By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Former EuroLeague player Nikos Pappas was among the almost 4,000 activists who participated in the “March to Gaza” initiative that took place near the Rafah border crossing that connects Egypt with the Gaza Strip in Palestine.
Pappas, a seven-year EuroLeague veteran with Panathinaikos Athens and currently a member of the European Parliament with the Greek left-wing party SYRIZA, described his experience while talking to the MEGA TV channel in Greece.
Here’s what he said: “We attempted to make a peaceful march. Unfortunately, they stopped us before we came close to the city we wanted to reach. They gathered us within an acre of land, and the Egyptian army surrounded us. When we took the decision to resist, that we aren’t leaving, the beating began…”
The goal of the “March to Gaza” initiative, per the organisers, is “stopping the genocide, delivering aid, breaking the siege, exposing IDF war crimes, and urging legal action against breaches of international law.”
“Even though we were scared, fear didn’t consume our souls,” Pappas added. “We began this march scared, but ultimately we made it to Ismailia. We faced suppression. We stayed, and ultimately we returned to our lodgings with a feeling of optimism that the right continues despite the efforts of even underage children to “strike” against this mission. The Gaza genocide involves us all.”
Apart from Panathinaikos, with which he won several titles in Greece, Pappas also played for such teams as Bilbao, Zielona Gora, and AEK Athens. He also had a brief stint with Israeli powerhouse Hapoel Jerusalem in 2020.