Let Us Help The Yemeni People!
A Message From Caleb Maupin Onboard the “Iran Shahed” Rescue Ship in the Persian Gulf
CalebMaupin.info
I have just heard what the US officials have said, and I must say that
I and all the other peace activists aboard the Iran Shahed are filled
with burning outrage.
Why should we drop the goods in Djibouti and let the United Nations
deliver them for us? Why should we trust the United Nations, which has
stood by and allowed the Saudi military to destroy Yemen and slaughter
thousands of innocent people? Why should we specifically trust the
United Nations Relief Works Agency, which has a history of disgusting
scandals, mismanaging assistance to those in need? The United Nations
cannot be trusted.
Its no secret from anyone that the UNRWA Refugee Camps in Jordan and
Turkey are recruiting centers for anti-government militants in Syria
and other terrorist groups. Articles from the New Yorker and other
publications have described how deeply embedded the presence of the
so-called “Free Syrian Army” is in UNRWA’s supposedly “peaceful”
activities at Zaatari refugee camp.
We do not want to provide aid to Al-Queda or ISIS. We do not want to
provide aid to the Saudi military which is slaughtering people. We
want to help the innocent victims of this horrific war, and we will
not pass our task on to the discredited and complicit United Nations.
Let Us “Help The Oppressed”
This ship not only contains water, flour, and medical supplies, but
also 50 passengers including myself. Among us are 3 general surgeons,
2 anesthesiologists, 4 general physicians, the technicians of an
operating theater, and the technicians of anesthesia. The entire
population of this ship aside from the peace activists, the crew, and
a few Iranian journalists, are medical volunteers.
These men are very devout muslims, moved by their faith to “help the
oppressed” as they have been instructed by important figures in the
history of their religion. They don’t want to go to Djibouti, they
want to go to Yemen and begin to treat the injuries of men, women, and
children who are facing horrific atrocities at the hands of the Saudi
criminals and their Wall Street masters.
These Iranian men are not ignorant of what is going on, like the US
public is. The media in the United States and Western Europe has
largely ignored and mischaracterized what is taking place in Yemen.
They have tried to pass it off as a “proxy war” or religious conflict.
The media in Iran is very different. Iranians see every day on their
TV screens what the Saudis are doing to the people of Yemen. The men
on this ship have watched mothers hug their children who are now
missing arms and legs. They have seen the hospitals and power plants
that have been demolished. They have seen all the horrific war crimes
being committed by the Saudi regime, and they are moved to take
action. The doctors aboard want to do as they have sworn to do in the
oath of their profession. They want to use their medical training to
provide relief and assistance.
A Humanitarian Mission
The Islamic Republic of Iran is a sovereign nation, and it has
received permission from another sovereign nation, Yemen, to deliver
2,500 tons of water, flour, and medicine.
There is no question about the humanitarian nature of this mission. A
letter declaring the mission has been sent to the International Red
Cross/Red Crescent Society headquarters in Geneva, as well as to the
Red Crescent Societies of Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The loading of the
ship was a public event, with various media outlets from throughout
the region filming the humanitarian goods as they were put onboard.
Everything that entered this vessel was thoroughly inspected to make
sure that NOTHING that could be considered a weapon was loaded. To put
weapons on this ship would be an extreme violation of the charter and
principles of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, as it is a purely
humanitarian, non-military organization.
Iranian leaders are right not to allow a Saudi inspection to take
place. As someone from the United States in the middle of the Persian
gulf, the last thing I want is the barrel of a Saudi gun pointed in my
face. How do we know the Saudis would not use such an inspection as an
opportunity to plant weapons in order to tarnish the image of the
Iranians, and legally endanger me and my fellow peace activists?
Despite all the facts, the Israeli criminals still maintain that their
attacks on a similar humanitarian mission to Gaza were justified. The
billionaires who run this world are ruthless masters of deception.
Food and Medicine as a “Provocation?”
