In collaboration with Free Gaza Australia, we’ve drafted an open letter urging the Australian government to ensure the safety of Australians participating in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. If your organisation would like to co-sign it, please fill out the form here. You can read the letter below.

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23 April 2024

The Hon Anthony Albanese MP
Prime Minister

CC The Hon Penny Wong

Dear Prime Minister Albanese and Minister Wong,

Subject: Urgent Appeal for the Safety of Australians Participating in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla

We, the undersigned organisations and individuals, are writing to urgently bring to your attention a matter of utmost importance regarding the safety and well-being of three Australian citizens soon-to-be engaged in humanitarian efforts in Gaza. 

As representatives of various aid and human rights organisations, as well as policy influencers, and concerned citizens, we express our unwavering support for the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) and its mission to deliver urgent humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. The FFC’s “Break the Siege” Emergency Humanitarian Aid Mission is a critical response to the genocide and accompanying dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where catastrophic hunger resulting from the Israeli government’s deliberate policy to starve the Palestinian people has the potential to claim more lives than the bombing itself.

We are deeply troubled by the recent tragic loss of Lalzawmi ‘Zomi’ Frankcom, an Australian aid worker, who was killed in an Israeli military airstrike in Gaza last month. Her murder is a stark reminder of the dangers inherent in bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza. While we appreciate the government’s condemnation of these deaths as “unacceptable,” we are concerned by the lack of concrete steps or diplomatic actions outlined to ensure the safety of Australian citizens involved in humanitarian efforts abroad.

The three Australians – Surya McEwen, Helen O-Sullivan, and Daniel Coward – are among the participants currently in Turkey, preparing to embark on the FFC’s noble mission. Given the historical risks involved in participating in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, including interception, harassment, violence, theft of belongings, kidnapping, and murder at the hands of Israeli authorities, we implore the Australian government to take proactive measures to ensure the safety and security of its citizens. The flotilla is set to sail imminently.

The Australian government cannot afford to overlook the safety of fellow citizens again; it must take every precaution necessary to prevent any further loss of life. We urge the government to closely monitor their progress, engage with relevant Israeli and international authorities to guarantee their protection under international law, and advocate for their unhindered access to deliver life-saving aid to the vulnerable children and families in Gaza.

Furthermore, we implore you to allocate the necessary resources and attention to oversee this mission and prioritise the safety of Australian citizens, especially in times of humanitarian crisis. We cannot afford to overlook the risks involved in bringing aid to Gaza, nor can we allow any more tragedies like the loss of Lalzawmi Frankcom’s life to occur.

We trust that you will heed our urgent appeal and take swift and decisive action to ensure the safety and well-being of Surya, Helen, and Daniel involved in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. We look forward to your prompt response and action on this critical matter, bearing in mind the dire situation faced by the people of Gaza, especially the vulnerable children and families in desperate need of humanitarian assistance. Your support for the safe passage of the flotilla will not only protect Australian citizens but also offer hope to the people of Gaza who have endured immense suffering under the blockade and now the genocide.

Sincerely,

Families for Palestine 
Mums4Refugees NSW Inc
Friends of Palestine WA
Northern Rivers Friends of Palestine
Wage Peace
Tasmanian Palestine Advocacy Network
PSA For Palestine
Northern Rivers Friends Of Palestine
Ireland Palestine Solidarity Australia
Loud Jew Collective
WSU4Palestine Collective
UTS Staff for Palestine
Mums for Palestine Meanjin
Free Palestine Melbourne
Paediatricians Without Borders
Australian Social Workers for Palestine
Women’s Climate Justice Collective
Mums for Palestine
Antipoverty Centre
Nurses and Midwives for Palestine
Teachers and School Staff for Palestine Victoria
Muslim Collective
Nillumbik4Palestine

