Interview with future Lebanese flotilla participant

A month later after the Flotilla incident that caused the death of 9 Turkish activists and diplomatic tensions between Israel and Turkey, a new flotilla could sail on the water of the Mediterranean Sea en route to Gaza.

Young Lebanese journalists and activists will take part to this new expedition that could be a further element of tension in the already unstable Middle East. To know more about the reasons and motivations that could push young people in participating to this kind of dangerous and radical act of protest, I met Z., a 22-year-old Lebanese female journalist living in Beirut.

She will take part to the Flotilla on board of the Naji al-Alia, one of the two ships that will depart from the northern city of Tripoli, in Lebanon, within days or even hours, directed to Cyprus and then Gaza.

In change of not revealing her full name, Z. accepted to offer her point of view to the public. This could appear as polemic to some of our readers and despite Digital Journal not sharing such radical view we feel the need to portray one of those activists getting ready to sail for Gaza.

At the same time, Z.’s point of view doesn’t represent the entire expedition but it is important because it embodies the cultural and political backgrounds of some of the new Flotilla participants.

Young, pretty, friendly and proud of her country, Z. comes from a middle class Muslim family. Graduated in Journalism, she is working as a freelance journalist and practising politics as an activist for the United Nations Youth Association (UNYA).

Under the typical Muslim scarf, there is a young woman able to speak a fluent and fast English with an American accent and “always ready to enjoy life not only praying everyday, but also going out with friends, shopping, going to the beach and strongly supporting Brazil and Argentina at the World Cup", as she said.

Alessandro Di Maio: What was your impression about the incident on the previous Flotilla at the beginning of June?
Z.: I expected it and the whole world expected it. I think that somehow it was a mistake, since I believe Israel lost her only Muslim real ally country, Turkey. It was to show the world that the Israeli government doesn't care about the whole world. They brainwashes the minds of the world and especially the western world.

ADM: Do you think Israel washes the minds of the citizens of the Western World?
Z.: I think the minds of the citizens of the western world are being brainwashed with the help of some of the western governments. All of us [activists] know the Israeli Lobby that works on controlling the western media starting from newspapers and TVs till even movies. People who live in the west don’t know the truth and it’s thanks to their governments, most of which are controlled by Zionists.

ADM: A new Flotilla will soon sail to Gaza. Are you involved?
Z: Yes, I am joining it. The Flotilla’s name is Naji al-Ali, which stands for the Palestinian caricaturist who was assassinated by the Israeli. The mission is to deliver supplies like medicines, educational material like books and pens, building supplies like cement, but what is unique about this new Flotilla is that it includes aboard only journalists and activists.

ADM: The official website of Naji al-Ali does not say that he was killed by Israeli. How are you sure about that?
Z.: Naji al-Ali was famous for his caricatures. He used them to fight the Israeli out, and he had been threatened by them several times, but refused to surrender and kept on drawing till they finally assassinated him as they usually do.

ADM: About this new flotilla who is paying for the supplies? The Lebanese government?
Z.: Not the government. People are paying for that, different kinds of people, from young students to businessmen.

ADM: Are the Lebanese government and Hezbollah somehow supporting the expedition?
Z.: Absolutely no, neither Hezbollah nor the Lebanese government are supporting the new Flotilla. The idea is simple: journalists and activists who are working on supplying the Palestinian in Gaza with what they need. We will show the truth about Israel, we will be challenging against them.

ADM: Are you joining the flotilla to report as a journalist or to “show the truth”? And what’s the “truth”?
Z.: I am joining for both to report and to show the truth about the barbarian acts against the people of Palestine and the condition in Gaza.

ADM: Do you think that the IDF - the Israeli Defence Force - will stop the flotilla?
Z.: Of course they will but as I said before it will be a challenge. If they [Israeli (government or army)] will stop us, it will be another definite clue that they are against all kind of human rights.

ADM: Will it be a peaceful flotilla?
Z.: Definitely, it is a flotilla that carries supplies...

