordering. The menu has no english script at all and the owner cannot speak a word. Zuber is vegetarian and we need to make sure he doesn't get any meat on his plate. I flag down a passerby and they ask someone else but it turns out Georghe not only doesn't speak English but he doesn't speak Greek either - in the end we have to resort to him phoning a friend who speaks English.
Despite the language barrier Georghe is very friendly and comes to join us for most of the evening talking all the time animatedly in Russian. He understands we are going to Gaza. We order Greek salad and sovlaki he recommends Georgian pasta dumplings to us. In addition to this Georghe also provides for us cheese pizza, mushroom pie, lamb stew and then the shots of Stolichnya come out. He carries on talking and laughing and plying Peter and I with vodka. I decide I need to check at the bar with the strange band. YES!! There it is, found on the floor and handed in – amazing. I offer to buy them a drink – unfortunately for me they choose tequila and insist I have one too. I bump into A4 Nidal on the way back up the hill and we return to the Russian taverna where merriment continues but not too late.
Day 9
Moving on towards the border with Turkey next stop a seaside town Alexandropoulis. The Belgian team want to catch us up later as they have a mechanical problem still. It is not a long drive to Alexandropoulis and the stopover is ideal - an off-season campsite.
It is cold. Ryan decides its time for a dip and runs into the sea like a mad person.
We have a team leader's meeting about 8pm in one of the organiser's vehicles. On the way out of Thessaloniki one of F team's vehicles has been crashed into from behind and is now a write-off. Other vehicles in their group managed to take the aid spread across their team but it will have to be moved now. I know we have some space in the ambulances so I ask A4, A5 and A6 to take the aid which is mainly wheelchairs and some boxes of medical supplies. This means that we have to prepare vehicle manifests for the customs. For now this can be written on some blank vehicle manifest forms, it is a bit of a job but eventually the aid is redistributed in Alpha team. Well done!
I am a bit annoyed about the two Belgian vehicles who have not let me know where they are and drove past Viva Palestina guides on the main road earlier, I don't know where they are. So I will try to have a word with them in the morning. Some people have lit fires to keep warm in the very bracing air but the campsite don't want us to have them so we have to go around and ask people to put them out which is a shame. It is disappointing to see that some people have used broken pallets and these are going to burn leaving the nails in the sand - not very social considering kids will be using the beach in the summer, I mention this to someone sitting there so hopefully they will do a bit of clearing up. Before crashing out in the tent I have a shower which is very hot water but freezing air. Then sit around a stove that Mustapha and Benkharmaz have got out and its a relaxed welcoming place with a few bods sitting around chatting. When the subject turns to the existence of God or not I decide its time for bed.
Sunday, 13 December 2009
Day 2-5
Day 2, 7th December 2009:
Teams spend the morning checking and sorting – Richard and Jerome check the SWR ratings on the three CB radios we have for A1, A3 and A10. If we don't check the SWR the sets can get burned out. People are wandering around introducing if they don't know each other, sharing bread or sweeties. We have two more vehicles added to our group these are the Belgian contingent – so now we are 10. Team Leaders meeting sketches out where we are headed to. Mujj and I hold a team meeting to describe route to our destination, thank everyone for helping last night and outline how we want our group in convoy to work. Next stop
is in Germany, we will be going through Luxembourg.
The day's driving is going well when we stop at a service station just inside Luxembourg. Just about to depart when I notice there are nuts missing from the rear wheel we changed last night. This is not good. There are three remaining out of five nuts. I decide to send convoy on with Muj as lead vehicle, Muaz, Abdullah, Mujahid as deputies. Before leaving Richard and Jerome tighten the nuts up. I ring Sid convoy tyre man for advice who is travelling behind convoy to provide support. Unfortunately it turns out Sid and his vehicle have taken a different route and won't be passing us. Group F have been stopped at the services and provide advice. The question is whether or not to drive the vehicle as it is to Luxembourg or whether or not a tow is required. Group F leave us with their deputy Abid and another member Mustapha to stay with us. We get a call from Peter Finch who is a contemporary of another convoy member due to join us in Istanbul – he lives in Luxembourg and offers assistance. Unfortunately he does not know any mechanics or garages. In the services a helpful worker gets out the yellow pages and we look for garage numbers. It appears that there are no small independent garages in Luxembourg whatsoever. We decide to take up the offer of a bed for the night and opportunity to search for a mechanic in the morning – this involves carefully following Peter back to his home. He tells us Luxembourg is a wealthy country with green policies. We stay up around his kitchen table and Leah talks at some length about why she thinks a two state solution in Palestine would not be workable – partly due to the separation of West Bank and Gaza and the fracturing of the West Bank as it is now.
