STAY HUMAN

FOR VITTORIO – JULIANO – TOM – RACHEL – FOR MAVI MARMARA – FOR ALL OF THE MARTYRS

All Activists Have One Thing In Common _
They ALWAYS Think About Others
Their Enemies Also Have One Thing In Common _
They ALWAYS Think About Themselves

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These were not souls of the Innocent
For they chose to make their stand
They were born in quieter times and places
Before coming to Palestine’s land

These were not armed with weapons
Yet stood knowing against bullets and knives
They strongly resisted the fanatical poison
That has stolen too many lives

They shared ALL the life that was in them
They risked every thing every day
Gave their hearts and their souls and their smiles to Palestine
And nothing could chase them away

Evil could NEVER defeat them!
and though Death has come and then gone
These heroes were larger than either of those
The warmth of their courage lives on! <3

And we _ who continue their struggle
For ALL of our martyrs we cry
We shall carry them with us living their dream
SWEET PALESTINE SHALL NOT DIE!

________________________

Vittorio Arrigoni
Italian reporter, member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).
Kidnapped on April 15, 2011, by suspected members of a Salafist militant group operating in Gaza known as “Tawhid and Jihad”
details - video interview

Juliano Mer-Khamis
Israeli actor, director, filmmaker and political activist
Assassinated on April 4 2011, by a masked gunman in the Palestinian city of Jenin, where he established the Freedom Theatre.
family statement – International Movie Database (IMDb)

Rachel Aliene Corrie
American student, member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).
Crushed to death on March 16, 2003, in the Gaza Strip by an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) bulldozer while acting as a human shield, attempting to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home.
details

Thomas (Tom) Hurndall
British photography student, a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM)
Shot in the head on 11 April 2003, in the Gaza Strip by an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) sniper
details

9 Peace Activists aboard MV Mavi Marmara
Çetin Topçuoglu – Ibrahim Bilgen – Ali Haydar Bengi – Cevdet Kiliçlar
Fahri Yaldiz – Necdet Yildrum – Cengiz Songür – Cengiz Akyüz – Furkan Dogan
Brutally murdered by gunfire on 31 March 2010, during Israel Defence Forces (IDF) assault in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea _ “Furkan Dogan was shot twice in the head, once in the back and in the left leg and foot and… in the face at point blank range while lying on the ground” (UN)

“It’s important to remember their names. The dead are easily maligned and even more easily forgotten. What we need to recall most is that these were ordinary men, shot to death in the middle of a humanitarian mission.” Moustafa Bayoumi.
details – Mavi Marmara interview at Democracy Now

________________________
links of interest (will open in new window)
International Solidarity Movement
Rachel Corrie Foundation
Freedom Theatre

(it should be noted that the Mavi Marmara page on Wikipedia contains a wildly innaccurate and possibly abusive description of the humanitarian group involved in the purchase and despatch of this vessel and gives a clearly biased account of the incident in which these activists were killed _ PIDF has launched a dispute claim to have the page corrected to reflect the truth of what happened on March 31 2010)