'We keep doing it because Palestinians in Gaza are going through so much worse' - Leitrim novelist

A young woman with strong Leitrim roots is boarding a flotilla which will attempt to bring aid to those under attack in Gaza. 

Novelist Naoise Dolan, who was recently in Tunisia as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, to break the blockade on Gaza, has returned to Dublin for two days before joining the second wave of the mission departing from Catania, Italy on Saturday, 20 September.

Speaking to the Leitrim Observer, Naoise said she has been involved in Palestine activism, more broadly, for a long time and "that escalated with October 2023 and the invasion of Gaza. I was living in Berlin at the time and that is a much more challenging environment because the police brutality during protests, when all you are doing is being there, is insane. I'm lucky that I was never assaulted by an officer myself but I did get detained twice just for being there."

Kitty O'Brien, a 25-year-old Irish protester who was assaulted by German police at a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Berlin with Naoise saying that this is a "regular occurrence and "happens every week at protests in Germany".

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Naoise continued: "Since I came back to Ireland in January, I continued going to protests, signing open letters, contacting representatives and also went on a collective fast but I didn't feel like any of it was having enough of an impact so when I heard that these boats specifically needed writers and journalists to help broadcast what they were doing, I felt obliged to step up."

The flotilla movement started after the 2007 Gaza blockade that Israel imposed on Gaza. "They had been restricting Gazan's freedoms in a lot of ways before then but then a full blockade came in and the flotillas were a response to that; in solidarity really coming from calls from Palestinians themselves to challenge the blockade and they have been going ever since."

Since 2010, no flotillas have been able to reach the Gaza blockade and in 2010, Israeli commandos killed 10 activists on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara - part of the flotilla movement. 

Naoise stressed: "We keep doing it though because Palestinians in Gaza are going through so much worse and attacked so much more often in so many brutal ways and the promise is that we will stand with them no matter what. The flotilla is as much about that as anything; showing them that they are not alone and that someone cares and is willing to sacrifice in order to stand with them."

Naoise added: "While we are hoping to get our aid to Gaza, we are also aware that it's really just a drop in the ocean compared to what is needed so in the longer term, we need a situation where aid isn't required; we need the blocade to be ended and for Palestinians to have self determination and that won't come just with the flotilla. It's also about pressuring our government to sanction Israel and defend the human rights of Palestinians."

Naoise has strong Leitrim roots - her father is from Drumkeeran and she visited her grandmother in the village often during her childhood. "Even though I have a Dublin accent, Leitrim is in my blood. Pat Dolan is my father's name and his mother was Sheila Dolan (née Rogan) and they ran a shop on the main road."

Naoise spent two weeks in Tunisia preparing for the onward mission to Gaza however after drone strikes, that mission was cancelled. She will now join her fellow Irish and international participants which includes writers, artists, activists, and elected representatives, in Italy.

While Naoise's parents are worried for their daughter's safety, ultimately they support her decision. 

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She said: "They are worried as any parent would be but they are supportive at the same time. It has really inspired them at home too. I'm back now because my boat in Tunisia got cancelled and I join another one in Italy next week. I went for a meal with my parents recently and my mother asked if the sparkling water was San Pellegrino. The waiter was curious about this and said she it was part of boycotting Israel and he said that he would talk to his manager. It's things like that that make ripples too. My parents have always had a social conscious and that's definitely something I got from them and they understand."

The European Commission president recently said she would seek sanctions and a partial trade suspension against Israel over the war in Gaza. 

Naoise commented: "I'm worried that Germany could remain an obstacle but I think I saw that it could potentially get through if Italy support this instead. Giorgia Meloni (Prime Minister of Italy) is a strange one because she said she will protect the flotilla which is a mixed blessing because she's politically highly questionable but it does show that things are moving. We need everyone."

She said that she wanted to stress that the Flotilla is just one way to make an impact adding, "we need huge land support for this to even have a point; if it was just the people on the boat, there wouldn't be any pressure on our government to keep us safe for instance and it wouldn't have the policy impact either. 

The writer continued that it was notable that Simon Harris was one of the few western foreign ministers to sign a letter recently "vowing that there will be consequences if anything happens to us and I think that was in part because of the amount of pressure that we've had domestically. People have been very concerned and have made that known so keeping that up does have an impact; not only for us but Palestinians because they're central to the message too and I think if we amp up the pressure on both fronts; on policy over Palestine and the flotilla, we will see results."

Naoise was due to set off for the port the following morning after we spoke to her on Thursday morning (19 September) on a 6am flight to Italy. 

Naoise is a successful novelist and has written a number of books that were well received including her debut Exciting Times and The Happy Couple. 

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She will be joined by six other people on the boat that she has yet to meet in person but has spoken to remotely. "We all just want to live in a world where genocide isn't openly funded by western leaders. To the extent that there is a link between our work and that; I also want to live in world where art can be enjoyed; I don't think that humanitarian work or social justice is about depriving ourselves of pleasures. I write the novels because I believe in a world where people write novels for other's enjoyment."

Speaking of her time in Tunisia, Naoise said that: "I wouldn't say we were happy during our time in Tunisia; that's impossible when you are so aware of what's going on but I do feel a certain solidarity in the determination that is really inspiring because you are surrounded by the world's kindest people who are willing to make any personal sacrifice to stand up for what they believe in and the rights of others and that's really good company to be in. I felt honestly better than I have felt since the genocide began because you are aware of it regardless and if you are doing something and among others who are doing something, you feel less terrified of what we've all become."

She added: "The comparison makes everything we do seem insignificant because we weren't on the ground in Gaza, we were just preparing to sail. I know doctors who work directly in Gaza and even they said they knew that they were protected as an international doctor and it was unlikely that their hospital would be bombed. I think it never ends and the point of that awareness; that we don't have it nearly as bad as they do isn't to feel guilty because that doesn't help; the point is that is translated into action and that's possible from home as well as on the boats."