[Boycott - Other News] Alert 31st Oct - Protest G4S Complicity in Torture of Palestinian Children
inminds 28 October 2014
DATE: Friday 31st Oct 2014, 3:00pm - 5:00pm
LOCATION: G4S CEO's Office, The Peak, 5 Wilton Road, London SW1V 1LL (across the road from Victoria Station next to Apollo Theatre)
FACEBOOK EVENT: https://www.facebook.com/events/1504641353117597
28th October 2014, www.inminds.com
Join us outside the offices of Ashley Almanza, the CEO of G4S, as we demand G4S end its complicity in Israel's crimes against Palestinian prisoners, in particular torture of children.
COMPLICITY IN TORTURE
G4S secures Israel's prisons and interrogation centres where Palestinian children are being caged and tortured. These include the notorious Al Jalame interrogation centre in northern Israel where children are caged three floors below the surface in filthy 3m x 1m holes in the ground, in solitary confinement for up to 65 days. Their only escape being the interrogation room where the children, shackled by their hands and feet, are abused and tortured for 6 hours at a time. G4S also secures the "Russian compound" of Jerusalem prison where Palestinian women, as punishment for refusing to strip naked, have had their bodies attached to an electrocution device which burns them from inside.
VIDEO - G4S COMPLICIT IN TORTURE (3rd Oct 2014 Protest)
ACTIVISTS DIARY OF OCT 3rd 2014 PROTEST
Demos, rather than come in shape and sizes, come in waves and frequencies;
Those we marched on last Summer, in the wake of "Operation Protective Edge" felt forthright, solid, even epic given the numbers involved. One such demo exceeded 100k marching from 10 Downing Street to Hyde Park.
However, last Friday's demo felt entirely different from the multitude of G4S demos we normally hold.
I guess partly due to a change in venue (from 105 Victoria Street - where the main headquarters of G4S are), to an altogether more obscure address, the office where the CEO, Mr Ashley Almanza ensconses himself, away from his work-force; a tactic that various dubious companies indulge in to avoid exposure.
My good friend, the demo organizer, Abbas Ali had ingeniously ferretted out Mr Almanza's whereabouts, and that was our assured destination.
As we were setting up, the security guy from the building in question came out to politely ask us to lower the music volume; little did he know that in less than an hour, I would be ratchetting up those decibels through my ranting speech, while naming and shaming his employers.
Needless to say, Abbas calmy explained to him that if anything, the music needs to be way louder.
Now normally, given the plethora of Palestinian flags, pamphlets, leaflets and banners, zionists would invariably swoop down on us vulture-style, and stick around like a bad smell, frothing at the mouth, while spouting off the usual regurgitated indoctrination : "Israel has a right to defend itself...You are all terrorists...The Bible says it is our land"...etc etc etc...(yawn)
More often than not, a policeman is needed to sever their vitriolic trance and move them along.
Not so this Friday!
"For Justice in Palestine - Boycott Israel" slogan was borrowed from Irish activists who used it on a sticker that had zionists outraged and screaming anti-semitism due to the yellow colour used for the text - apparently yellow has a unique association with the holocaust and clearly its use must be anti-semetic.
Firstly, a South African lady who had married a Palestininan and had spent 22 years in Beit Lahem, speaking FLUENT Arabic, told me that though her passport is South African, her heart was most assuredly in Palestine. As I hugged her goodbye, I felt as though I was hugging humanity itself.
A little while later, an elderly Iraqi gentleman sidles up and tentatively asks me about the demo. I explained it was in honour and solidarity with our men, women and children who are incarcerated in dungeons secured by G4S. As I spoke, I noticed tears pooling aroung his eyes, prompting tears pooling around mine. He left showering us with good wishes and heart-felt thanks.
Next, an elegant English woman passes by declaring she had been to Palestine the previous year, planting olive trees.
A Chillian gentleman then hurries over and hugs each and every single one of us, expressing unfathomable solidarity with the cause.
All this in less than 2 hours!!!!!!!
So yes, last Friday's demo for our prisoners, freed something I hadn't realized was locked up inside me; It lifted the cummulative cynicism and doubt as to whether our work could really make a difference, and showed me in a crystal-clear vision, that sitting on the fence and doing nothing about the occupation is no option whatsoever for me; That would be tantamount to placing my own self behind my own construct of prison bars.
Onwards and upwards.
Long live PALESTINE
Sandra, https://www.facebook.com/sandra.watfa/posts/10152469097307108
PHOTOS FROM FREE AHMAD SA'ADAT PROTEST 17th OCT 2014
"Today we are here to demand freedom for Ahmad Sa'adat and all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli dungeons including the other 28 Members of the Palestinian Parliament.
Father of four Ahmad Sa'adat, a maths teacher, was elected by his people to the Palestinian parliament. Israel systematically targets Palestinian MPs and has abducted most of them at some time and is currently caging 29 Palestinian MPs illegally in its dungeons. Ahmad Saadat was soon abducted and is one of those 29 MPs languishing in a dark dungeon.
In 2008 he was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment by an illegal Israeli military court. His crime was supporting an organisation opposed to the occupation - Ahmad Sa'adats political party is the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, he is now their General Secretary. Israel has outlawed it due to its insistence on freedom for Palestine.
We are here to demand freedom for Ahmad Saadat and all the other Palestinian members of parliament Israel has abducted and caged.
Shame on you Israel, shame on you G4S!
Freedom for Ahmad Saadat!
Freedom for Palestine!"
Palestinian lecturer Mona Qa'adan, caged without trial in a G4S secured Israeli prison, also remembered at 17 October 2014 protest outside G4S CEO's office
PLEASE SUPPORT THE DEFENCE FUND FOR HARES BOY ALI SHAMLAWI
Activists in Birmingham are raising money for the legal fees on Palestinian child prisoner Ali Shamlawi - one of the Hares Boys. At least £1,200 needs to be raised by 13th November. Please give generously - thank you.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/defend-child-prisoners-support-the-hares-boys
LIVE UPDATES DURING PROTEST
We will, inshAllah, be tweeting live from the protest with live photos being uploaded to our twitter and facebook page. So if you can't join us on the day, please help us by sharing the photos as they get uploaded.
https://www.facebook.com/inmindscom
https://twitter.com/InmindsCom
If you support this activity please share this alert widely, thank you.
JazakAllah,
Abbas Ali
Palestinian Prisoners Campaign
www.inminds.com/caged
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The Palestinian Prisoners Campaign aims to raise awareness for the plight of Palestinian prisoners and build solidarity for their struggle and work towards their freedom. The campaign was launched by Innovative Minds (inminds.com) and the Islamic Human Rights Commission (ihrc.org) on the occasion of Al Quds Day 2012 (on 17th August 2012), since then we have held actions every fortnight in support of Palestinian prisoners, if you can spare two hours twice a month then please join the campaign by coming to the next action.
Source: www.inminds.com
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