Home Participants Divina Levrini (Sweden)

Divina Levrini (Sweden)

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Divina Levrini (Sweden)
Ship to Gaza Sweden
Crew member on Al Awda (‘The Return’) from Palermo towards Gaza, and participant on Freedom from Sweden to Palermo.

March 6, 2019. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition is deeply saddened by the death of Divina Levrini in Sweden a few days ago. She was a good friend and shipmate to many of us who sailed with her on the vessels  Freedom and Al Awda in 2018 or met her in different ports. Divina was a passionate advocate for justice, a talented musician and gifted communicator who touched many lives. We mourn her early loss and extend our heartfelt condolences to her family and friends.

See more memories of Divina from her shipmates and Flotilla friends.

July, 2018: Divina arrived home home in Sweden. Here are some photos of her arrival with Charlie Andreasson at Stockholm airport.

SOS – Release Divina NOW – (video statement here)

My name is Divina Levrini and I am from Sweden. I am a singer and a human rights activist. I am sailing with Ship to Gaza Sweden to break the illegal and inhumane Israeli blockade of Gaza.

This is a humanitarian and peaceful action to raise awareness and to make politicians act and we have succeeded in many ways.

For me it was an easy choice to do this. I have been reading about Palestine since I was a teenager and it touched me. In 1997, I worked with a local activist group and we stood outside stores and handed out flyers about which Israeli products to boycott.

This conflict is different from many others because it is modern day apartheid and a genocide that never should be accepted. I have two children who have to live in this world and it is up to us adults to change it for the better. The children of Palestine are no different and should be able to live as freely as my children.

Even if we are stoped from reaching Gaza it will only give us more media coverage. That is what the Palestinians of Gaza need. They need to be remembered. They need people talking about them. Even if the Freedom Flotilla consists only of three boats we want to restore the right of freedom of movement to the people of occupied Palestine. The freedom of their movement at sea is very limited and they routinely get arrested for fishing in their own waters.

We have had so much support on our way. An overwhelming majority of people we have met support us and Palestine. Even the Swedish Foreign Minister has made a public statement saying she supports us and that Israel must end the blockade.

We have met many politicians in the countries that we have visited. In Spain we got an official welcome in the local parliament in Oviedo. They had a vote about supporting us as well as asking the Spanish Government to pressure Israel to end the inhumane blockade of Gaza.

We are peace activists and have participated in non-violence training during our voyage. We will not try to provoke anything with one of the world’s most powerful armies. That is not our goal. Our boats will be searched before we leave Italy.

“I risk a lot by going, but it is an action that I need to do. I can’t sit by and watch people die in a genocide. We can all do something, as people across the world have done before. We have succeeded before to put an end to many injustices. Without human rights activists, nothing will change. Maybe you are the change you have been waiting for.”

Divina has sailed with the Freedom to Palermo and is now on Al Awda sailing to brake the siege in Gaza.

This is a video with an interview with Divina, recorded on 9 July 2018: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2190549584318672&id=111981842175467

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