The Audacity of Diplomatic Failure in Athens

Three crew members of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla II boat are still aboard with no contact...

(ATHENS) - From the Audacity of Hope crew: Day 16 of the imprisonment of the U.S. Boat to Gaza, The Audacity of Hope, at a U.S. Embassy shared pier near Piraeus, Greece, just outside of Athens.

The U.S. Embassy has done absolutely nothing to help us in 100 + degree heat at a U.S. Government shared pier! No shore power, no alternatives provided (like another pier). No consular visits to see the conditions for themselves. NOTHING, ABSOULTELY NOTHING!!!

This weekend, please call the State Department 202-647-4000 and ask for the 24 hour Emergency Operations Center. Tell them that 3 people are still enduring the inhumane, dangerous conditions on the boat.

Regina Carey (http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/07/06/18683952.php) from San Rafael, California, is a consultant specializing in strategic planning and planned giving. In her lifetime commitment to human rights she has focused her time and energy to the Rights of the Indigenous (original people), Water Rights and Peace. She is a co-founder of the Black/Jewish Dialogue Group in Marin County, California. She has been an active participant in the World Social Forum and the UN Conference Against Racism (Durban, South Africa).

Crew member Jenny Linnell, is a British citizen from Devon, England, and was a Free Gaza crew member in 2008 on the first boat that broke the naval blockade of Gaza. She stayed in Gaza for a year and worked with the International Solidarity Movement. Her exit from Gaza into Egypt a year later took over 6 weeks because she had arrived by boat. She holds a "Day Skipper" license from the Royal Yachting Association and founded a sailing collective called "Learning the Ropes".

Ann Wright is a former U.S. diplomat with 16 years in the State Department and Deputy Chief of Mission (Deputy Ambassador) at 4 U..S Embassies (Sierra Leone, Micronesia, Afghanistan and Mongolia) and who got the State Department's award for Heroism for her actions protecting civilians during the civil war in Sierra Leone. She resigned in March, 2003 in opposition to Bush's war on Iraq.

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Boinga July 17, 2011 1:36 pm (Pacific time)

Called the State Dept today (1:15PM PST); interrupting what sounded to be a hoot of a party.

A woman there named Teriese confirmed no utilities have been extended to the boat and said they have 'no jurisdiction over that port.' When asked about the impact on the well-being of the Americans on board that ship, she said they are free to leave their boat. When asked whether their boat was impounded, she said to speak to the Greek authorities. (Passing the buck seems to be ingrained into their call center).

Our president weighed in on the Arab Spring, calling for various Arab leaders to step down and has supported the bombing of Libya for over 3 months... But, here, their hands are tied. Intent clearly translated to inaction.

These are type of folks who earned a living overseeing operations during the Holocaust.

dannykid July 17, 2011 12:11 am (Pacific time)

As Regina Carey, among her many commitments, admirabely supports the Rights of the Indigenous, than she should surely be supporting Jewish rights to settle in all of Israel - from the river to the sea.

Editor: The indigenous people are the Palestinians, not people who moved there after 1947. Look up the meaning of the word, it will do us all good. What you advocate for friend is Genocide and the world will not let it happen. There is no such things as a decent religious government, particularly one with the zealots of Israel at the wheel. There are good people in Israel who need to take over, at minimum, while the western world works as one to end this blockade and give back to the Palestinians, what the Israeli government has stolen from them.

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