February 9, 2024
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Sailing bonanza With the hugely successful Festival of Sails still in the rearview mirror, Corio Bay is once again teeming with boats with two major sailing events running back to back this week. The crew at the Royal Geelong Yacht Club have had their hands full this week with the National Fireball Championships, which ran till Thursday, and barely have had time to draw breath as the World Championships kick off today. It’s the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic the RGYC has hosted a truly international event, with hundreds of competitors, team members and fans flocking to Geelong for the championships from around Australia and countries around the world. ■ Turn to page 4 for our article on the
Fireball championships and check out page 21 for our Out and About photos from down along the Waterfront this week.
Ben O’Brien and regatta chair Brendan Garner. (Ivan Kemp) 387963_04
Rallying hope for Gaza By Matt Hewson A local Palestine advocacy group has called for healthcare workers to show solidarity for their colleagues in Gaza at a protest rally this weekend. Free Palestine Geelong (FPG) will hold a rally at Little Malop Street tomorrow (Saturday, February 10) to call attention to the plight of healthcare workers in the war-torn zone. FPG spokesperson Noor Al-Assafi called on local doctors, nurses, surgeons, allied healthcare and social workers to join in a peaceful protest. “We encourage all healthcare workers to
attend our peaceful protest and honour their courageous colleagues working and dying in Gaza,” Ms Al-Assafi said. “Israel is waging a shameful war on hospitals and healthcare workers in Gaza, in breach of international law.” “Gaza’s healthcare system has collapsed under the most brutal bombing campaign we’ve seen in modern history. “Even worse, the siege on Gaza means no medical supplies are reaching Gaza, and doctors and nurses are being forced to amputate limbs and perform caesareans without anaesthetic.” The rally will start at 12 noon at the Little Malop Street Mall, hearing from speakers
before marching to Transvaal Square. Since the conflict began in October last year, the United Nations has reported over 100,000 people in Gaza have been killed or wounded. FPG spokesperson Yasir Ismat said the rally was intended to send a message to the Australian government to send funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency. “At the moment there’s a blockade; aid is trickling through but it’s not enough for the nearly 1.8 million displaced people,” Mr Ismat said. “It’s a catastrophe. We want people to pay attention to that and the government to take some action.” Mr Ismat said he was hopeful the Albanese
government would do more to help the wounded and dying in Gaza. “The Australian government has begun changing a lot of their tone on this issue, but there is more that needs to be done to immediately enforce a ceasefire,” he said. “The International Court of Justice clearly says it’s a plausible genocide going on. The ICJ doesn’t have enforcement power, but Australia does as a country. “When we look back in 10 years, 20, years, what are we going to tell our children about what we did to stop this genocide? “We talk about the Holocaust, it’s history, we were not there (to do anything about it). But we are here now, we are witnessing it.”
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