Our members and fellow co-operators will have gathered from the Directors’ seasonal message on the Robert Owen Society website and social media pages that two members of our Board have been active in the field of humanitarian aid for refugees. This is in line with the Society’s community action targets.
Will Jackson has been travelling with aid convoys into the Ukraine on a regular basis often visiting areas too close to the war zones for comfort. We celebrate Will’s humanitarian actions which are consistent with our Society’s activities.
Amelia Washbourne has continued her humanitarian support for the people of Palestine by tirelessly making the civilised world aware of the suffering experienced by those living in the war zone. In her efforts we have all been grateful to The Hon.Jesse Norman M.P. for the support and guidance he has given to Amelia.
We have decided to publish below the latest letter that Amelia has written for Jesse Norman to deliver to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of HM Government. If any of our members or fellow co-operators feel so minded to forward this to their own member of Parliament that would be very helpful.
Yours in co-operation
Chris Morgan – Secretary to the Robert Owen Society .
CORRESPONDENCE VIA JESSE NORMAN MP ON BEHALF OF AMELIA WASHBOURNE OF THE ROBERT OWEN SOCIETY
Dear Jesse Norman MP
I have received your email dated the 20th December and thank you again for your part and allowing my questions to be asked of the government and in this case Hamish Falconer MP of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
I have examined closely the contents of Hamish Falconer MPs response, and I find it deeply disturbing, inadequate and frightening for the Palestinian people. Could you please, again, respond to this gentleman on my behalf?
For the attention of Hamish Falconer MP.
Dear Hamish Falconer MP
I have received your response to my questions asked by the Rt. Hon. Jesse Norman MP on my behalf. I have replied to Jesse explaining that I find your response disturbing, inadequate and frightening for the Palestinian people. It disturbs me deeply that you refer to the Hamas attack because as the whole world knows, this attack was in response to the illegal occupation and abuses Palestine have suffered at the hands of the Israeli government and was not the reason for this war but merely an excuse to escalate the actions of the Israeli government against the Palestinian people and is disproportionate. You are also urging all parties to engage in negotiations, does this include Hamas the de facto governing body?
You state that the UK is working closely with international partners to drive efforts to help civilians in Gaza and calling for urgent action to prepare the population for winter. Yet, I have access to reports from families in Gaza and video evidence of camps being flooded with water in freezing conditions and there are reports of children dying of hypothermia and starvation. The UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa reported in a statement on Friday 27th December that four newborn infants had died of hypothermia in previous days as reported by the Palestinian Ministry of Health. This is an example of the deteriorating conditions in Gaza and with temperatures expected to drop further it is predicted there will be even more deaths of children to report. The makeshift shelters offer no protection against the cold. You call this intolerable; I will call it inhumane. You also state you will not accept any more excuses from Israel on humanitarian assistance and yet, these reports keep coming. The Uk may have trebled its aid commitment in the last year but what good is this? The aid is not reaching the people, and more deaths are occurring. What are we doing to prevent the deaths and to get the aid in place?
You used the UN Security Council Presidency in November to highlight the deteriorating situation in Gaza and the urgent need to bring the civilian suffering to an end. You then state the UK are pressing Israel to take all possible steps to avoid civilian casualties and to allow the free passage and facilitation of unfettered aid into Gaza: and to respect and enable the humanitarian operations of UN agencies and Non-Governmental Organisations acting in Gaza. Despite this, aid is not getting through. This as a report of the airstrike near Kamal Adwan Hospital in North Gaza reportedly killed health workers and dozens of others and the arrest of Housam Abo Safia the director of the hospital who refused to leave the patients who were injured without medical care. With the details of Israel`s torture of Dr. Adnan al-Bursh reported this is a horrifying prospect. Another horrifying fact is the amount of health care professionals and doctors who have been captured by Israel and have either disappeared or are held in what can only be described as concentration camps. So, you see, the excuses are still being accepted. What is being done to secure the release of this doctor?
You also state that you respect the independence of the International Criminal Court. What preparation through the courts is being made should either of the named come to our country? In addition, you state that Israel has the right to defend itself. What has Britain been doing since 2014 to ensure that Palestine is recognized as a state and to broker peace negotiations to enable Palestinian people the right to self-defence? This is surely where the moral equivalence differs? Hamas seen by this government as a terrorist organisation are no different to HTS in Syria and yet, the major Western Countries are prepared to hold diplomatic talks there. This just screams of hypocrisy and diminishes the lives of the Palestinian people.
You also talk of a two-state solution. This has been talked about, discussed and constantly there have been reasons not to offer Palestinian sovereignty. This has led to the inhumane situation we find ourselves observing now. You continue to call for a ceasefire which is just not possible as there appears to be opposition from Israel.
With each passing day the Israeli hostages are at risk and so are the Palestinian people.
When will sanctions be used against Israel for their violations under International Law for the murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war who have been captured, surrendered or injured and crimes of sexual violence and its violation in the conditions for providing humanitarian assistance in the form of food, medicines, medical equipment, or other vital supplies to civilians in need?
Up until the current time I am disgusted and horrified at our government’s response to the suffering of the people of Gaza and the lack of urgency in this current crisis to proceed with the Genocide (Prevention and Response) Bill which may be relevant in what has been deemed a “Plausible genocide” in Gaza in the ICJ on January 26th, 2024. Do you also respect the independence of this court? It last received a reading in May 2024 in the House of Lords and has not yet been given a date to be presented to the House of Commons.
I will await a response to this email and will continue to observe closely the horrifying events unfolding in Gaza and will note the deaths which are occurring and will use this a measure of the adequacy of this government and its response to the events. I understand it is not only our government who are acting but it is my government I can hold to account. I will continue to do so.
When all the rhetoric and spin are stripped away this is a matter of basic humanity. Innocent women, children, aid workers and non-military adults are being slaughtered on an industrial scale. These acts debase humanity and brutalise the whole world. People`s lives have to matter.
Yours Sincerely
Amelia Washbourne.
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