Individuals
Brooke Shelton
Laura Colloridi
Louise Fryer
Delphie Dib-Milston
Jaya Myler
Peita Cooke
Concepcion Requena
Muhammed Or
Allison Nieuwenhoven
Melanie Perry
Claire Paterson
Sarah Andersen
Candice Firth
Jordan Piears-Newell
Nora Kumri
Joseph Tedeschi
Kamariah Jumani
Louise Jones
Patsie Smith
Yasmin Jerovich
Nidal Abo Roza
Sophie Leckie
Muayad Ali
Stephen Murley
Ibrahim Al-Mahdi
Grace evans
Leo Elturk
Cal Kelly
Maira Wilkie
Jayna Patel
Ping Ho
Katy B Plummer
Marissa Ciampi
Isabella Kennedy
Stuart McNair
Lesley Ayling
Martin Boer-Cueva
Siahne Rogers
Odessa Hayek
Alicia Adam
Gemma Herd
Dimitri Dayo
Zara Lomas
Natasha Harris
Rachel Freire
Sophia Morris
Sarah Stellino
Amy Redden
Rachel Hutchison
Polia Fike
Kaitlin Costa
Samala Nancarrow
Nisat Zaman
Freya Waring
Buffy Mair
Tarni Webb
Julie Morgan
Kerry-Anne Pope
Josie Teague
Amelia Hoff
Steven Cable
Ronnie Zachariadis
Meggen Campbell
Zubaidah Mohamed Shaburdin
Jo Copping
Greg McDonald
Steph Putker
Natasha Capstick
Yemaya McDonald
Alice Whittlesea
Nathan Zhao
Daniel Coward
Frankie Howard-White
Madeline Coward
Helen Nassaf
Kate Littleton
Gabrielle Mogck
Mariyam Walls
Mona Cusack
Heather McQuade
Zoe Hinman
Michelle Agius
Rebeca Speakman
Emanie Darwiche
Talitha Thomas
Sharryn Koppens
Tina Fattori
Fareeya Sakur
Michelle Murray
Leonie Grien
Mashita Effendi
Paul Dodemaide
Angie Hart
Monica Harland
Jessica Scott
Michelle Cable
Natasha Ferguson
Stephanie Vander Lugt
Natasha Lewis
Chengjun Li
Nahal Naraghi
Kira Bayfield
Lakita Lynes
Sarah Koufadis
Pearlyn Choy
Imke Bester
Elaine Hadj
Alisha Erwin
Jinevra McQueen
Katherine Sorrell
Mark Sorrell
Demet Yücel
Sumayya Khan
Christina Pavlou
Inighion Quinn
Muntaser Mahmud
Maighan Mills
Aysun Ilhan
Pia Li
Karen Lau
Todd Keating
Jo Thwaite
Soad Elturk
Cassie Bryant
Elizabeth Pagel
Sian McIntyre
Sadia Khan
Jade Needham
Bec McKechnie
Madeleine Collie
Dani Frankel
Bronwyn Papantonio
Aaron Desira
Fouad Malti
Elisa Gutierrez
Sian Anketell
Ilknur Eren
Josephine Harrison-Cobby
Zuhairah Dindar
Alice Whitmore
Lara Gaelen
Karen Bassant
Saba Mustafa
Chloe Hocking
Daniela De Ocana
Gabriel Bassant
Meryem Dilber
Shani Patel
Enass Akkouch
Cassia Jurcevic
Cassandra Barford
Jessica Jury
Autumn Murphy
Diane James
Isabella Luna
Oonagh Murphy
Cassandra Ng
Kaitlin Hatt
Tamara Needham
Kathryn Ciavarella
Annie Werner
Laurie McDonnell
Dr. Alba Boer Cueva
Sarah McNabb
Carly Pascoe
Sherona Parkinson
Breanne Hobden
Clare Richard
Mazen Elturk
Surya McEwan
Marianne Borg
Anisha Nath
Mohammad El-awik
Rachel Lindsay
Mercy de Oliveira
Zena Agha
Rola Aiche
Antonique Amperidis
Rebecca Barnard
Veronica Warry
Nikkola Mikocki-Bleeker
Elizabeth Vleeskens
Ashley Haywood
Jolina O’Hair
Amanda Mullen
Omar Sakr
Jessica Whyte
Beth Taylor
Cushla Parsemain
Rosie Isaac
Zena Banna
Aleasha Meadow
Hend Elkashouty
Tina McGowan
Kelly Robinson
Anna Stanford
Julian Garcia
Andrew Fernandez
Dinithi Kanankegamage
Marlene Nguyen
Juanita Field
Lisa Dent
Siahn Davis
Mona Elturk
Joanne Holl
Hannah Tall
Alessio Russo
Fatima Ramadan
Sue Abbas
Hanadi Suby
Katy Elturk
Lois Collins
Kiri Edwards
Sarah Harward
Allison Callaghan
Honora Ryan
Ellen O’Neill
Alaa Nayfeh
