C
changecomes
Guest
I was due to join an aid trip that was going to Palestine in July. I obtained donations and aid as did all of the volunteers.The convoy leader was a well known activist who is semi famous and had appeared on BBC documentaries and was well known within the movement.
When the convoy was first getting off of the ground, there was outside criticism of this convoy leader and rumours that he had set up many ventures that he never saw through. There were also rumours that he had set up companies, collected donations meant for various overseas groups and then misappropriated part of the funds and had done so over a period of about ten years.
I did not know what to think… and I was trying hard not to jump to conclusions as I was told that “these rumours were put down to jealousy” by the management team.
As the months went by, it seemed that the convoy was never going to leave. It was due to leave in May then twice in July and always the excuse that not enough money had been collected from the general public. They also undertook a UK tour this month to get more money from the public, When volunteers asked for transparency, none was forthcoming and there started to be a culture of fear with people being accused of bizarrely being CIA and MI5 operatives when they tried to speak out. Many people explained that their religion taught that they could not seek money from donors if they did not know precisely where the money was going… but they were simply told to leave if they did not like how the convoy was being operated. Many did not because they had already donated about £800 to £1000 each and were told they would not get it back which left us all in precarious situations.
Well, two days ago… things exploded. The convoy group had a secret facebook page and a member of the convoy went onto the page and called the convoy leader a derogatory expression and then said that this semi-famous convoy leader had been stealing donations and had tried to steal the convoy trucks and had also tried to beat some of the volunteers up who were helping. There was… no longer a rumour but the disclosure of the truth from the convoy members themselves. We were told that this man had been kicked off and that the convoy would go ahead wthout him… once they got more money. Convoy members were also told that they could not inform the general public that this semi-famous man had been misappropriating funds and had been kicked off of the aid trip- it had to be kept quiet because it would ruin group morale and their credibility.
What I have been batling with is the following:
Did they have a right to demand this sort of secrecy… they have said that people who speak out about what happened would be treachorous “you know what”.
I feel so upset and confused about it all to be honest. What is the moral path to choose? I tried not to doubt this man when people were accusing him of theft… then I began to have doubts about him when there was no transparency. He would not say where the money had gone or how much he had,and had created this cult like atmosphere around him which I began to resent where people were seeing him like a God.
The thing is that yesterday I exposed what he had done - openly - because I felt at the time it was wrong for them to try and cover it up and I did not want anyone else to give donations to people who were complicit with what had happened (even though they got rid of him)
They found out last night and of course - there were huge problems for me. They started to text me, phone me, shout at me in messages… it was quite awful and I did not know how to handle it other than to remove myself from the team and wait to see what they will do next. They have essentially said that I am a substandard human being and morally wrong for having done this.
I feel now that maybe I was wrong to have exposed what had happened. It was not my place. I am not God or a person who should determine the fate of these people… but then another part of me feels an obligation towards the general public who were giving their hard earned money towards what I saw as being a failed venture (even without this man on board).
The other issue I am faced with is that they have money donated by me which I gave them in Feb. I asked them back for it and they did not respond. It is not my money it was donated by the mosque in my area and local churches. It was donated as the cause itself received a lot of publicity and support even by people like Cherie Blair’s sister and other people (who obviously did not know what was going on) and it was donated to help the Palestinian people. I feel compelled to go to my bank and ask them to do a charge back to get back the money to give back to these people as the whole thing has been illegitimate from start to finish…
I am quite upset by all of this… I keep thinking what would Jesus have wanted me to do and I do not have the answer to this… I was in tears yesterday because I felt like a traitor. Today i am just confused and trying to ask God for guidance and strength.
When the convoy was first getting off of the ground, there was outside criticism of this convoy leader and rumours that he had set up many ventures that he never saw through. There were also rumours that he had set up companies, collected donations meant for various overseas groups and then misappropriated part of the funds and had done so over a period of about ten years.
I did not know what to think… and I was trying hard not to jump to conclusions as I was told that “these rumours were put down to jealousy” by the management team.
As the months went by, it seemed that the convoy was never going to leave. It was due to leave in May then twice in July and always the excuse that not enough money had been collected from the general public. They also undertook a UK tour this month to get more money from the public, When volunteers asked for transparency, none was forthcoming and there started to be a culture of fear with people being accused of bizarrely being CIA and MI5 operatives when they tried to speak out. Many people explained that their religion taught that they could not seek money from donors if they did not know precisely where the money was going… but they were simply told to leave if they did not like how the convoy was being operated. Many did not because they had already donated about £800 to £1000 each and were told they would not get it back which left us all in precarious situations.
Well, two days ago… things exploded. The convoy group had a secret facebook page and a member of the convoy went onto the page and called the convoy leader a derogatory expression and then said that this semi-famous convoy leader had been stealing donations and had tried to steal the convoy trucks and had also tried to beat some of the volunteers up who were helping. There was… no longer a rumour but the disclosure of the truth from the convoy members themselves. We were told that this man had been kicked off and that the convoy would go ahead wthout him… once they got more money. Convoy members were also told that they could not inform the general public that this semi-famous man had been misappropriating funds and had been kicked off of the aid trip- it had to be kept quiet because it would ruin group morale and their credibility.
What I have been batling with is the following:
Did they have a right to demand this sort of secrecy… they have said that people who speak out about what happened would be treachorous “you know what”.
I feel so upset and confused about it all to be honest. What is the moral path to choose? I tried not to doubt this man when people were accusing him of theft… then I began to have doubts about him when there was no transparency. He would not say where the money had gone or how much he had,and had created this cult like atmosphere around him which I began to resent where people were seeing him like a God.
The thing is that yesterday I exposed what he had done - openly - because I felt at the time it was wrong for them to try and cover it up and I did not want anyone else to give donations to people who were complicit with what had happened (even though they got rid of him)
They found out last night and of course - there were huge problems for me. They started to text me, phone me, shout at me in messages… it was quite awful and I did not know how to handle it other than to remove myself from the team and wait to see what they will do next. They have essentially said that I am a substandard human being and morally wrong for having done this.
I feel now that maybe I was wrong to have exposed what had happened. It was not my place. I am not God or a person who should determine the fate of these people… but then another part of me feels an obligation towards the general public who were giving their hard earned money towards what I saw as being a failed venture (even without this man on board).
The other issue I am faced with is that they have money donated by me which I gave them in Feb. I asked them back for it and they did not respond. It is not my money it was donated by the mosque in my area and local churches. It was donated as the cause itself received a lot of publicity and support even by people like Cherie Blair’s sister and other people (who obviously did not know what was going on) and it was donated to help the Palestinian people. I feel compelled to go to my bank and ask them to do a charge back to get back the money to give back to these people as the whole thing has been illegitimate from start to finish…
I am quite upset by all of this… I keep thinking what would Jesus have wanted me to do and I do not have the answer to this… I was in tears yesterday because I felt like a traitor. Today i am just confused and trying to ask God for guidance and strength.