Day 3 & Day 4, 8th and 9th December 2009
Web searches for local garages prove fruitless. Corporate service is what's available in Luxembourg.
Peter writes a message on the van for Gaza.
We head for Mercedes first thing and get directed to the commercial vehicles workshop. This is reassuring as there are many buses and trucks around the yard. We speak to a service manager and show him the van wheel. As we know this will involve removing the wheel and checking for damage. We have to wait for a slot therefore this is going to be a day of waiting around. Mercedes is comfortable with coffee vouchers, soft seats etc. When the work has been done it is gone 4.30pm, they have found the wheel is knackered, the brake pads were thin and some parts relating to the wheels and brakes need replacing – all in all the price is over 1000 euro. I speak to the manager and he gives us a discount on the labour and one of the parts so it comes down to under 1000. An expensive puncture. However I am loaded with around £25,000 aid so this is a fraction – plus the vehicle wheels are now in shape for a long journey and Gaza will get a van that will be reliable.
So we have to catch up with the convoy now and they are a day and a half ahead. Abid and I have looked at the route and it looks like it is going to be better for us to head south through Germany, past Basel into Switzerland, into Italy and then re-contact the main convoy there. So a major overnight and day drive ahead. Its raining and windy but we make good progress on the autobahn until just before Basel when we hit a 13 km tailback. So a few hours sitting chatting with Leah and Cedric. Leah has a 25 year old daughter who is an actor and singer. Leah sings herself and Cedric has a good voice so they sing some songs e.g. Bandiera Rossa. Both Leah and Cedric are much more knowledgeable then me about Israel Palestinian history so it is fascinating to listen to them and ask questions.
We get into Switzerland at 3ish am and continue driving until 4. We stop at a service station and agree to have a power nap for an hour or two before heading on to Luzern. Switzerland is expensive e.g. .50 cent to use the loos. Abid's vehicle is having a power problem and loses power sometimes. We need to get this checked out at VW.
6am we head down into Luzern to look for VW. We have breakfast of instant noodles in the car park. The workshop say it will take until 4pm to get the analysis of what the problem is – from what they can see it would not kill the engine to carry on. Abid decides we should make up the time instead of wait. So off we go. Beautiful scenery through Switzerland and Italy.
We stop inside Italy around 2pm for a sit down and lunch. Trying to find a place involves walking around for half an hour – which is good after a long drive.
Heading on we find out the convoy is at Modena at a service station. While chatting to Cedric about his Palestinian exchange project in Switzerland we manage to miss the turning but its no drama, just adds another half an hour onto the journey. Joyous welcome when we catch up with everyone at Modena Auto Grill!. This is a funny place where they force you to walk through babylon of piled up products before you can exit the building on a one way system. However there are showers which is welcome after 24 hours on the road.
Day 5, 10th December 2009
Not a long journey from Modena to Ancona. However another drama is upon us after the student ambulance has lost their keys. Richard V entertains the troops and passing small children by swallowing a long balloon.
We get Alpha Team parked up at Ancona – this site is a large patch of concrete with a couple of scrubby patches of grass and no facilities. Anyway the priority is trying to find out if there's anything we can do about the missing key. Mercedes has an office in Ancona – Cedric and I go there and speak to them. Seven days to get a replacement, 200 euros. Oh dear. Decide to decide in the morning whether or not to buy the key.
Muzzakir and his lads have stayed with Ryan, Nidal and Mesrob as per deputy duties. They have been through the bins twice, asked the service station staff three times. Muj is knackered as he was up late mediating between some folks last night. One of his boys is also unwell so I say come back, leave the students at Modena (only 30km away).
Back at the site there's a bonfire going, weather is cold and we need to borrow blankets to supplement the sleeping bag and thermals.
Teams spend the morning checking and sorting – Richard and Jerome check the SWR ratings on the three CB radios we have for A1, A3 and A10. If we don't check the SWR the sets can get burned out. People are wandering around introducing if they don't know each other, sharing bread or sweeties. We have two more vehicles added to our group these are the Belgian contingent – so now we are 10. Team Leaders meeting sketches out where we are headed to. Mujj and I hold a team meeting to describe route to our destination, thank everyone for helping last night and outline how we want our group in convoy to work. Next stopis in Germany, we will be going through Luxembourg.
