Bristol kebab seller Sakir Yildirim speaks of Gaza aid convoy terror
ONE of the Bristol activists caught in a commando raid on an aid ship bound for Gaza has spoken of the moment he thought he was going to die.
Dad-of-three Sakir Yildirim, from Fishponds, told the Evening Post he saw his friends shot in front of him by the Israeli military on the Mavi Marmara and had all his money and personal documents taken from him.
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Terrifying ordeal: Sakir Yildirim and Cliff Hanley
Israeli armed forces boarded eight vessels carrying aid to the Gaza Strip on Monday, clashing with some of the 600 protesters on board and killing at least nine civilians.
Speaking from a hotel in Istanbul, Turkey, the 41-year-old kebab seller said: "We had seen a ship at about 10pm, I woke up at 4am and it was getting closer.
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"I went upstairs and there were warships and smaller boats surrounding us, two submarines and helicopters coming from all sides.
"The helicopters came down and I saw the lasers from the gun sights. I hid quickly.
"They killed the guy next to me, blew his brain out.
"I tried to go downstairs to warn people. I saw about three or four other people killed."
For the next three to four hours Mr Yildirim said he was on the ship surrounded by helicopters.
"They made us sit or kneel on the deck. You can imagine the wind from the helicopter when it takes off", he said.
"They kept going up and down, they sprayed us with water and then the wind was freezing.
"I was thinking 'I wish I could die and get it over with'.
"We were then taken to jail. The conditions were awful."
Mr Yildirim said he was now being put up by the Turkish government in a hotel with more than 100 other activists but had no money or possessions.
He said: "They've robbed me of my money, my passport, my driving licence. All I have is what I am wearing. My T-shirt was stained with blood but I've cleaned it."
Mr Yildirim will stay in Turkey until Sunday in order to attend the funerals of those who were killed in the incident, which happened in international waters as the aid flotilla headed towards soldiers and a big rally planned for Saturday.
He said: "I've managed to speak to my family, who were very worried.
"It is my decision to stay here until Sunday.
"The people who were killed were people who I have travelled with before and on previous trips. I want to stay for their funerals."
Another activist, Cliff Hanley, a 61-year-old artist from Southville, was also on the ship with Mr Yildirim carrying thousands of tons of aid, some bought with money raised in Bristol, to Gaza.
The Foreign Office has confirmed that all 34 British activists involved had been accounted for. One had been deported direct to the UK, one had gone to relatives in Israel and the others were deported from Israel to Turkey on Wednesday night.
Comments
by Chris, Bristol,England
Saturday, June 05 2010, 8:42PM
“Some people need to swot up up on the facts
Also where any of the people from the UK so say peace convoy friendly with any of the members of the Turkish terrorist group IHH ?
7 ships of Aid 6 were no problem yet One? and we have all observed the video ! does'nt look good”
by ken, bristol
Saturday, June 05 2010, 1:11PM
“Mickey is stupid if his remarks are anything to go by. Load of rubbish from start to finish.”
by Bruce, Bristol
Saturday, June 05 2010, 12:51PM
“Anon the truth is you have no clue as what is happening in the world. Maybe you should wake up and not be a racist like you sound. Mickey is talking about facts so is not stupid. For stupid you need to look in the mirror!”
by Anon, Bristol
Friday, June 04 2010, 9:08PM
“Mickey your a stupid man you havent a clue what your talking about”
by Chris, Stoke Bishop/downs
Friday, June 04 2010, 6:37PM
“Another hero in the fight for democracy against Islamo-Fascism........victory to Israel means a victory for democracy , and peace in the West
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/middleeast/article2541703.ece”
by Mikey C, Bristol
Friday, June 04 2010, 5:07PM
“I to believed all the pro Israeli propaganda like Jon, Sam and Ken - though as a nieve teenager!! If you were prepared to do a little research you would see that no one is safe from this Criminal state, that started through a terrorist organisation backed by Zionist financiers, that has now infected U.K and US politics. Israel is the biggest risk to not only the UK, but the US and the world (it has over 200 nukes which funnily the US and UK keep quiet about while badgering the Iranians!)- whose wars are we fighting - why are the likes of Obama (a Zionist puppet operated by Rham Emanual?) and Blair quiet when it comes to Israel, because they have been bought (anyone for a Levy knighthood?)! The failed financial system of the UK and US is another sign of the criminal Zionist financial network that bankrolls this state - why is it the number 1 beneficery of US military aid? The US will also not allow strong independent Arab states to develope around Israel, hence the despotic government in Egypt which it buys off and supports. There has been a Balkanisation of the Middle East by both the British and now the US and Israel, Israel however is playing the old divide and rule to perfection and it's 'finger prints' are also all over the 9/11 inside job - 9/11 being the 'Pearl harbour' moment necessary for the attacks on Iraq and Afghanistan. Netenyaho being the evil brains behind 'The War on terror' that demonises Islam and Muslims.For a clear insight from an investigative journalist par excellence see
http://www.bollyn.com/home
To hear by the way the Israeli's decry their special forces being attacked by the peace flotilla is pathetic, what should have been at the most a coast guard action was actually an act of war with armed forces in international waters.”
by L'il Abner, Dogpatch
Friday, June 04 2010, 4:22PM
“Ordinarily, a person leaving a courtroom with a conviction behind him would wear a somber face. But I left with a smile. I knew that I was a convicted criminal, but I was proud of my crime. ~Martin Luther King, Jr., March 22, 1956”
by Jon, Outside Bristol
Friday, June 04 2010, 4:03PM
“Oh dear Helen, how on earth could you put these misguided people alongside MLK, Nelson Mandela and the French Resistance?”
by Helen Stephenson, BS8
Friday, June 04 2010, 2:57PM
“These two brave souls are heroes and make me proud to be a fellow Bristolian.
They will stand tall in world history along with all the others who have opposed brutal, racist ideologies
in the past like the French resistance, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King.”
by ken, bristol
Friday, June 04 2010, 2:51PM
“I would like to know where these people get the time and money to do such stupid things. Let us know the charities and I will stop contributing to them!”