For
many of us who loved this yacht, traveled on her, fussed over her, felt that she was something special, we have been devastated by her loss. The Dignity was not just a yacht. She was a hope that internationals and Palestinians could come to Gaza. She provided an illusion that, someday, if others followed, the port of Gaza would be open to commerce just like any other port on the Mediterranean.
Our donors delighted in looking at her photos, many of you sailed forth waving from the back of her, then sailed into Gaza waving from the front. Even when she was deliberately rammed on December 30, she struggled valiantly into the port in Lebanon, guided by Denis and Derek, two of the best seamen any of us will ever have the pleasure to know.
And now she is at the bottom of the port, sunk, in part because of the hole in the back of her stern. Laying blame on what happened and how it happened will not bring her back. Yes, we will find another boat, we will buy a larger ship, we will not be stopped in our attempts to continue to punch holes in Israel's siege of Gaza. But the Dignity will always remain special.
We will never forget the Dignity, a boat that lived up to her name. Attached are two photos of the damage to her stern.