The day's driving is going well when we stop at a service station just inside Luxembourg. Just about to depart when I notice there are nuts missing from the rear wheel we changed last night. This is not good. There are three remaining out of five nuts. I decide to send convoy on with Muj as lead vehicle, Muaz, Abdullah, Mujahid as deputies. Before leaving Richard and Jerome tighten the nuts up. I ring Sid convoy tyre man for advice who is travelling behind convoy to provide support. Unfortunately it turns out Sid and his vehicle have taken a different route and won't be passing us. Group F have been stopped at the services and provide advice. The question is whether or not to drive the vehicle as it is to Luxembourg or whether or not a tow is required. Group F leave us with their deputy Abid and another member Mustapha to stay with us. We get a call from Peter Finch who is a contemporary of another convoy member due to join us in Istanbul – he lives in Luxembourg and offers assistance. Unfortunately he does not know any mechanics or garages. In the services a helpful worker gets out the yellow pages and we look for garage numbers. It appears that there are no small independent garages in Luxembourg whatsoever. We decide to take up the offer of a bed for the night and opportunity to search for a mechanic in the morning – this involves carefully following Peter back to his home. He tells us Luxembourg is a wealthy country with green policies. We stay up around his kitchen table and Leah talks at some length about why she thinks a two state solution in Palestine would not be workable – partly due to the separation of West Bank and Gaza and the fracturing of the West Bank as it is now.
Day 3 & Day 4, 8th and 9th December 2009
Web searches for local garages prove fruitless. Corporate service is what's available in Luxembourg.
Peter writes a message on the van for Gaza.
We head for Mercedes first thing and get directed to the commercial vehicles workshop. This is reassuring as there are many buses and trucks around the yard. We speak to a service manager and show him the van wheel. As we know this will involve removing the wheel and checking for damage. We have to wait for a slot therefore this is going to be a day of waiting around. Mercedes is comfortable with coffee vouchers, soft seats etc. When the work has been done it is gone 4.30pm, they have found the wheel is knackered, the brake pads were thin and some parts relating to the wheels and brakes need replacing – all in all the price is over 1000 euro. I speak to the manager and he gives us a discount on the labour and one of the parts so it comes down to under 1000. An expensive puncture. However I am loaded with around £25,000 aid so this is a fraction – plus the vehicle wheels are now in shape for a long journey and Gaza will get a van that will be reliable.
So we have to catch up with the convoy now and they are a day and a half ahead. Abid and I have looked at the route and it looks like it is going to be better for us to head south through Germany, past Basel into Switzerland, into Italy and then re-contact the main convoy there. So a major overnight and day drive ahead. Its raining and windy but we make good progress on the autobahn until just before Basel when we hit a 13 km tailback. So a few hours sitting chatting with Leah and Cedric. Leah has a 25 year old daughter who is an actor and singer. Leah sings herself and Cedric has a good voice so they sing some songs e.g. Bandiera Rossa. Both Leah and Cedric are much more knowledgeable then me about Israel Palestinian history so it is fascinating to listen to them and ask questions.
We get into Switzerland at 3ish am and continue driving until 4. We stop at a service station and agree to have a power nap for an hour or two before heading on to Luzern. Switzerland is expensive e.g. .50 cent to use the loos. Abid's vehicle is having a power problem and loses power sometimes. We need to get this checked out at VW.
6am we head down into Luzern to look for VW. We have breakfast of instant noodles in the car park. The workshop say it will take until 4pm to get the analysis of what the problem is – from what they can see it would not kill the engine to carry on. Abid decides we should make up the time instead of wait. So off we go. Beautiful scenery through Switzerland and Italy.
We stop inside Italy around 2pm for a sit down and lunch. Trying to find a place involves walking around for half an hour – which is good after a long drive.
Heading on we find out the convoy is at Modena at a service station. While chatting to Cedric about his Palestinian exchange project in Switzerland we manage to miss the turning but its no drama, just adds another half an hour onto the journey. Joyous welcome when we catch up with everyone at Modena Auto Grill!. This is a funny place where they force you to walk through babylon of piled up products before you can exit the building on a one way system. However there are showers which is welcome after 24 hours on the road.
Day 5, 10th December 2009
Not a long journey from Modena to Ancona. However another drama is upon us after the student ambulance has lost their keys. Richard V entertains the troops and passing small children by swallowing a long balloon.
We get Alpha Team parked up at Ancona – this site is a large patch of concrete with a couple of scrubby patches of grass and no facilities. Anyway the priority is trying to find out if there's anything we can do about the missing key. Mercedes has an office in Ancona – Cedric and I go there and speak to them. Seven days to get a replacement, 200 euros. Oh dear. Decide to decide in the morning whether or not to buy the key.
Muzzakir and his lads have stayed with Ryan, Nidal and Mesrob as per deputy duties. They have been through the bins twice, asked the service station staff three times. Muj is knackered as he was up late mediating between some folks last night. One of his boys is also unwell so I say come back, leave the students at Modena (only 30km away).
Back at the site there's a bonfire going, weather is cold and we need to borrow blankets to supplement the sleeping bag and thermals.
