“We will continue to take care of you,” says Brazil’s Lula at a welcome lunch for citizens who were rescued from Gaza

At a welcome lunch offered this Monday (25), Christmas Day, the atmosphere was a mixture of happiness and relief among the repatriates who were rescued from Gaza and landed in Brazil last Saturday (23). Present at the Brasília Air Base Transit Hotel were Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who hugged each and every one of them; First Lady Janja Lula da Silva; and the Minister of the Brazilian Presidency’s Social Communications Secretariat (Secretaria de Comunicação Social da Presidência da República/SECOM) Paulo Pimenta.

» High resolution photos (Flickr)

You are being well assisted by health and social assistance professionals in Brazil who will treat you with great care. And may God bless you and may you find happiness for yourself and your family here in Brazil”

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

“We will continue to take care of you in the best possible way. Do not lose hope in finding peace. I'm sure that here in Brazil you will be treated in the friendliest way possible. You are being well assisted by health and social assistance professionals in Brazil who will treat you with great care. And may God bless you and may you find happiness for yourself and your family here in Brazil,” said Lula.

The repatriation flight that landed in Brasília last Saturday was the 12th coordinated by the Brazilian Federal Government since the beginning of the conflict in the Middle East. In another stage of Operation Returning in Peace, the Brazilian Air Force's KC-30 aircraft brought 16 Brazilians and binational citizens, and 14 Palestinian family members rescued from Gaza. Of the 30 repatriates, 14 are children, 11 are women, and five are men.

Of this total, 21 are still in Brasília and took part in the lunch this Monday. Another nine have already gone to stay with relatives in Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo.

OPERATION – President Lula also thanked the country’s diplomatic body, known as Itamaraty, and the Brazilian Air Force (Força Aérea Brasileira/FAB) for their work in bringing back to Brazil 1,555 people and 53 pets through Operation Returning in Peace. The president reported that the Brazilian administration will continue talking to all governments, including the Israeli one, to release those who want to flee.

And if there are more people, we will look for those who want to come to Brazil. It is not humanly possible to accept what is happening in the Gaza Strip. The death of so many women and so many children is not possible"

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

“And if there are more people, we will fetch anyone who wants to come to Brazil. It’s not humanly possible to accept what is happening in Gaza. The death of so many women and so many children is unacceptable. The destruction of all the heritage that was built by the Palestinian people… I have long advocated the creation of the Palestinian State—and we continue fighting at the UN for a Palestinian State to be established so that the people can live in peace,” he stressed.

GLOBAL SCENARIO – When speaking to the press, Minister Paulo Pimenta stated that President Lula has been a very firm voice on the international scene in defence of peace—and that the Brazilian government will not remain silent in the face of a reality in which more than 20 thousand people in Gaza have been killed. “More than 40% of these people are children, 80% are children, women and the elderly. It is unacceptable for the world to be witnessing all of this without us finding an immediate solution for peace,” he said.

The minister informed that, as of tomorrow (26), President Lula will take a few days off and return at the beginning of January. According to Pimenta, the President will continue to monitor everything that is happening and to coordinate action despite the holidays. The minister also stated that a Brazilian government team will be working as usual throughout this week.