US officials have used words like “provocation” in response to our
mission. What kind of world are we living in, when the Red Crescent
Society, bringing a boat full of medical supplies and food is
considered a provocation?
For weeks the Saudi regime has been committing horrific war crimes in
Yemen. The day before we departed it was reported that the Saudis
bombed a school full of innocent Yemeni children. The United Nations
Security Council, the International Criminal Court, and all of the
major bodies supposedly responsible for keeping peace have sat back
and allowed these horrific crimes to take place. The United States has
supported the Saudi attack.
Yet, now the United States is bombastically ordering Iran not to send
a boat full of doctors, medical professionals, water, flour, and
medicine to those in need.
I am forced to think of my comrades in the Venceremos Brigade and
Pastors for Peace who have so heroically defied the US laws and
delivered aid to Cuba throughout the last few decades. What kind of
twisted world is it when delivering water, food, and medical supplies
involves so many risks and consequences?
In the United States, the wealthiest country in the world, those who
manufacture the tanks, cruise missiles, and nuclear weapons are among
the richest and most powerful people. They are joined by those who own
the health insurance cartels who make their profits denying care to
those in need. Let us not forget the owners of private prisons, who
enrich themselves locking people away, and subjecting them to inhuman
tortures like solitary confinement.
In this twisted system of modern neo-liberal capitalism, it is those
who harm others who are rewarded. People like me, who seek to deliver
aid to people who are suffering, face extreme threats and
condemnation.
I urge everyone who may be otherwise inclined, to allow us to complete
our mission. Let us reach the port of Hodeidah, where the Yemenis who
have suffered so much are anxiously awaiting our delivery.
Let The Hungry Children of Yemen Live!
This Illegal, Immoral Blockade Must End!
Don’t Block The Rescue Boat!
(I ask my friends in the United States and elsewhere to please forward
and post this message as widely as possible. Send it to the press, put
it on social media, repost it anywhere you want. My internet access
onboard is very, very limited, so PLEASE help spread the word about
our humanitarian mission.)
CalebMaupin.info
I have just heard what the US officials have said, and I must say that
I and all the other peace activists aboard the Iran Shahed are filled
with burning outrage.
Why should we drop the goods in Djibouti and let the United Nations
deliver them for us? Why should we trust the United Nations, which has
stood by and allowed the Saudi military to destroy Yemen and slaughter
thousands of innocent people? Why should we specifically trust the
United Nations Relief Works Agency, which has a history of disgusting
scandals, mismanaging assistance to those in need? The United Nations
cannot be trusted.
Its no secret from anyone that the UNRWA Refugee Camps in Jordan and
Turkey are recruiting centers for anti-government militants in Syria
and other terrorist groups. Articles from the New Yorker and other
publications have described how deeply embedded the presence of the
so-called “Free Syrian Army” is in UNRWA’s supposedly “peaceful”
activities at Zaatari refugee camp.
We do not want to provide aid to Al-Queda or ISIS. We do not want to
provide aid to the Saudi military which is slaughtering people. We
want to help the innocent victims of this horrific war, and we will
not pass our task on to the discredited and complicit United Nations.
Let Us “Help The Oppressed”
This ship not only contains water, flour, and medical supplies, but
also 50 passengers including myself. Among us are 3 general surgeons,
2 anesthesiologists, 4 general physicians, the technicians of an
operating theater, and the technicians of anesthesia. The entire
population of this ship aside from the peace activists, the crew, and
a few Iranian journalists, are medical volunteers.
These men are very devout muslims, moved by their faith to “help the
oppressed” as they have been instructed by important figures in the
history of their religion. They don’t want to go to Djibouti, they
want to go to Yemen and begin to treat the injuries of men, women, and
children who are facing horrific atrocities at the hands of the Saudi
criminals and their Wall Street masters.
These Iranian men are not ignorant of what is going on, like the US
public is. The media in the United States and Western Europe has
largely ignored and mischaracterized what is taking place in Yemen.
