Articles by Mairead Maguire

We found 122 results.


Choose Peace—End the Siege on Gaza
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate – TRANSCEND Media Service, 26 Jul 2010

It was reported on Monday [12 Jul 2010] that an Israeli military commission found “no failure” on the part of the commandos who took part in the attack. And while the UN Security Council and human rights groups called for an independent and “credible” inquiry into the matter, there are no such plans in the works. Israel has deemed such independent efforts as “anti-Israel” and a threat to the existence of the state. The result? The US and indeed the rest of the international community stand on the sidelines, doing nothing. On June 5, I was aboard the MV Rachel Corrie—a ship named for a young American activist who was bulldozed to death by the Israeli army in 2003—heading to Gaza. Just days earlier, we had heard via satellite phone that Israeli commandos had boarded six ships, including the Turkish MV Mavi Marmara, in international water, and had killed and injured many aboard.

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Open Letter of Appeal to the Jewish People
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate – TRANSCEND Media Service, 19 Jul 2010

I write to ask for your help in gaining the freedom of a good man, a man of peace, and a man of conscience. In the Jewish scriptures there is great emphasis on justice and freedom and it is for such, for one man, that I write to seek your help. He will not be aware that I am writing this Appeal, but I do so in the hope that, with your help, it will produce his freedom, and not (and this I must risk) cause yet more punishment and cruelty to be inflicted upon him.

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Maguire Calls for Israel’s Blockade of Gaza to Be Lifted Completely
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Jul 2010

Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire, who was a passenger on the MV Rachel Corrie ship that tried to break the siege and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, but whose boat was illegally confiscated by Israeli commandoes in international waters on 5th June 2010, has responded to the news that the Israeli government has eased blockade on Gaza. She stated:

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Choose Peace – End the Siege of Gaza and the Occupation of Palestine
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate – TRANSCEND Media Service, 28 Jun 2010

On Saturday 5th June, 2010, thirty five heavily armed Israeli navy seals commandeered our boat, MV Rachel Corrie, one of the Freedom Flotilla, in international waters (30 miles off the coast of Gaza). As they did so we, nineteen humanitarian activists and crew, were on the deck. We were quietly anxious, aware of the solitary figure in the wheelhouse with his hands held high against the window, in full view of the three Israeli warships, four approaching zodiacs and two commando carriers, whose guns were pointing in his direction. I personally wondered if the courageous Derek Graham would live to tell the tale, conscious of what happened on the Turkish ship, Mavi Marmara, earlier in the week.

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Tribute to the People of Gaza
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate – TRANSCEND Media Service, 31 May 2010

This journey, by boat, will be my third with The Free Gaza Movement and it has shown me that people can make a difference. The Free Gaza Movement was started by a few people with an idea and the courage to make it happen. If people wish to support their work and follow us on the boat journey to Gaza visit their website at http://www.freegaza.org/

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Open Letter to the Associated Students of the University of California, Berkeley on their courageous Israeli Divestment Bill
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate - TRANSCEND Media Service, 26 Apr 2010

There is nothing anti-Semitic in taking this stand, and those of us who will continue to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, until Israel changes its illegal policies, are not anti-Semitic, but pro-peace and advocates for genuine democracy and human rights for all people.

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5th Bil’in International Conference on Popular Nonviolent Resistance
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate – TRANSCEND Media Service, 26 Apr 2010

I thank you for your great spirit of nonviolent love in action and encourage you to keep hope alive and keep on building Palestinian unity – united, the Palestinian people will succeed. Believe passionately in peace and justice and it will come out of the seeds of nonviolence and sacrifice you, and your families, are making on behalf of us all, the human family.

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AN APPEAL FOR THE EGYPTIAN GOVERNMENT TO OPEN THE RAFAH CROSSING ALLOWING HUMANITARIAN AID INTO GAZA
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate, 31 Dec 2009

On Thursday, 3lst December 2009, people of Gaza remembered the beginning of the Operation Cast Lead massacre upon them, by the Israeli military, when 1,400 people in Gaza were killed and some 5,000 were injured during the 22-day assault. These crimes against humanity and war crimes perpetrated by the Israeli government are not only remembered […]

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NOBEL PEACE PRIZE TO PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate, 9 Oct 2009

PRESS RELEASE – Friday, Oct 9 2009 Speaking from Belfast regarding the Nobel Peace Prize 2009 being awarded to President Barack Obama, the 1976 Nobel Peace Laureate, Mairead Maguire, said: ‘I am very disappointed with the decision of the Nobel Committee to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 to President Barack Obama. They say […]

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ATTEMPTING TO BREAK THE SIEGE OF GAZA AND ENDING UP ABDUCTED AND IMPRISONED IN ISRAEL FOR A WEEK
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate and a TRANSCEND Member, 30 Aug 2009

The Sequence of Events After waiting 4 days in Larnaca, Cyprus, to sail to Gaza, permission was given for only one boat, the ‘Spirit of Humanity,’ to sail.  This meant the Free Gaza Boat, and half of the original passengers, including the cargo of cement, would have to be left behind.  Early on Monday June […]

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POEM FROM PRISON
Mairead Maguire - Nobel Peace laureate, 11 Jul 2009

