Gadija Davids — detained by Israel for being on a vessel that tried to break the blockade on Gaza — said on the Friday that being interrogated has been the worst part of her experience.
The Cape Town radio journalist said the Israelis had asked her “roundabout questions”.
“Nothing is specific so you do not know what exactly they want from you, and if the answer you give them is not what they want they put down their own answer,” she said.
“I asked them if I could speak to someone from my embassy and they said ‘This is Israel, you do not need to speak to anyone from your embassy’, and then I asked can I speak to a lawyer they said ‘You get that opportunity in Europe — this is Israel’,” Davids said.
“It was a shocking experience.”
Davids arrived back in South Africa on Friday afternoon.
She was one of 40 journalists on board one of six ships that formed the Gaza Freedom Flotilla ferrying aid supplies to Gaza on Monday.
The flotilla attempted to deliver humanitarian aid.
They were confronted by Israeli commando’s who rappelled on to their vessels in international waters. A clash ensued, with both the activists and the Israeli Defence Force claiming they had been provoked.
Davids said as their vessel was attacked she was able to get to the press room and was strapped down there with the other women on board.
“It was an intense experience not knowing what was going on. Then we heard over the intercom several people saying ‘stop attacking, we are unarmed’ and then after that it was: ‘Brothers stop resisting because too many people are getting hurt’,” she said.
“When hearing that, you do not know how to react. You cannot believe this is happening.”
There were no weapons on board the vessel and everyone went through comprehensive security checks before being allowed on board, said Davids.
“We were civilians, there were no weapons.”
Blood on the stairs
She said people on the boat were “slightly prepared” to encounter Israeli intimidation.
“We did not expect though the type of attack that we had,” she said.
Once the Israeli’s had seized the boat they took the women on to the deck. While on deck, she saw blood on the stairs.
The detainees were then taken to a prison in Ashkelon, Israel.
“They told us we were lucky because it was a new prison,” said Davids.
“The prison was not as harsh as everything else we went through and we were only there for a day, but we were not allowed to make a phone call until the embassies arrived the next day.”
Davids was one of the few detainees who was allowed to make a quick phone call home, she said.
“Only people who could speak English were allowed to make a phone call because they [the Israelis] only had an English interpreter and they listen in on your call.”
The detainees were told to sign an admission of guilt which the South African embassy had recommended she sign — otherwise she would have faced further interrogation and could have been held in the country indefinitely, she said.
From the prison, they were put in a cockroach infested van, with a small slit for a window.
“We could not see where we were going. Not knowing where we were was part of the terror,” said Davids.
The activists were then deported to Turkey. Davids said all her luggage had been stolen and she returned with only the clothes she was wearing.
“Everyone there said what we went through was what the Palestinian people go through every day,” Davids said. – Sapa