Iara lee: Smuggled footage exposes Gaza Flotilla attack

CKDU Interviews Iara Lee (click here to listen)

Length: 28 minutes
Format: MP3, 128 kbps
Filesize: 28 MB


Photo: Michael Yeong-ung Yang

Israel's deadly raid on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla killed 9 passengers and left many more wounded in the early hours of May 31st. Over 700 activists aboard the flotilla were held captive for three days following the attack. Israel released a trickle of video footage and photos during that time. Some recordings were later revealed to be misleadingly edited, to prove an allegedly violent ship attacked the Israeli army.

Most of the footage aboard the ship was confiscated by the Israeli Defense Forces. However, one filmmaker managed to smuggle out three tiny SD cards that carried one hour of footage from the Mavi Marmara boat.

Iara Lee, New York based Korean-Brazilian filmmaker, was aboard the ship with her film crew. Since being released and deported from Israel, she has testified in front of the United Nations. Her footage was shared on the internet, and received one million hits over the weekend following the attack. It has helped establish the facts of what happened during the attack, including over 30 shots fired by the Israeli army, some at almost point blank range.

On June 22, CKDU 88.1FM had the chance to catch up with Iara Lee over skype, to discuss her experience of the attack, the purpose of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, and what the next steps are for the international, Palestinian-led movement to end the Gaza Blockade.

To see more of Iara Lee's work, visit Cultures of Resistance. This interview was originally aired on CKDU 88.1FM in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

VOICES OF OUR NATIONS: Eight hour broadcast

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VOICES of our NATIONS
First Annual Radio-a-thon
on CKDU 88.1 FM
Friday, July 3rd from midnight to 8 am
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There are over one million First Peoples, from dozens of nations, with dozens of languages, living in Canada.

The Voices of our Nations Radio-a-thon is the first-ever collaboration of Indigenous programmers from radio stations in all corners of the country.

Tune-in on Friday, July 3rd from Midnight to 8 am for eight hours of First Nations stories, music and issues, celebrating Aboriginal identity, history and culture.

Topics include land rights, resources, missing and murdered indigenous women, the 2010 Olympics and the 120-year history of Residential schools.

After centuries of land and resource theft, attempts at assimilation and hundreds of missing and murdered women, it is time Indigenous peoples take something back. Join us as we take back the airwaves!

With such guests as Audrey Redman, Arthur Manuel, and many others, join host Irkar Beljaars of Native Solidarity News for this special broadcast on CKDU 88.1 FM in Halifax, on Mi’kmaw territory.

This special broadcast is brought to you by the Native Caucus of the National Campus and Community Radio Association, CKUT fm in Montreal, and the CKDU News Collective in Halifax. For more information, call 494-2585.