An emotional Hajar Kagiso Al Thaira Ahjum Mathee chants 'Free Palestine' at O.R. Tambo International Airport, embodying the spirit of resilience and solidarity after enduring harrowing experiences during the Gaza flotilla mission.
A wave of emotion, determination, and raw testimony swept through O.R. Tambo International Airport on Saturday, as the six South African delegates from the Global Sumud Flotilla arrived home after a harrowing detention in an Israeli prison.
Kidnapped in international waters while attempting to deliver life-saving aid to Gaza, the activists—Moghamed Faeek Afriedien, Hajar Kagiso Al Thaira Ahjum Mathee, former Ambassador Faizel Moosa, Qutb Hendricks, Ebrahim Peters, and Yusuf Rahman — were greeted by jubilant family members and supporters from the Palestinian Solidarity Alliance and Global Sumud South Africa.
The delegates shared accounts of physical violence and emotional abuse, likening their conditions to a concentration camp and drawing painful parallels to South Africa’s apartheid past.
Former Ambassador Moosa spoke about the brutal system he witnessed. “The system has gone way beyond being an iota of humanity. There is no humanity left,” he stated.
