South African writer, activist, and publisher Zukiswa Wanner is on the Global Sumud Flotilla, which attempts to break the siege imposed on Gaza by the Israeli regime.
The Global Sumud Flotilla is an international, civil society-led maritime initiative launched in mid-2025, aiming to break the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. Named from ṣumūd (Arabic for ‘steadfastness’ or ‘resilience’), it is organised by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, Global Movement to Gaza, and Maghreb Sumud Flotilla, among others. The flotilla comprises over 50 vessels with thousands of participants, with involvement from activists, doctors, and artists from more than 44 countries.
One of the participants in this, the largest civilian-led maritime convoy in history, comprising over 50 vessels of varying sizes departing from multiple ports around the Mediterranean, and converging on Gaza, is South African writer, activist, and publisher Zukiswa Wanner. The South African continues her activism after surrendering the Goethe Medal over Germany’s continued support of the genocide in Gaza in 2024. She isn’t the only one in the African literary community who has been raising their voice about an issue that is very close to their hearts. Maaza Mengiste joined the PEN World Voices Festival boycott, Kagiso Lesego Molope was kicked out of a dinner in Canada, and Sisonke Msimang withdrew from the Sydney Writers Festival in protest. Our friends at Brittle Paper did an excellent report on writers like Warsan Shire, Mukoma Wa Ngugi, Laila Lalami, Molara Wood, Mona Eltahawy, and Akwaeke Emezi speaking on the issue here.
The other nine members of the South African delegation in the flotilla are humanitarian Elham Mouaffak-Hatfield, Nelson Mandela grandson Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandla Mandela, occupational therapist, author, educator, and cancer survivor Fatima Hendrick, community leader Reaaz Moola, audiologist and youth activist Nurain Saloojee, activist, writer, and legal advocate Dr Jared Sacks, entrepreneur and humanitarian Fazel Behra, international social-impact and humanitarian leader Dr Zaheera Soomar, and Wood-industry professional Irshaad Ahmed Chothia, Jo Bluen, an academic, writer, activist, and legal observer, is traveling on a support boat to document human-rights compliance and provide real-time legal analysis—though she is listed separately from the core ten delegates.
What can you, reading this, do to support the team participating in one of the most dangerous missions to break a genocidal regime? You can still contribute to the flotilla here. You can follow the flotilla’s progress here or here. You can also use the official hashtag #GlobalSumudFlotilla on all your social media platforms to spread the word.
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