A message of solidarity with THE GAZA FREEDOM MARCH from Roger Waters of Pink Floyd

PHOTO ABOVE: Demonstrators in front of French Embassy - 1:30AM, Sunday, Dec. 27, 2009 (Aishah Schwartz)

CAIRO, EGYPT (Dec. 27, 2009) – My name is Roger Waters. I am an English musician living in the USA. I am writing to express my great admiration for and solidarity with the 1360 men and women from 42 different countries around the World who are gathering in Egypt, preparing for The Gaza Freedom March.

We all watched, aghast, the vicious attack made a year ago on the people of Gaza by Israeli armed forces and the ongoing illegal siege. The suffering wrought on the population of Gaza by both the invasion and the siege is unimaginable to us outside the walls.

(PHOTO LEFT: The same scene from above just five minutes later. Demonstrators barricaded between the curb of the sidewalk and the iron gate surrounding the Embassy compound. Shockingly disturbing and currently the wallpaper on my mobile; marking the impact of watching the 'human shield' cross the street in unison to block the protestors from public view. - Aishah Schwartz)

The aim of The Freedom March is to focus world attention on the plight of the Palestinian people in Gaza in the hope that the scales will fall from the eyes of all, ordinary, decent people round the world, that they may see the enormity of the crimes that have been committed, and demand that their governments bring all possible pressure to bear on Israel to lift the siege.

I use the word ‘crimes’ advisedly, as both the siege and the invasion have been declared unlawful by United Nations bodies and leading human rights organizations. If we do not all observe international law, if some governments think themselves above it, it is but a few short, dark, steps to barbarism and anarchy.

The Gaza Freedom March is a beacon to all those of us who believe that under the skin, we are all brothers and sisters, who must stand shoulder to shoulder, if we are to make a future where all have recourse to law and universal human rights.

Where life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is not just the preserve of the few. All the oil in The Middle East is not worth one child’s life. So to those of you who march, I tip my hat. It is a brave and noble thing you do, and when you reach your goal please tell our Palestinian brothers and sisters, that out here, beyond the Walls of their Prison, stand hundreds of thousands of us in solidarity with them.

Today, hundreds of thousands, tomorrow, millions, soon, hundreds of millions.

We Shall Overcome.

Roger Waters