ADM: How many ships will take part to the expedition?
Z.: Two ships for now. I will be aboard of the Naji al-Ali and it will contain 50 Lebanese journalists and 25 foreign and Arab activists, but the number might get bigger due to the insistence on the participation. There is a second ship called Mariam, but I am not really informed about it. I just know it will only board women.

ADM: Rumours say that the second ship might not even exist. Is it just a an attempt to confuse the Israeli army?
Z: The ship exists and it will sail with the Naji al-Ali.

ADM: If the Israeli force stop you and the soldiers come on board what do you think will be your reaction?
Z.: If they attack me I will have the right to defend myself.

ADM: Aren't you afraid? The region is already instable and a new flotilla could make it worst. Moreover for Israel it will be a Flotilla not coming from a friend country like the previous one, but coming from an enemy country, so it could be a dangerous situation for those who will be on board of the ships.
Z.: No, I am not afraid and I know it is dangerous. If they use violence against us it will mean that they are barbarians…since it is a journalists’ flotilla. The main cause is much more important than my life.

ADM: You are a journalist but also a political activist. How do you put the two things together?
Z.: Yes, I am both, I am member of Journalist with no bounds, an organization that works for the freedom of journalism and journalists, and also a member of Youth Against Normalization with Israel. Showing the truth is our main job as journalists and if it means my life against the truth then let it be the truth.

ADM: Normalization of the diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Israel?
Z.: No, not just normalization of the diplomatic relations, but also normalization on the economical and cultural field. That’s because we believe that Israel works on having a war not only on the military field but also on the cultural, economical, literature area. We believe that we have to stop it from getting to its goal which is to invade us on all levels.

ADM: I didn’t understand it. Are you working until your country has normal relations with Israel or not?
Z.: I believe that my country will never have a normal relation with Israel. We can’t forget the thousands of people killed by the Israeli including friends and relatives, we can’t forget the massive destruction they cause to my country every time they decide to invade us. We might have a truce or kind of seize-fire but no normal relations because I don’t believe in Israel as a country, and I don’t believe it is going to be ever a peaceful one. Every time they attack, be sure that we have the total right to defend our land and this is not terror, neither from us nor from Palestinians.

ADM: Do you exclude any chance of peace with Israel?
Z.: To us Israel doesn't want peace in which we [activists] believe in it. Israel is a country that attacks and then accuses the other side of being the one which has attacked. It is not possible to have peace with people who “kill” you every single day. It is not possible to have peace with people who invade your land and then claim that your land is theirs. So no, I do not believe in peace because honestly I have not the feeling they really want peace.

ADM: The terrorist attacks organized by Hamas and the rockets launched by Hamas and Hezbollah are the Israeli motivation for the last wars (Lebanon 2006, Gaza 2009), for the construction of the defending fence (or wall), for the occupation of the West Bank and for a limited control of the Gaza Strip. What’s your opinion about that?
Z.: The one they call terrorists attacking buses, pubs, discos, we call them martyrs. Those are people who refuse to be attacked, who refuse to watch their family killed, their sisters raped, their lands occupied. I believe they have the total right to defend themselves against barbarian acts committed by the Israelis, and it is nothing compared to the massacres that Israelis do every single days under the eyes of the whole world in the name of fighting terror.

ADM: Fateh, the most important Palestinian political party is against terrorism. I am curious to know how does a young girl - who is not Palestinian and who has never been to Palestine or Israel to see with her own eyes - come to justify the martyrs. Could you explain it?
Z.: Fateh is not anymore the most important Palestinian political party. This is what the Palestinian election showed… If they [Fateh] see those martyrs as being terrorists then it's their point of view, but I disagree. Yes, I am a Lebanese girl, I might be young but clearly I see the truth and what the Palestinian people want, which is freedom for their land, and freedom is not such a big thing that needs a big girl to see. It is a need for all human beings, we all aim to be free.

Interview published on Digital Journal on the 2nd of July 2010.