Gaza mission driver’s dole dilemma

DISAPPOINTED . . . Philip Speed

Ex-trooper is left frustrated by benefit rules


A FORMER soldier has been thwarted from taking part in an aid mission to Gaza because of benefit rules.

Philip Speed (50) was due to drive a fire engine in a convoy which converged in London at the weekend before heading to the Middle East.

But bosses at the Jobcentre in Union Street, Oldham, have said that the unemployed HGV driver cannot have an exemption from signing on while he carries out the voluntary work.

This means that that he would lose his Jobseekers Allowance, and his related Housing Benefit, while he was away, which he cannot afford.

Disappointed Mr Speed, of Hollin Hall Street, Greenacres, was given the news by Jobcentre staff on Wednesday and said: “When I told them the story they were upbeat. But when it went up the ladder it came from the top that because it was outside the UK, they will stop my payments when I am away. If it’s voluntary work in the UK it would have been allowed.

“I having nothing negative to say about the people in the Jobcentre, they were very positive about what I was doing, but obviously their hands are tied by red tape.”

The mile-long Viva Palestina convoy will be headed by Respect MP George Galloway and packed with £1 million of aid to for victims of Hamas-Israeli conflict.

Hundreds of British volunteers will drive more than 100 donated vehicles — including a fire engine, 12 ambulances and trucks — almost 5,000 miles through France, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt.

It will arrive in Gaza on March 2 and the volunteers are all self-financed, camping next to vehicles along the route.

Mr Speed served in the Parachute Regiment for six years in Cyprus, Northern Ireland and Berlin and did an attachment with the American 101st Airborne Division.

He then worked as a park ranger in Calderdale and also took part in a Sunday Express-sponsored trip to recover three children who had been abducted to Cyprus from the UK by their father.

He has been unemployed since the New Year, but is signed up with agencies.

A spokesman for the Department of Work and Pensions said Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) was only paid to people seeking work. Those who are abroad can receive it if they are attending a job interview or are receiving NHS treatment there.

People who want to do voluntary work must be able to attend a job interview within 48 hours notice and start work within a weeks notice.”




Devastation is all around



AN Oldham man who headed an aid mission into Gaza has told of the devastation in the region.



Jahangeer Akhtar, overseas project director at the Manchester-based charity Human Appeal International, has recently returned from the trouble spot where he was undertaking a humanitarian mission as part of four-strong team.

The team distributed aid throughout the Gaza Strip, providing food parcels to the most needy, including those from the destroyed refugee camp at Jaballi.

Medical support to hospitals in Gaza has been a focus of Human Appeal International’s relief efforts, with the charity making significant contributions to the running of Gaza’s biggest hospital, Al-Shifa Hospital, through donations and medicines and medical equipment.

Human Appeal has also worked to support the overloaded staff at hospitals from the start of the conflict by sending a convoy of 18 doctors to perform life saving operations and train the staff on the latest techniques to deal with emergency situations.

Mr Akhtar said: “The situation on the ground is much worse than what we have seen on TV. “I saw people sitting on the ruins of everything they had built-up over three generations. We need to give more aid to the people of Gaza.

“Massive infrastructure damage has left very little access to clean water, food and electricity. There is a serious risk of disease.”

For more information on human appeal international visit www.humanappeal.org.uk.



Israel should pay for damage —MEP


OLDHAM Euro-MP Chris Davies has called for Israel to pay for damage caused in Gaza instead of relying on EU aid.

During his visit to the war-torn area, Mr Davies stated that the EU should cease financial co-operation with Israel until it faces up to its legal, financial and humanitarian responsibilities.

Speaking from Ramallah in the West Bank, Mr Davies said: “Europe should not be paying for the destruction wrought by the Israeli military, Israel should.

“There should be real economic consequences for Israel when infrastructure is destroyed in Gaza and at present EU aid is making sure that they are not.”