posted
Convoy Update 11.30 (GMT) Sunday 1st March 2009
"""EGYPT WILL ALLOW CONVOY INTO GAZA"""
They are in their thousands in the Green Public square of Tripoli attending a big rally to welcome the Viva Palestina humanitarian Gaza convoy. This is the first of many planned in Libya.
Ambassadors, dignitaries, representatives from the Gadaffi Foundation as well as the children of Palestine have spoken of the horrors and the tragedy of Gaza.
Gift bags containing caps, T-Shirts, books have been given to members of the convoy as a gesture of thanks and admiration for their efforts to get the aid to the destitute people of Gaza.
This morning,it was announced at the rally thet Egypt has agreed to let the convoy through to Gaza to the cheers of all the people and to the relief of our convoy members. It will be one less matter to worry about and to only concentrate on the noble goal they set out to achieve when their vehicle rolled from the UK on the 14Th February.
Up to 100 Libyan trucks are joining the convoy starting with the Tripoli contingent today including ambulances and a fire engine. The Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation (GICDF) is sending a considerable quantity of medical aid.
After drinks and sandwiches, they will head for the city of Misrata passing and possibly stopping in Khums.
Farid Arada
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Convoy Update 22.00 (GMT) Saturday 28th February 2009
A QUIET NIGHT BEFORE TRIPOLI
They are absolutely exhausted.It has gone very quiet in the scouts chalets of Az Zawiyah, where our convoy is spending the night. Only a handful are still up at this time as a long day awaits them tomorrow in Tripoli and Misrata.
Libya is offering the opportunity to catch up on some well deserved sleep.Tomorrow Tripoli will greet them as the breakers of the siege of Gaza. Libya has been over decades a staunch ally of the Palestinian people.
The sheer size of the convoy and the logistics of keeping it going to the border seems to have been well studied by the Libyan authorities and a program has been designed to give the Libyan people the chance to see, meet and savour this historical moment along the way to the border with Egypt.
According to the Tripoli Post, the convoy is e xpected to take the span of four days to cross Libyan territories and drive over 1,900 kms, in order to reach Imsa'id's border post with Egypt.
Leading the welcome preparations of the convoy is the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation (GICDF) which said it is to join the Viva Palestina with its own convoy of medical aid.
GICDF has for over a week been contacting Libyan public and private institutions to contribute to the aid convoy and to take part in the welcoming of the members of this humanitarian mission.