cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/36603369
Italy is sending a ship to accompany the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, who said its activists remain shaken but determined following an Israeli attack on Wednesday morning.
Organisers of expedition, which is attempting to carry aid to the Gaza Strip, shared footage this morning appears to show an explosion that detonated on one of the flotilla’s vessels.
Late on Tuesday activists heard explosions and saw drones that targeted some of their boats, currently situated off Greece. “Multiple drones, unidentified objects dropped, communications jammed and explosions heard from a number of boats,” the Global Sumud Flotilla said.
“I have authorised the immediate intervention of the Navy’s frigate Fasan, which was sailing north of Crete and is heading towards the area,” Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said in a statement.
This is the first time maybe in my lifetime that I’ve seen a real W for organized labor in Italy, I have to admit I had basically lost any hope. Italy used to have one of the most radical labor movements in Europe (we used to disappear industrialists ffs), but by the time I was born our unions had become neutered, bureaucratic and corrupt entities whose whose main output was bootstrapping the career of useless centrist politicians.
I am still almost in disbelief of how effective the Genoa dockworkers union was. They made an open threat: “if anything happens to a single boat in our flotilla we shut down Europe”, as soon as the first strikes on the flotilla happened in Tunis they called in a National strike, and they fucking pulled it off. Half the country’s services were shut down on Monday. Almost a million people were in the streets. If our very zionist government went so far as to send a warship to escort the flotilla it means the fuckers were actually rattled. They wouldn’t do this unless they seriously thought things could escalate in the country.
Labor organizing scares fascists, folks…
Shout out to the workers of Collettivo Autonomo Lavoratori Portuali (CALP) of Genoa for reigniting a tiny spark of hope in this godforsaken country. Solidarity forever. I’m trying to see if they have a strike fund that people can contribute to but I can’t find one, they are “calp_genova” on Insta and “CALPinfo” on Telegram.
Palestine is the compass. This struggle has elevated all others around the world.
It really separated the wheat from the chaff. Loved seeing all the Ukraine-flag NATO-loving western “leftists” getting their pants pulled down in front of the whole world. It gave us a landmark to orient ourselves, as we were totally lost in a sea of mud.
Italian labor’s work has somewhat seeped through the news over the past 2 years if you looked close enough. Though widely overlooked. Watching this develop and finally culminate in this incredible display was humbling and inspiring as hell. Power to you and the world should bow before your example. Nothing but love!
It also should signal to everyone: Our work mattered! These unions exist as continuation and through the sacrifices of millions of leftists over the decades. The 90s and early 00s may have felt like total defeat and like nothing ever mattered. That has been proven wrong. It did matter, it did leave a mark, it lives on in those dockworkers and it will transform the world again.
Solidarity to all the colleagues and comrades. Keep pushing, you will make the world follow.