The Ship That Carried People Standing Up Against Injustice

Laura Stuart was born in Britain and of British nationality. She is a housewife and has three children. She joined the Gaza Freedom Flotilla with a motto of “Palestine Our Road, Humanitarian Aid Our Load” in Antalya and was on the ship “Mavi Marmara”. As a witness, she recounts the incident with us:

21.06.2010 - The Ship That Carried People Standing Up Against Injustice

*This interview was conducted by Z. Tuba Kor in Istanbul on June 4, 2010.

What was your motivation when joining the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla? 

I have been to Gaza twice before. I was together with IHH on the previous convoy to Gaza. I admired the way they work, how organized they were. So when they said they were going by sea, I wanted to join the flotilla and go to Gaza again. The reason I go to Gaza is because I want to stand against injustices taking place against Palestinian people which our governments seem to be completely unable to change the situation in any way. 

Were you expecting an Israeli attack before setting off? Weren’t you afraid? 

I was not afraid. I knew that they had threatened. They talked obviously in the press a lot about how they were going to do something to prevent us. But I did not anticipate that they would actually land on the ship immediately using live ammunition against unarmed civilians. So we could not have expected such a vicious attack.  

How was the atmosphere onboard the ship before the Israeli attack?  

The night before, at 11 o’clock, the captain announced that we were being surrounded by Israeli ships; they showed up on the radar. We knew that on this day we were going to reach Gaza. So if anything was going to happen, it would be on this day. Because of that we went to bed early to sleep as much as we could. The atmosphere was really quiet, serene and tranquil, but we did know that we should expect something. 

Could you please talk about the Israeli attack? What happened during the attack? 

We heard the adhan (call to prayer) on the ship and prayed fajr very quickly and immediately the attack happened. In the first minutes, most of the injuries and casualties took place. I was in downstairs with the women which was the lowest deck on the ship. I actually could not hear anything. But somebody came looking for anybody who can help first aid. So I went upstairs to the middle deck where the wounded were brought. I stayed there trying to help the wounded until the Israelis took control of the ship. 

How was the atmosphere at that time? 

Very very busy. They were bringing in the wounded and the dying. The atmosphere was unreal actually because there was so much blood. All the injuries were related with or from live ammunitions, and all of them were bullet wounds. We were not prepared obviously for this situation. Some people were lying on the floor and we were trying to resuscitate them. Others were lying on the benches. We were just trying to stop the bleeding from their wounds, and put bandages on them and drips in some. The atmosphere was extremely extremely busy. 

Israel claimed that there were terrorists onboard the ship. Who were the passengers of the ship actually? 

The Israelis are the terrorists. The people on those ships were from many many different nationalities, and different religions, Muslims and non-Muslims... There were people who just wanted to try and do something against injustices. There was no terrorist of course. But Israel would say that, because they just lie. 

Israel also claimed that they were attacked by the activists. How did the peace activists resist to Israeli soldiers? 

I think some of the men resisted with their sticks. It is logical because this was our ship and we were in international waters. Surely we had a right to defend when the Israeli helicopter came... Actually I did not see with my own eyes but I do understand that from the helicopter they started shooting before they even landed. They did not actually give any other chance to us. They just started shooting right away. People have a right to defend themselves if they are under attack. They attacked us and we were defending. 

What was the most striking event that you experienced on the ship? The event that you will never forget throughout your life... 

I obviously will never forget all the wounded people. But also I will not forget the Turkish men, mashallah they were so strong. Even though they had some very serious wounds, they were not crying. They were really very strong and beautiful people. I think I will always remember this. On the other hand Israeli soldiers were very afraid. They brought a few soldiers as hostages you know, and put them in the place where we were treating the wounded. They looked very afraid. But I did not see any Turkish men looking afraid. 

What about the foreign passengers? 

There was one Australian and one, I think, Malaysian or Indonesian that was wounded. They were okay. But I think it was the Turkish men who did most of the defense and obviously they took the most fatalities and the most wounds. I admire them because although the Turkish men did not have any guns and some of them just had sticks, they were not afraid from defending the ship. On the other hand I see that if you take the gun from an Israeli soldier, he is just a coward hiding behind the gun. 

Then you were taken as a hostage... 

I did not actually realize that Israeli soldiers had come to the middle deck. Because I was so busy with the wounded. They must have taken all the men from the hall that I was in, but I did not even notice that. I suddenly realized somebody was talking to me. When I looked, there was nobody around, only Israeli soldiers were standing in the doorway at the other end of the hall, and they had their guns pointing at me and saying “If you do not come now, we are going to shoot you”. So maybe they spoke to me before and I had not even heard them... I looked around and noticed that everybody had gone. So I said to them “I have seriously wounded people here, I cannot leave them”. And they said “You must come now, or we’re going to shoot you. Don’t worry, we’ll bring a doctor. We have a doctor with us.” So I had to walk a long way towards them in the cabin. They did not shoot me but they searched and handcuffed me. I had to go to the deck. 

How did they treat you and other passengers when you were taken as a hostage? 

