This is an email sent by Huwaida Arraf and Adam Shapirio before joining a convoy of Lebanese demonstrators to southern Lebanon for an International Day of Action demonstration against the onslaught Israel is conducting with funded U.S. weaponry.

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Friends, I haven’t written much since arriving in Lebanon, and we’re afraid this will be short. It is now hours before our convoy to the south of Lebanon takes off. Our eight days here have been sad, frustrating, infuriating, and inspiring all at the same time. As many of you know, I came here as part of a small group, which included my husband, Adam, to explore the utility of establishing an international civilian presence in Lebanon to support the people of Lebanon in confronting Israeli aggression against their country. After a week of lots of debate, organizing, politicking and arguing, we held our final preparation meeting at a café called Taa Marbouta. This is a café that was due to open on July 20th, but because of the attack on Lebanon, the owners changed their plans and instead converted the café into a relief center. In the same building, which still has a brothel on the 4th floor, there are 5 other floors of Lebanese citizens from the south forced to flee by Israeli bombardment and destruction of their homes. Tonight, well over 100 people came to participate in the final preparations, receive instructions, and pick up the rations of food and medicine that we will carry to villagers in the south. While not much in terms of sustainable relief, this effort is meant as a political act to reject Israel’s efforts to impose its will and challenge the international community’s complicity in the suffering of the Lebanese people.

Every night we hear the bombing by F-16 fighter jets, unmanned aircraft and missiles fired from unseen Israeli ships off the coast as the bombs smash into Beirut and its suburbs. Last night Israeli rockets brought down 3 apartment buildings in the Shayyah suburb of Beirut. While these buildings were empty, because Israel had warned the residents to leave the day before, is this not terrorization? Israel seeks to absolve itself of responsibility for the death of innocent civilians by dropping leaflets on entire villages, towns and cities telling people to leave or die. Should we consider this humane? Many of the 900,000 Lebanese civilians forced to flee their homes in the south and southern Beirut don’t have homes to go back to now. Over 1,000 Lebanese civilians who did not or could not flee have been killed. Monday night the Shayyah neighborhood was hit without warning – one building took a direct hit causing an adjacent building to collapse. Over 20 dead bodies were pulled from the rubble. I think that I have become somewhat immune to devastation. Last week we were in Al-Dahiya suburb of Beirut – normally home to tens of thousands of mostly poor Lebanese. Many of these residents first moved to Beirut as a result of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. As I walked through the rubble and looked down streets of destroyed buildings, I was reminded of the remnants of the Jenin refugee camp in Palestine, also reduced to rubble by Israel back in 2002. For pictures of Al-Dahiya, see: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/aishabain/album?.dir=/8a5cre2&.src=ph&.tok=phYB7TFBkGAFSzjJ

While the situation here in Lebanon differs from our experience in Palestine – aerial bombardment of the country versus occupation soldiers brutalizing people on the ground – the aggression I’ve witnessed is the same, the destruction of lives and livelihood is the same, the war crimes committed are the same, and the impunity with which Israel carries this all out is the same.

A few hours ago we learned that the Israeli military hit a convoy leaving Marjayoun (in the south) under UN ‘protection’, killing three. It had received Israeli permission to move. The people here do not have any reason to believe that Israel will not hit a purely civilian convoy carrying relief. Indeed, UN workers have been killed by Israeli strikes, ambulances have been hit, and civilian homes have been targeted. But this initiative tomorrow represents the resolve of Lebanese civilians to reject Israel’s dictates and stand up for their country and their people. We are all going knowing full well that Israel might hit us. And yet, one thing that we agreed upon is even if we are hit and suffer casualties, this campaign continues. If the convoy can continue on the same day, it will, if it cannot, we will reorganize and advance again another day.

We reject, on principle, any kind of coordination with the Israeli military, but we’ve done as much as we can to make it known to Israel that this is a civilian convoy. On CNN this morning I reiterated our plans and asked, in the face of this civilian act of resistance, “what will Israel do?”

Tonight a journalist asked me, “aren’t you scared?” I answered honestly, “no.” I really don’t think about it. While this is a dangerous initiative, I believe that doing nothing is more dangerous. The United States, instead of backing an immediate ceasefire that could have saved hundreds of innocent lives, expedited a weapons transfer to Israel. For the past 4 weeks, the United Nations has been paralyzed; every day innocent civilians are being killed. When governments and international bodies fail to act, average civilians must. And so I am honored to be part of this convoy. I am heartened by the love and dedication of the dozens of civilians from all over the world who traveled to Lebanon answering our call to join the civilian resistance; I am strengthened by the tens of thousands that will be demonstrating all over the world tomorrow; and I am proud to have worked with amazing people that are the spirit of Lebanon that will not be defeated.

In solidarity & struggle for justice,

Huwaida & Adam

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