Source: AlJazeera English

Cycling close to double the distance of the Tour de France, three Irish cyclists are now on the final stretch of their journey from Ireland to Gaza. The students, having just reached Israel-Palestine, arrived in Jerusalem yesterday and will attempt to cross into Gaza over the coming days.

Their 6,000 km cycle aims to raise money in support of an emergency appeal to provide for neo-natal care and medical resources for burn victims in Gaza. The initiative came from Eoghan Quinn (21), a type-1 diabetic, after he learned of the restrictions on medical supplies reaching Gaza. [1].

“As a diabetic, I am completely dependent on constant access to medicine. I wanted to use my fortunate circumstance to help those cut off from the outside world in Gaza.”

They set off on their arduous journey from Ireland on June 22 and have been cycling over 150km a day, resting only once a week. “We are really looking forward to reaching Gaza”, said cyclist Ronan Sheehan adding: “we have overcome hypothermia in France, several falls, some on busy highways, and survived being chased by wild hounds in central Turkey.  It’s been tough but epic.”

The cyclists have been assisted by a small support crew which includes John Lyttle: “I am in absolute awe of the lads for what they have achieved so far and through my background as a student physiotherapist and first aider, I aim to help in any small way in the completion of their mission.”

The intrepid travellers have received support from around the world, including a formal motion of commendation passed by the Scottish Parliament and a reception in the Irish Parliament hosted by Irish MPs and Senators. As they travelled through each country, the team documented the trip on their website via an innovative audio blog that lets them phone and ‘phlog’ direct to the site.

According to cyclist Gearoid O Cuinn, Gaza’s medical infrastructure has been crippled by the two year long siege that has led to widespread malnutrition and many preventable deaths. “We are working with the health care charity MAP (Medical Aid for Palestinians) to try in some small way to alleviate the situation,” said Gearoid.

If they succeed, their back-up vehicle will be donated to a rehabilitation hospital that was partially destroyed in the January offensive. “Even as we prepare to reach Gaza we will continue in our efforts to raise money for our charity (MAP) via our website www.pathwaystopalestine.com” said Tom Watts, member of the support team  “All monies raised online go directly to their operations on the ground”, he added.

[1]: http://irishhealth.com/article.html?id=15725

The team consists of Eoghan, a town planning student; John Maher (30), medical student; Ronan Sheehan (21), pharmacy student and Gearóid Ó Cuinn (29), law student, all of whom attended the same high school. The support vehicle travelling with the four cyclists will be driven by trainee physiotherapist, John Lyttle (23), from Derry and Tom Watts (21), from Sheffield who studies psychology. Project co-ordinator: Gráinne Quinn.

More information from Gráinne Quinn,

http://imemc.org/article/61279

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So as part of the Students Boycott Apartheid delegation we’ve been to quite a lot of places in such a short amount of time (Al-Quds/Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Khalil/Hebron, Dheishah Refugee Camp, Ramallah, Nablus, Balata Refugee Camp, Um Il Fahm, Al-Lajun, Haifa, Tel Aviv, Yaffa, Naqab/Negev, and Lyd ALL in ONE WEEK!). The organizers did an amazing job in developing the programming. So I’ll be writing up my analysis from all the meetings and places we went to within the coming week and most likely finishing it once I get back to the states. In the mean time check out the complete itinerary and feel free to ask any questions. We’ll be spending the next 4 days in Ramallah for workshops with Palestinian students and then I’ll be returning to Amman to catch a flight to Cairo to join the Viva Palestina USA Convoy inshaAllah/God-willing!

By the way, I took a ton of pictures that aren’t on the picasa gallery yet so I’ll upload the best ones now and a lot more once I get back.

After such an exhausting day and everything I had been through at the border to get there, I can’t explain how amazing it was to finally see The Dome of the Rock (Al-Sukhrah, where the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, ascended to heaven with the Angel Gabriel nearly 1400 years ago) and Masjid Al-Aqsa (where the Prophet Muhammad, pbuh, prayed before his ascension).

Here is a picture I took after the prayer of exactly how I saw The Dome of the Rock for the first time:

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