They have tried to pass it off as a “proxy war” or religious conflict.
The media in Iran is very different. Iranians see every day on their
TV screens what the Saudis are doing to the people of Yemen. The men
on this ship have watched mothers hug their children who are now
missing arms and legs. They have seen the hospitals and power plants
that have been demolished. They have seen all the horrific war crimes
being committed by the Saudi regime, and they are moved to take
action. The doctors aboard want to do as they have sworn to do in the
oath of their profession. They want to use their medical training to
provide relief and assistance.
A Humanitarian Mission
The Islamic Republic of Iran is a sovereign nation, and it has
received permission from another sovereign nation, Yemen, to deliver
2,500 tons of water, flour, and medicine.
There is no question about the humanitarian nature of this mission. A
letter declaring the mission has been sent to the International Red
Cross/Red Crescent Society headquarters in Geneva, as well as to the
Red Crescent Societies of Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The loading of the
ship was a public event, with various media outlets from throughout
the region filming the humanitarian goods as they were put onboard.
Everything that entered this vessel was thoroughly inspected to make
sure that NOTHING that could be considered a weapon was loaded. To put
weapons on this ship would be an extreme violation of the charter and
principles of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, as it is a purely
humanitarian, non-military organization.
Iranian leaders are right not to allow a Saudi inspection to take
place. As someone from the United States in the middle of the Persian
gulf, the last thing I want is the barrel of a Saudi gun pointed in my
face. How do we know the Saudis would not use such an inspection as an
opportunity to plant weapons in order to tarnish the image of the
Iranians, and legally endanger me and my fellow peace activists?
Despite all the facts, the Israeli criminals still maintain that their
attacks on a similar humanitarian mission to Gaza were justified. The
billionaires who run this world are ruthless masters of deception.
Food and Medicine as a “Provocation?”
US officials have used words like “provocation” in response to our
mission. What kind of world are we living in, when the Red Crescent
Society, bringing a boat full of medical supplies and food is
considered a provocation?
For weeks the Saudi regime has been committing horrific war crimes in
Yemen. The day before we departed it was reported that the Saudis
bombed a school full of innocent Yemeni children. The United Nations
Security Council, the International Criminal Court, and all of the
major bodies supposedly responsible for keeping peace have sat back
and allowed these horrific crimes to take place. The United States has
supported the Saudi attack.
Yet, now the United States is bombastically ordering Iran not to send
a boat full of doctors, medical professionals, water, flour, and
medicine to those in need.
I am forced to think of my comrades in the Venceremos Brigade and
Pastors for Peace who have so heroically defied the US laws and
delivered aid to Cuba throughout the last few decades. What kind of
twisted world is it when delivering water, food, and medical supplies
involves so many risks and consequences?
In the United States, the wealthiest country in the world, those who
manufacture the tanks, cruise missiles, and nuclear weapons are among
the richest and most powerful people. They are joined by those who own
the health insurance cartels who make their profits denying care to
those in need. Let us not forget the owners of private prisons, who
enrich themselves locking people away, and subjecting them to inhuman
tortures like solitary confinement.
In this twisted system of modern neo-liberal capitalism, it is those
who harm others who are rewarded. People like me, who seek to deliver
aid to people who are suffering, face extreme threats and
condemnation.
I urge everyone who may be otherwise inclined, to allow us to complete
our mission. Let us reach the port of Hodeidah, where the Yemenis who
have suffered so much are anxiously awaiting our delivery.
Let The Hungry Children of Yemen Live!
This Illegal, Immoral Blockade Must End!
Don’t Block The Rescue Boat!
(I ask my friends in the United States and elsewhere to please forward
and post this message as widely as possible. Send it to the press, put
it on social media, repost it anywhere you want. My internet access
onboard is very, very limited, so PLEASE help spread the word about
our humanitarian mission.)
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