From the Ramle Israeli prison to Gaza and the Palestinian People – 30 Jun 09 ‘SPIRIT OF HUMANITY’AS LONG ASTHE PEOPLE OF PALESTINEHAVE NO LIBERTY, NO FREEDOMTHOSE OF US WITH A VOICE TO SPEAK MUST SPEAKAS LONG ASTHE CHILDREN OF GAZALIVE IN FEAR OF ISRAELIBOMBS AND OCCUPATIONTHOSE OF US WITH A VOICE TO SPEAKMUST SPEAKAS […]

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BRITISH DOCTOR 7-WEEK WAIT AT RAFAH BORDER TO GET TO PATIENTS IN GAZA
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace laureate, 31 May 2009

There are not many people (with the exception of the courageous people of Gaza) who match the extreme patience and courage of Dr. Sonia Robbins and her co-worker Nicholas Bolos who have been at the Rafah Border crossing for the past 50 days doing everything they possibly can to try and gain access to Gaza. […]

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OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate, 30 Apr 2009

Dear President Obama, I found your book, ‘Dreams from my Father,’ a moving and inspiring story of your own struggle to find identity and purpose in life. You found it for sure, and today carry the hopes and dreams of so many people in our world. We pray for you and your family. We wish […]

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INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN ISRAEL-GAZA: ‘OPEN THE DOORS’
Mairead Maguire – Nobel Peace Laureate and Member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace and Development, 20 Mar 2009

Speech at the European Parliament in Brussels to launch the Campaign organized by Peace Lines, supported by 128 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and 42 Nobel Laureates – March 18th  2009. Dear Friends, I would like to thank Peace Lines for giving me the opportunity to speak at this Press Conference in support of […]

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SAVING SUCCEEDING GENERATIONS FROM THE SCOURGE OF WAR – BUILDING A NONKILLING, NONVIOLENT CULTURE FOR THE HUMAN FAMILY
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate, 21 Feb 2009

Annual Erskine Childers Lecture – 2009: Action for UN Renewal Dear friends, I am very happy to be here with you. I would like to thank Vijay Mehta and the Action for UN Renewal for kindly inviting me to give the 2009 Erskine Childers Lecture.    Erskine Childers, UN Diplomat and son of the 4th […]

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CALL ON THE UNITED NATIONS TO ESTABLISH AN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR ISRAELI WAR CRIMES AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
Mairead Maguire – Nobel Peace Laureate, 14 Jan 2009

Rally at Belfast City Hall, 9/Jan/09 Dear Friends, Thank you all for coming here today to support the people of Gaza and call for an immediate ceasefire. I join you in sending my deepest sympathy to the families of those killed and injured by the Israeli massacre in Gaza, and to all those Israeli families […]

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HUMAN RIGHTS AND NONVIOLENCE – BASIS FOR A NONKILLING WORLD
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, 16 Dec 2008

Speech at the 9th World Summit of Nobel Peace LaureatesParis, Dec 11-13/2008 Dear Friends,     I am very happy to be here with you all.  I would like to thank Bertrand Delanoe, the Mayor of Paris, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Walter Veltroni for their invitation to this Summit. It seems to me that we can only have […]

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FREEDOM FOR ALL PEOPLE
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate, 27 Nov 2008

Speech delivered at the Sabeel 7th International Conference East Jerusalem, Nov. 19, 2008 Dear Friends, I am very happy to be here with you and to be invited to speak to you. I want to take this opportunity to thank Rev. Naim Ateek and all those who helped organize this conference. I am deeply grateful […]

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HOPE AS PALESTINIANS USE NONVIOLENCE IN THEIR STRUGGLE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOM
Mairead Maguire (Nobel Peace Prize laureate), 8 Nov 2008

REPORT: Journey to Gaza, 28th October-lst November, 2008 On 28th October, 2008, the Free Gaza Movement set sail on SS Dignity from Larnaca, Cyprus, to Gaza.  On board were 27 internationals from 13 countries, including Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, five physicians, human rights lawyers, and others. On this second […]

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GLOBAL ARTICLE 9-CONFERENCE TO ABOLISH WAR, TOKYO-JAPAN
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, 12 Oct 2008

‘Abolish War – Building a Culture of Nonkilling and Nonviolence’4-5 May, 2008   Dear Mina Sama, I am very happy to be with you in Japan. I would like to thank Peaceboat for their invitation to attend this Global Article 9 Conference. This is a good time to be in Japan and to celebrate with […]

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STATEMENT ABOUT THE ‘FREE GAZA MOVEMENT’
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, 6 Oct 2008

October 1st, 2008Dear Antonio, please divulge at TRANSCEND Media Service. The collective punishment of Gaza by Israel is prohibited by international humanitarian law and should end immediately. On 22nd September, 2008, I flew to Larnaca, Cyprus, at the invitation of the Free Gaza Movement to join them on a mission from Larnaca to Gaza. The […]

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Bil?in Grassroots Nonviolent Resistance Movement:
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate, 30 Sep 2008

A Light of Hope that Deserves International Support It is difficult to sustain a grassroots non-violent movement.   The sceptics argue nonviolence doesn’t work, the militants argue only violence gets results, and many just sit on the sidelines to see which way the wind will blow.   In Bil’in every Friday the wind blows, and it blows […]

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