In the last week, Israel illegally detained more than 450 crew members from the Global Sumud Flotilla. While deportations are underway, reports of brutal treatment and violence are streaming in. “I could talk for a very, very long time about our mistreatment and abuses in our imprisonment, trust me, but that is not the story,” Greta Thunberg declared after her release.  

As the genocide in Gaza passes its two-year mark, lethal Israeli attacks continue to proliferate throughout the territory. With an increasing death toll of more than 67,000 Palestinians and thousands of people unaccounted for under the rubble, the Freedom Flotilla remains steadfast, approximately one day away from Gaza’s shore, sailing to break Israel’s illegal and deadly blockade. While recent reports suggest some of these have begun to be intercepted, hope remains strong.

These nine boats – carrying 150 activists, sailors, journalists and doctors from 30 countries – have set forth to deliver lifesaving aid. The largest of the fleet, Conscience, has more than 90 volunteers aboard, making a determined return to the Mediterranean after Israeli drones bombed the vessel in May. “We are a bunch of civilians from all over the world thrown together on a boat on a mission across the Mediterranean; that is really a last resort, but we're at a time now where we are left with no choice but to do this,” says Conscience crewmember Mary Finn, a British activist and aid worker.

On October 3, after Finn broke her phone, she borrowed a friend’s to call us via Signal before starting her drone-watch shift. The 28-year-old has spent the better part of a decade sailing the Mediterranean on sea rescue missions for fleeing migrants and refugees – the deadliest crossing for migrants on record. Witnessing the fatal consequences of apathetic and complicit governments first-hand, and with years on ships under her belt, Finn says joining the Freedom Flotilla “must be done”. 

Below, Finn spoke to us from aboard the Conscience about the Flotilla’s mission, holding our governments accountable and how we can support the people of Palestine. 

Where are you now, and how are you holding up? 

Mary Finn: We’re currently off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt. At the moment we’re waiting for the eight sailing boats of the Thousand Madleens to Gaza. We passed them yesterday and had a really beautiful moment of solidarity where we were all singing to each other from across the water. But the wind dropped, so we’re just waiting here overnight for them to join us, and we'll sail together towards Gaza as a group, as a flotilla. 

I’d love for you to share how you got involved in the Freedom Flotilla. Why are you sitting on this boat right now?  

Mary Finn: I’ve been on and off for the last 10 years, involved in sea rescue in the Mediterranean. For me, this mission’s very poignant, seeing how many lives the Mediterranean has claimed as a result of border policies that put people in positions where they have no choice but to take to the seas in completely overcrowded, dangerous boats and flee to Europe. It's the same governments complicit in the deaths of people in Gaza. 

This water connects those two struggles, both physically and metaphorically, for me: everybody has the right to move, everybody has the right to remain or to return if that’s what they wish. Palestinians have the right to self-determination, and I believe they have the right to remain on their land steadfast and safe. 

In an ideal world, I wish I didn’t have to be here. But when our governments fail us, and they’re complicit in genocide, we have to rise up and take action. 

This story is not about us. We are doing this because there’s a population of people living under occupation and suffering daily and being massacred, to always bring it back to that for our own sake, and also for the world to remember that this is with them and not just us

What have these first five days been like? 

Mary Finn: We left Otranto, Italy, on September 30. It was a beautiful sendoff; many activists and civilians from the city were marching towards the boat as we pulled out of the harbour; they had a brass band playing ‘Bella Ciao’; everybody was chanting and waving at each other. We set off that evening into the beautiful sunset, and there was really such a hopeful feeling on board. Not long after that, we hit some pretty bad weather. People were just hunkering down, getting to grips with living together and organising and making sure that things were tied down. 

There are definitely some extremely beautiful moments of humanity, people enjoying together, sharing together, supporting each other and working together. But there’s also this looming anticipation of what’s to come. Seeing the last days: the interception and kidnapping of the activists from the Sumud Flotilla and how they’re being treated in the Israeli prisons is bringing some fear to the group, I feel. 

There’s also a real hopefulness that we could be the boat that breaks the siege. It would be just absolutely incredible if we managed to arrive there to Gaza, but obviously, we know the likelihood of illegal interception by the Israeli occupation forces is high, and we have to be prepared for that. We’re all here knowing the risks, knowing what we’ve signed up for; it’s absolutely nothing compared to what the Palestinians are going through in the same [Israeli] jails or in Gaza or in the West Bank. 