6th December
Up at 8 to travel to south London to pick up Leah on the way to Clackett Lane services for the convoy meet up. No probs finding the place. Next few hours spent sorting out the numbering for the vehicles. Lost Ayeb to another vehicle as he is a driver and someone needs one, in his place comes Cedric from Switzerland. Now we have Leah, Cedric and me in my van. Lots of wandering about, last minute preps, meeting people, taking pics, swapping stickers and info. CB is in place and works.
Alpha Team Lead Vehicle
Muzzakir and his boys are in central London for press conference along with Richard V who has come from North Wales with a minibus and caravan. I have spoken to Richard before on the phone but not met yet. He has kindly agreed to accommodate two members from Istanbul. We move off to Folkestone for first water crossing. Its a beautiful evening and all the vehicles look spectacular in the evening sunlight – particularly the HGV from Bristol signed by people from Bristol.
Convoy at Folkestone
Painless 25 min journey under the channel. Sunday evening we are told our destination is a public ground in Brussels. The group pull out in Calais and it is tricky trying to find the initial route, we end up separated from some of A team and end up with three vehicles with us A2, A3, A4. In addition a four by four waves us over that is separated from its group. They are LPG and need to refuel. When we pull over they are Saj and Muqtar from Bradford – they are very friendly and give us a more detailed atlas of Europe than the one we have. Instructions are to head past Bruges and Gent into then take the Brussels ringroad and come off at junction 7b. Turns out there's no 7b but 7 and 7a. So we all miss the turning and end up almost in town. While attempting to rejoin the route back to camp our vehicle A1 has a blow out on the rear left tyre.
The other vehicles stop with us and assist in taking out some of the aid, we get the tyre changed and move on finally arriving 1.30am. The stopover is an exhibition ground, gravelly ground but nonetheless manage to get our two bed tent up and get heads down by 3am. At this stage we have A1 me, Leah, Cedric, A2 Mohammed, Iqbal, A3 Mujahid, Abdullah, Muazim, A4 Ryan, Nadal, Mesrob, A5 Kamahl, Hassan A6 Ram, Juana, Faith A7 Richard, Jerome, A8 Osman, Muzakkir, Mohammed, Subhani, Kefayet.
Unpacked aid to change tyre
Alpha Team Lead Vehicle
Muzzakir and his boys are in central London for press conference along with Richard V who has come from North Wales with a minibus and caravan. I have spoken to Richard before on the phone but not met yet. He has kindly agreed to accommodate two members from Istanbul. We move off to Folkestone for first water crossing. Its a beautiful evening and all the vehicles look spectacular in the evening sunlight – particularly the HGV from Bristol signed by people from Bristol.
Convoy at Folkestone
Painless 25 min journey under the channel. Sunday evening we are told our destination is a public ground in Brussels. The group pull out in Calais and it is tricky trying to find the initial route, we end up separated from some of A team and end up with three vehicles with us A2, A3, A4. In addition a four by four waves us over that is separated from its group. They are LPG and need to refuel. When we pull over they are Saj and Muqtar from Bradford – they are very friendly and give us a more detailed atlas of Europe than the one we have. Instructions are to head past Bruges and Gent into then take the Brussels ringroad and come off at junction 7b. Turns out there's no 7b but 7 and 7a. So we all miss the turning and end up almost in town. While attempting to rejoin the route back to camp our vehicle A1 has a blow out on the rear left tyre.
The other vehicles stop with us and assist in taking out some of the aid, we get the tyre changed and move on finally arriving 1.30am. The stopover is an exhibition ground, gravelly ground but nonetheless manage to get our two bed tent up and get heads down by 3am. At this stage we have A1 me, Leah, Cedric, A2 Mohammed, Iqbal, A3 Mujahid, Abdullah, Muazim, A4 Ryan, Nadal, Mesrob, A5 Kamahl, Hassan A6 Ram, Juana, Faith A7 Richard, Jerome, A8 Osman, Muzakkir, Mohammed, Subhani, Kefayet.Unpacked aid to change tyre
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
Behind Bars this weekend get down there..
Good news is the Behind Bars people's party is all set up and they are fundraising for Gaza on Saturday, hurrah!!
VAN TASTIC
Been struggling with the combination of my brother's mac and new camcorder (Maplins I love you)... so here's a result...
{here will be a video when I've worked out how to do it}
Disappointed to find out that there is not going to be a Central London rally for send off this weekend. Instead we are gathering at service stations on Saturday and Sunday near or on M25. Shame as lots of people want to come down to support and they won't be able to get to a service station on the motorway.
{here will be a video when I've worked out how to do it}
Disappointed to find out that there is not going to be a Central London rally for send off this weekend. Instead we are gathering at service stations on Saturday and Sunday near or on M25. Shame as lots of people want to come down to support and they won't be able to get to a service station on the motorway.
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