Clergy and others stuck in travel limbo during Middle East conflict

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) – The possibility of a regional war involving Israel, Iran and Hezbollah is stranding activists from Alabama.

“We were taxing on the runway about to take off in Birmingham, we began to get text messages and alerts and communications from other members of the delegation and from the people in Palestine that the flights were being canceled” says Reverend Lukata Mjumbe, Executive Director of the Alabama African American Civil Rights History Sites Consortium.

The trip is a partnership between AAACRHSC and Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) an interdenominational Christian organization that seeks justice and peace in the Holy Land.

Mjumbe is among more than a dozen clergy, activists and artists from Alabama and across the country who had hoped to fly into Jordan and travel into parts of Israel and the West Bank to get a first hand look at what the Israel-Hamas conflict was doing to faith communities in the region.

“The daughter and granddaughter of Bishop Desmond Tutu is a part of this delegation, the youngest daughter of comedian and activist and advocate. Dick Gregory is a part of this delegation” says Mjumbe.

“There was a schedule where we would visit sacred sites, where we would meet with, for example, the Afro-Palestinian community where we would, were going to travel throughout East Jerusalem to Bethlehem to Ramallah to Hebron throughout the West Bank and have the opportunity to directly engage women, men and children. Most importantly for us to listen and to learn and to be able to bear witness to the realities of the struggle that are happening in Palestine right now.”

As of Monday night, this attempt at the trip has been cancelled and Mjumbe and several members of the group are staying overnight in Chicago, hoping their bags had not been sent ahead to Europe.

However, Mjumbe says the delegation plans to make the trip when possible.

“I suspect it will be sooner rather than later, but right now we just gotta pray because I am praying without ceasing that we don’t see a very real escalation in the next 24 hours.”

Note: Steve Crocker is a board member of the Alabama African American Civil Rights History Sites Consortium.

Get news alerts in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store or subscribe to our email newsletter here.

Copyright 2024 WBRC. All rights reserved.