24/7/2025–|Last update: 05:12 (Mecca time)
“When the governments of the world close their mouths, activists open the sea,” Australian activist Robert Martin chose to describe his participation in the ship “Handala”, which sailed within the Freedom Flotilla to break the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip for more than 18 years.
Martin, who joined the activists on board, spoke to Al -Jazeera Net about the motives of his participation and the message he wanted to deliver to the world before knowing the fate of the ship.
“I was lying”
“I spent some time in the West Bank in 2014 and 2018 after I discovered that I was lying throughout my life. My close friend was a Palestinian, and he was telling me what was happening in Palestine,” said Martin, who had previously visited the Palestinian territories.
“When I was going home and watching the news, I see something different. Every time the media uses a Palestinian word, they associate it with a terrorist word. And every time they use an Israeli or Jewish word, they say they are always killed and give them a name and a compassionate father.”
Consequently, Martin did not believe his close friend, but he was astonished by what he saw on the ground when he went to Palestine, and said, “I carried my cameras and documented many crimes committed against the Palestinians.”
Refuse the global habit
The Australian activist pointed to the seriousness of this task, stressing that what people can do is to participate and follow up on the activists on board the ship in the video and the live broadcast throughout the trip, considering that the more their support, the more their safety.
With regard to the war on Gaza, Martin believes that the real danger does not lie only in the siege in itself, but in what he calls “the global habit of the images published from Gaza and the siege imposed on it.”
He said, “The siege and starvation has become a common matter in the news and everyone talks about as a natural condition, and this is the most dangerous thing. Our role now is to disturb this habit and cause a defect in this collusion.”
He continued, “Many people wonder about the reason for caring for the fleet, as it is just a small boat and carries only a small amount of humanitarian aid and medicines. This is completely true, but what we want to do is highlight how the illegal Israeli siege on Gaza works and shows it to the world.”
A will not be broken
Martin stressed, “We do not carry weapons and it is very important for people to know that this trip is peace and is not affiliated with any specific government or organization. We represent the popular base and all our money comes from donors only.”
When asked about what he would do if the Israeli forces attacked the Hanzala ship, the Australian activist stressed that he would not sign any document, indicating what happened with the ship Madeleine and before the ship Mavi Marmara, as Israel executed activists who were on board.
In 2010, the Turkish ship was attacked by the occupation forces while sailing in international waters off the coast of occupied Palestine, killing 10 Turkish citizens and wounding 56 others, while the rest of the activists were arrested, interrogated and torture.
Commenting on this, Martin said, “Israel has done this repeatedly and the ship was kidnapped Madeleine and forced its passengers to sign things they did not understand, and it has no authority in international waters or in Palestinian waters.”
Whesum rise
Speaking to Al -Jazeera Net, Martin and his tattoo showed the camera because of its meanings, saying, “When the slogan of Palestine became free from the river to the sea, it is prohibited by various governments, I decided to tattoo it on my arms.”
He continued, “I have a tattoo that wrote: Freedom of freedom and liberated Palestine. Since a number of countries prevented the carrying of the Palestinian flag, it also added it in red and green, as well as a key because many Palestinians still retain the keys to their homes.”
Martin stressed that he carries these symbolic tattoos with great pride. “If someone wants to take off my clothes there, they will continue a supportive spirit of Palestine, and a body that speaks of that.”
At the end of his speech, he said with a smile, “Handala turned his back to the world in silence, but he saw. As for us, we saw and decided to scream.”
(Tagstotranslate) News (T) Palestine