Towards some passengers they were very very bad. For myself, in some way, I was very lucky. They treated me slightly better, I think, because they must have known that I was with the wounded people. When we went upstairs on to the deck they took my handcuffs off. They got three wounded and judged that they were not severe enough to go by helicopter and allowed them to be with me. They actually allowed me to walk around, get them blankets and water. They even handcuffed the wounded from behind. When I requested, they changed them, I mean they took off the handcuffs of the wounded and put them in the front. However when the other people stood up or slightly moved, they pointed the gun at them and told them to sit down. They kept them on the floor for a long long time. So I was just very lucky to be allowed to stand. 

Was it because you are British? 

I am obviously English with white skin. Some people said that it was because they are racist people and some people said it was because you are white. But there were other white people that were not treated like me. I think it is really because they knew that all I was doing was getting water and blankets to the wounded people, so they did not see me as a threat. However I do not know the real reason, it could either be that they were racist people or that they knew I was just helping them. 

Then you did not experience any abuse or torture even after you were taken from the ship... 

It was very subtle you know. After they searched everywhere they took us down to the middle floor again and it was so hot. They did not put the air condition on, so we spent many hours on the way to Israel in very hot sun and always with their guns pointed at us. They did not want the people even to go to the toilet for a long time and then there was only one toilet remained for men and one for women. These cannot be called torture but they made everything very uncomfortable for us. We had been so hot all day on the ship, I mean we spent hours like in a sauna. And then they took us in prison vans which were all closed, and they put the air condition on high and we were absolutely freezing. Even the air was hurting when coming on our faces. And they were driving madly, they kept hitting the brakes and going fast. You know, these seem just little things but they did them to make us as uncomfortable as possible.  

Were you detained? 

Yes. It’s crazy. They took us to Israel by force. When we got to Israel they asked us to sign a paper saying that we understood we entered Israel illegally so that they can deport us. How? It’s crazy. Some people signed the form. I think they were afraid or confused or they did not understand it, maybe they found a flight home, I do not know. But many of us refused to sign such a ludicrous lie that we entered Israel illegally. We say “No, we are not signing it”; then they said “Okay, if you do not sign, you have to go to prison”. So we went to prison. 

What happened there? 

In the beginning they were harsh towards us. I mean they did not hit us or do anything like that, but they were quite harsh. Because the world media was looking at what had happened, the next day their attitude changed suddenly. They started to bring us clean t-shirts and food, and some lawyers and people from the consulates had arrived... In the beginning they were telling us that we were criminals and I was arguing with them saying that “We are not criminals, we did not come here by our free will”. Over the next day or two days they realized their mistake and they started to change their attitude, and treating us as criminals. 

How about the way back to Turkey? 

What happened was that the Turkish government sent airplanes to bring everyone that wanted to come. Already some nationals who did not have consulate representation, I mean many Muslim nationals, left the previous night to go to Jordan. The rest of us were just told in the morning “Okay get up, get up, get up; you’re going, you’re going”, and we said “We did not sign any paper, we do not want to go” and we refused to leave. They said “No, no, no, everybody is going, everybody is going”. So we thought “Okay let’s see what’s happening”. They gave and check our passports, and they put us in a van and took all. But we sat many hours -all afternoon and evening- in the airplane. Of course the logistics of knowing who were missing, who were in hospital, who were there, who were already left was difficult. We were all 680 people. So we did not actually leave Israel until about midnight.

The leadership of Turkish government was very good. They sent officials from Turkey to greet us, to meet us in the airplanes in Israel. When we arrived in Turkey, got off the airplanes and got on the buses, the consulates of different nations were waiting for us to tell that the Turkish government and Turkish Airlines, was prepared to fly us to our destination free of charge, and provided hotels and everything... Alhamdulillah everything was done for us. 

What do you think about IHH? 

I admire them a lot, especially their leadership. They are very strong people. They did not leave Israel until they knew where everyone was. They took care of us. They shared solidarity with us. They could have taken just the Turkish people home, but they said “No, anyone can come with us”. So they are very good and very strong people. They are prepared to stand against injustice. 

How do you feel now? Will you join another campaign to Gaza? 

Yes, definitely, inshallah. As soon as anybody is ready to go again, I will join. This is my third time. I went twice before, first in February 2009 and then in December 2009 with Viva Palestina. And this time with IHH. 

Why did you prefer IHH this time? 

When we made the group in the UK, some of us wanted to go to Gaza with IHH. Because actually we like IHH’s organizational skills, we like their attitude, and we like the way that the leadership recognizes us. Even after the last convoy when we came here to Istanbul, they remembered us, they have time to say “salam (greeting)” to us.  

What were you trying to deliver to Gaza?  

From the UK, we loaded a lot of medical equipments and vehicles for aid on the ship “Rachel Corrie” which sailed from Ireland. We also donated money to IHH to help them buy the cement and the necessary stuff. And then we brought one truck full of medical equipment here on the ship and also toys for children. All was just humanitarian aid. But it’s nothing new that the Israelis are calling us terrorists, as they called the Palestinians, the Lebanese, the Iranians terrorists. Everyone who does not agree with them is a terrorist.