Evening 7 (Thurs 15 Jan) & Evening 8, Friday 16 January 2008

Day 8....Evening... all in high spirits
I returned to a late evening shift on Friday, having missed Thursday. Last week on Sunday at the same time I was alone, having replaced a lone protestor. I had been joined by one other and then we were relieved by the night shift. Yesterday I arrived to see seven people split into two groups, and on joining them found that another (who had been there since , had just gone off to get a coffee). This group comprised some IHRC regulars but also new people who had joined and were now regulars by word of mouth and just passing by. Been and Selina also joined us after 9pm.

The spirit was amazing, as were the frequent stops by passers-by with suggestions, commendations and messages of support. Whilst some pleasant gentleman called us "Scumbags" as they passed by, the rest of the evening went very positively.

One of those on the team expressed how the vigil made him feel he was doing something proactive and positive, and I think he is right.

On Wednesday morning, Kara and I has been discussing the change in tempretaure, not celsuis, but in society regarding Palestine. We are not helping the Palestinians he said, they are helping us. Their sacrifices have made us brave and have raised our spirits and our dtermination to do what is right.

I hadn't thought about it that way before, but it is true. Whilst talking with Harun who arrived early for night shift, my husband called to say he was watching ac lip of Gerald Kaufman MP in parliament - a lifelong Zionist - describe the actions and words of the Israelis as "Nazi", and the situation of the Gazans as that of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto.

Things have changed, and God willing they will not be the same again. SAHLA.


DAY 7, EVENING - 15TH Jan 2009:

Pictures from earlier on in the day....Mez










Palestinian Sr who has been at the embassy every day since the Zionist war on Gaza.

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Later on the Evening 9pm onwards....

I was standing around at the IHRC vigil in Kensington opposite the Israeli embassy. I was told that there would be a demonstration against Iran outside the Iranian embassy. I was initially hesitant to attend the vigil as I was under the impression that the Zionists would walk towards Israeli embassy in big numbers and they might cause trouble with the attendees at the vigil. But I was assured that IHRC had agreed with the Police that they would be there to stop any intimidation by the Zionists. Around 10pm Sami (another attendee) and I were at the vigil alongside two other supporters of the vigil. We saw a group of around 30 rowdy Zionists from a distance. I looked around and saw no Police in sight-that moment I was really scared.The Zionists now on the opposite side of the street, spotted us and started shouting abuse. They called us 'terrorists', 'fucking Arabs' etc and were also showing their middle finger at us. They were trying to deliberately provoke us and get a reaction. I felt really intimidated and was left shaken- something violent could have easily happened. Luckily none of us reacted and the crowd walked on after approximately 5 mins of abuse. I wonder where the police were....

The rest of the night was pretty uneventful...then Sami got a call from family back in Palestine....his cousin had been killed in Gaza.

It really brought it home for me...its not just pictures and news of another people suffering in another land...its real...its now...it affects everyone around us. MUJAHID