Rebecca Thomson
Gemma Dillon
Helen Edwards
Rayhana Kouidri
Daniel Pinter
Lauren Steel
Tim Fry
Alicia Lopez
Damien McGillivray
Kylie Nolan
Jesse Barnes
Tanya Badal
Emma Healy
Sarah Coonerty
Alex Poli
Raaheel Bham
Havane Alca
Zahira Mafawalla
Remi Griffiths
Azima Portelli
Saffiya Akkawy
Andrew Kittos
Marie Dawkins
Lisa Barry
Klementine Burrell-Sander
Andrea Zile
Maha Hijazi
Hasiba Zay
Natalia Figueroa Barroso
Hayriye Korkmaz
Huda Nasaruddin
Madeleine Perry
Mariam Ardati
Amanda Pope
Mark Goring
Stephanie Fisara
Kate Box
Sarah Abutazil
Ebony-Jane Saunders
Sondus aldainy
Paul Oliver
Lila Dsouza
Doug Reason
Zahie El hajj
Aisha Abdallah
Arikhta Kar
Sarah Boulle
Gabriela Bourke
Summer Potten
Anju Abraham
Zeina iaali
Gabe O’Neill
Tam Nguyen
Hannah Berzins
Hadeel Kalla
Patrick Honeine
Safa King
Sarie Mannering
Mikaela Barratt
Lara D’Orria
Susan AlMaani
Rachelle Quiggin
Katie-Lee Chapman
Nesrine youness
Nadia Khan
Yolande Turnbull
Divyansha Patro
Sameeksha Patro
Soumia Mokrani
Asmaa Moussa
Dr Mark Bahnisch
Deena Gad
Debra van der Westhuizen
Jayson Gillham
Petra Puvanendiran
Leahannah Ceff
Emma Jack
Nicole Barakat
Fatima Bacot
Marian Abboud
Jayne Christian
Yasephin Megapurwara
Izabella Antoniou
Jenny Cao
Yumi Takahashi
Bilal abdelwahed
Nooralhuda hussain
Vanessa Yee
Nisa Glavovic
India Thornton
Louise Naughton
Nasiha Peer
Alexander Smith
Rachel Messenger
Millie Bartlett
Kate McCann
Needeya Islam
Yonna Obaid
Omar Elkhaligi
Sarah Qiu
Yusra Baig
Amy-Beth Yeo
Amanda Mallam
Cin Webb
Sivine Tabbouch
Liliana Cuba
Stephanie Krawczyk
Dena Taiebat Robinson
Megan Cope
Lux Eterna
Tatjana Seizova-Cajic
William Triste
Aysha Kanuric
Nicola Conville
Fiona Greer
Jessie Borrelle
Alana Holmberg
Hayley Millar Baker
Lily Paulley
Şeyma Bildiren
Rebecca Greenberg
Alex Gawronski
Bacall Castle
Jo Shearn
Aiden Stalker
Kath Lawton
Clare Barnes
Steph Brown
Prince Aydin
Jazz Money
Anel Kanuric
Jack Khouri
Kylie Brummell
Gehan Jayawardhana
Natasha Fox
Angela Nennie
Joanna Redestowicz
Abby Mills
Ilham Mohamed
Najwa Karnib
Inaam Warwar
Eilish Fitzpatrick
Papatya Danis
Jharna Chamlagai
Asif Nadeem
Shireen Nabi
Lu Taylor
Nicola Catts
Taylah Rush
Rebecca Gurney
Zainab Khan
Hayley Gordon
Jacob Gordon
Alexia Derbas
Amanda Berry
Souraya El-Sayed Ahmad
Minaaz Khan
Sascha Bravery
Safiya Khan
Rachelle Ferrer
Eleni Christou
Aadila Ebrahim
sueda Engler
Ruby Harvey
Sidra Sajid
Miss Kurdi
Ash Rose
Emma Pham
Nabeelah Sdq
Jacinta Lou
Lucinda Rymer
Raeesa Gutta
Rachel North
Jack Tait
Muhammed Mafawalla
Mashuda Nathie
Sumeya Sharif
Binish Shaikh
Kito Clark
Donny Tilbury
Shakir Pichler
Grace Easton-Roche
Shahbaz Jamal
Radja Rebahi
Taseen Hassan
Khadijah elmasri
Nehal Abdou
Melike Haqiqeh
Tuba Cihan
Morgan Gladstone
Natalia Machado
Alpine De Graeve
Ashlee Mentlein
Rayan Ferdous
Yomen Kanj
Stuart Rumble
Naema Ali
Shadi Bahbah
Elizabeth Gibbons
Trischelle Roberts
Muhammad Khan
Daniel Griffin
Mia Nicolson
Sahariar Rahman
Zoe Suji
Murad Rafik
Jas Sanghera
Lara Summers
Tarek Ayoubi
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Alison Harwood
Angela Mrazek
Aadiat Shamim
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Nina George
