LONDON, 6 January 2009: The Intrnational Transport Federation, ITF, has acted to get relief aid through to the people of Gaza.
ITF Representative for the Arab World Bilal Malkawi will accompany a cargo of vital medical supplies purchased by the Federation that will leave Jordan on Thursday as part of a shipment being sent with the support of Jordan’s General Trade Union of Workers in Air Transport and Tourism. The ITF-affiliated union has been collecting essential supplies for transport on Royal Jordanian planes, and further relief flights will follow.
Distribution of the food and medical supplies will be handled in Gaza by the Red Crescent, and the ITF, in coordination with the Air Transport and Tourism union in Jordan, is liaising with the Egyptian government to gain permission to transship the load via Al-Areesh in Egypt.
Bilal Malkawi explained: – We have lists of what is most urgently needed thanks to medical friends who have spoken with their counterparts in Gaza. Mostly non-perishable items: examination tables, beds, wheelchairs, swabs, casts and splints for broken limbs. We will be sending bottled water as well, since there is no water and food there. Also milk for babies, rice, wheat, and children’s food.
ITF General Secretary David Cockroft added: – With the essential help of Jordanian and other unions we’re trying to get vital supplies into Gaza, where they are desperately needed. But alongside that need is an even more urgent one for a cessation of hostilities. An immediate ceasefire is the only way ahead.
Kilde: www.itfglobal.org
