Kingstonian Liam Henrie has been released from an Israeli prison. He was part of a crew sailing towards Gaza on a humanitarian aid mission earlier this week. His boat was intercepted by the Israeli navy, and Henrie was among a group of several hundred who were taken into custody. He's is currently in Turkey awaiting transport back to Kingston.
Earlier this morning, I spoke with his sister Claire, who was in the car with her husband, Matt.
Clare Henrie
I was able to talk to Liam yesterday when he arrived in Turkey.
Sam Dingman
How did Liam sound when you spoke to him? And to whatever extent you're comfortable sharing, what did he say?
Clare Henrie
You know, my brother is a man of few words in the best of circumstances. He said he was relatively unscathed, that was his phrase. He was ready to come home.
Sam Dingman
Yeah, when he left to be a part of the flotilla. Did you imagine that something like this might happen? Was that part of your thought process when he set out?
Clare Henrie
Absolutely. The flotillas have been operating quite regularly since the blockade of the Gaza Strip in 2007 and we were under no illusion, unfortunately, that he would make it to Gaza. We knew that being arrested by the Israeli Defense Forces was probably the ultimate end to the mission.
It's still difficult to describe how anxious we were watching him on the tracker, we were all all together. My husband and our kids were watching the tracker at dinner that night.
Sam Dingman
What a surreal experience.
Clare Henrie
It was surreal! My youngest doesn't totally understand what's going on. She knows that Uncle Liam lives on boats. Our older son definitely understands the basics of what has been happening in Gaza, and that Uncle Liam was trying to get help to the folks of Gaza.
Sam Dingman
When Liam told you that he was going to join these flotilla missions, what other feelings came up for you?
Clare Henrie
100% anxiety. The physical worry about his well-being as he sailed for multiple days with people that he didn't know, so there was that part of it. And then also the worry about how his participation was going to be seen by other members of our family, too.
Is it okay if I put you on speaker phone, and Matt can weigh in about his feelings as well?
Sam Dingman
Certainly.
Clare Henrie
Hang on one second. All right, now you're on speaker.
Matt Robinson
Hi, Sam.
Sam Dingman
Hi, Matt. Thanks for thanks for chiming in.
Matt Robinson
Sure.
Clare Henrie
Sam asked about our feelings when Liam first told us that he was joining the flotilla.
Matt Robinson
Yeah, I would agree with Clare that it's a mix. There's definitely some anxiety about his safety and security personally. Also, feelings of real pride in what he was deciding to do. To put himself and his safety on the line in the hopes of drawing attention to this situation.
Sam Dingman
Clare, you were mentioning - and Matt, if this is resident for you at all - you had some concerns about how family members might respond to this.
Matt Robinson
A lot of immediate family is pretty supportive of this. There are members of the extended family that we might agree with on like 95% of our political opinions, and I would say that the actions of the State of Israel are one of the few places where we are not in alignment. And folks have definitely expressed, some virulent opposition.
Ultimately, it's one of the things at the center of this mission. People need to pay attention to this, and they need to talk about it, and if we are not talking to the people closest to us, that's a problem, too. And so if Liam participating in the flotilla pushes us to have some really uncomfortable conversations, I would love to see the glasses half full there. And you know, hopefully our relationships with the folks that we're really close to can withstand that stress, right?
Clare Henrie
Yeah, it's forced the issue in a, um...I don't want to say positive way. But an impactful and meaningful way.
Yeah, this is something that I don't totally feel comfortable yet putting into words. Yeah, sorry.
Matt Robinson
Yeah.
Sam Dingman
That's okay. I understand. It's very sensitive.
Clare Henrie
Yeah.