Anjie Rivero
Jessica Duyvelshoff
Nina Pribic
Peta Malins
Jack Birtles
Rain Ó Maoláin
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Ione Matthews
Mahzaib Khan
Mishal Aarbi
Aparna Ananthuni
Semelisi Politoni
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Camille Peters
Ashton Brenton
Pablo Roman
Rose Liddall
Anna Brown
Kelly Wills
Tony Amos
Lillian Forrest
Jessie Goetze
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Mj Johnston
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Heidy Tapia
Anne Schofield
Jennie Donehue
Fatima Minhas
Rohani Binti
Gina Lakosta
Dylan Cogin
Andrea jeffery
Nosheen Malik
Nic Townrow
Emily Bodley
Angela Dix
Jordan Ginger
Patrice Halliday
Raffaela Cavadini
Jim Baker
James Talty
Marilyn Chami
Sarah Barry
Elizabeth Logan
Bryony Edwards
Kata Komlos
Rhani Dean-Talbett
Sarah Siddiqui
Ali Ahmad
Evelyn Rast
Dr Rabia Annalisa Orselli Dickson
Zoe Terakes
I Areej Alsheikh Hussain
Rachel Heath
Zi Lee
Arlo Valmai
Miranda Grealy
Mariam Nahlous
Yasmin Hassan
Shaima Kan
Ashleigh Kok
Suhailah Ali
Junaid Ahmed
Maryse Hill
Tony Gain
Blake Wilson
Angela Needham
Shannon Powell
Zohra Nathie
Ashanti Permatasari
Ayesha Tauseef (Mona)
Mykah DeRose
Arjuna Aravinda
Jocelyn Mackenzie-Ross
Jawad Mazhar
Annie Belcher
Helen Glover
Solaris Shariati
Justin Shoulder
Jana Moser
Jacqui Snyder
Giulia Chiro
Kate McWilliam
Anna Blake
Erin Hodge
Farah Hany
Anna savage
Phoebe Panaretos
Basjia Almaan
Ebony Papanastasiou
Madeleine Wiblin
Ege Ceviker
Pam Greer
Melanie Gleeson
Cristina Caple
Courtney Beach
Deborah Shadbolt
Dinithi De Alwis Samarawickrama
Fathiah Raihan
Marlo Whiteside
Gemma McDonald
Caitlin Traynor
Marcella Dogin
Bianca ligonis Arnaldo
Sadi Uddin
Sarah Foley
Georgia Spain
Stewart Mills
Annie Smith
Hamdy Amrizal
Isabella Gibson-Giorgio
Lucia Canuto
Grace Toakley
Inga Lie
Fiona Tansey
Aadil Ansareen
Brenda Sagar-Laurie
Isaak Bovell
Albaab Ahmad
Ali ehdeyhed
Lisa Lloyd
Mohammed Abdul Hannan
Fareeha Khan
Erica Weatherlake
Wendy Allan
Rosaleen Kehoe
Kate Alhassan
Sophie Louchart
Emma Shannon
Archie Barry
Emma King
Yamusa Alhassan
Alice Greene
Emily Fong
Barbara Ward
Matt Wight
Danica Wight
Annie Pfingst
Gareth Smith
Gina Lakosta
Maxine Caron
Marion Grant
Sarah Boulle
Jessica Mamone
Emily Guy
Claire wakeford
Najwa Farakis
Amanda Mullen
Chetana Karen Wilson
Gillian Scott
Shona Dawes
Chelsea Corlett
Sahra Miller
Lesley Berry
William Shields
Nadia Deeb
Ryan Low
Paula do Prado
Kate Box
Chloe Hicks
Charlotte Dean
Merania Tairea
Reid Yang
Tanya Sobiesiak
Mel Russell
Sarah Ambrose
Fatima Ramadan
Eva Wong
Nicholas Ponzoni
Chiara Sullivan
Renee boissett
Amy Landa
Adri Anne
Camille Todhunter
Amirah Shalabi
Angie Grills
Jemima Dunn
Domenico Stallo
Kathleen Dungey
Kirsten Alexander
Meera Anderson
Bonnie Sveen
Hayley McGuire
Angela Clark
Georgia carniel
Alia Alhafny
Louise Widdup
Martin Hall
Kerrie Willingham
Karen Goes
Daniel Way
Jagdeep Kaur Rana
Alison Chan
Ashleigh Terranova
Kalyani Jegendran
Sophie Penkethman-Young
Katy McEwen
Katie Grant
Lorene kham
Katie Shammas
Gemma Clinch
Nameer Davis
Louis Walker

(Co-signatories list will be updated daily. Last update 30 Apr 2024, 11:35am.)