This story is not about us. We are doing this because there's a population of people living under occupation and suffering daily and being massacred, to always bring it back to that for our own sake, and also for the world to remember that this is with them and not just us. We must stay strong for the people of Palestine, which is why we're here.  

You mentioned that there is a looming fear that grows the closer you get to Gaza. How are you and your fellow crewmates thinking through and preparing for the risks? 

Mary Finn: On an emotional level, everyone has their own process. I think for me, the collective feeling of solidarity is so strong, the deck is full of people doing interviews with international media all over the world, and it's just amazing to see people so dedicated to the mission. We’ve been so busy making this ship ready and readying ourselves. Togetherness really helps. 

What about on a physical level? 

Mary Finn: We do drills every day. On a big ship like this, you could have a fire or you can have an abandon ship situation. But specifically for the case of interception, it'll be a high-stress situation, so we need to make sure that everybody's well-rehearsed on where they need to be, what they need with them, and remembering their number for the roll call, which has been particularly difficult, but we are getting there now. It's all coming together, and it starts to feel smoother. 

It‘s important to have this reality check because we’re all on board, obviously very focused on the mission, but at the same time, it’s long, so we’re relaxing and chatting and reading our books and napping and listening to music, writing, and drawing. So it’s important that we have this moment in the day where everybody has to be focused. 

The Palestinians give us hope with their incredible resilience. We have to be resilient, too, and not be apathetic. We won't stop until they are liberated

Could you share specifically who and what is on the boat? And what is the mission?

Mary Finn: Each Freedom Flotilla Coalition mission has a slightly different focus. On board the Conscience, the focus this time is on doctors and journalists specifically, because doctors and journalists have been particularly targeted in Gaza in this genocide. Many of them have brought a lot of medical aid to donate to the hospitals and to support their colleagues in the hospitals that have been completely obliterated in Gaza. A few of the doctors here have been in Gaza. They’ve worked there since the beginning of the genocide, and they share just the most horrifying stories.

It’s difficult for anyone to access Gaza, and for that, the journalists are here as well. We’ve seen a crazy amount of journalists being massacred for being Palestinian and for being the eyes and the voice that shares the truth. It's really important that what’s happening in Gaza is not censored, which Israel is desperately trying to do. 

What will you and the crew do if you are able to reach the shores of Gaza? 

Mary Finn: We obviously have contact with local organisations, doctors and journalists in Gaza. This is a very big ship, and there are no ports left in Gaza because they’ve all been absolutely obliterated. So we would have to stay offshore and shuttle people with our little rescue boat. It would take many shuttles to get all of us there, but the idea would be to take people to the shore, for the journalists to be able to tell the truth, for the doctors to set foot in the hospital and do the lifesaving work that they need to do. 

You mentioned moments of humanity that you’ve experienced on the ship. Is there a specific moment that you can share, while you’ve been aboard the Conscience, that has just crystallised what this mission is really about? 

Mary Finn: There are many moments, especially when we are really doing something together: the moments [where] we’re making a line to move the water from one place to another, and we have a human chain of movement and activity. Everybody’s so eager to help all the time: tidy up, clean, be on drone watch. 

It feels like a very vibrant and lively community of people who are really human and empathetic –so far away from the rising fascism of our nations, and it shows a little glimmer of hope of what the world could be like if there were more people like this in the world and in power. It just radiates every single day; people sharing stories of their friends and people they know and people they’ve worked with in Gaza and the West Bank. There’s so much love here. I really hope that that can also radiate out to the people of Palestine, that they know that they haven't been forgotten. 

We will not stop until we are able to break the siege and join them there in Gaza, deliver aid and put pressure on our governments to put an end to this genocide. The Palestinians give us hope with their incredible resilience. We have to be resilient, too, and not be apathetic. We won’t stop until they are liberated.

On that note, is there a call to action that you’d like to share? 

Mary Finn: Don’t give up. The pressure is working; it continues to move things. Please show up at every possible moment. We need to use our freedom to fight for the oppressed. If there’s one thing that every human on this planet should be doing right now, at this moment in history, it is showing up for the people of Gaza. 

We need to start demanding a complete arms embargo for sanctions and for the end of our governments’ complicity in the genocide. It’s time for it to stop; it should never have started. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity