The stone pulpit of the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., is not the place chef José Andrés expected when he founded the food charity World Central Kitchen nearly 15 years ago. But on Thursday, he stood there and praised the seven members of his organization who were killed in the Gaza Strip while attempting to carry out their unique mission of delivering food to a region of 2.2 million people facing a growing humanitarian crisis. did.
“They risked everything to feed people they never knew and would never see again,” Andres said. “They were the best of humanity.”
The seven workers were killed on April 1 as they helped unload a food aid barge in northern Gaza and were on their way to the southern city of Rafah. Their well-marked convoy was attacked by armed Israeli drones. Israeli military officials said the attack was a grave mistake that should not have happened. They cited a series of failures, including communication breakdowns and violations of the military's own rules of engagement.
Mr. Andres was uncharacteristically calm, tearful at times, and said he was overcome with regret, sadness and anger over the death. “We also understand that there are many questions about why World Central Kitchen was in Gaza,” he said. “We ask ourselves the same questions day and night.”
But he said the workers took the risk because they believed that by showing up in their darkest hours and feeding people, they could let them know they weren't alone.
“Food is a universal human right,” Andres said. “Feeding each other, cooking and eating together is what makes us human. The meals we create and deliver are about more than ingredients and calories. Each dish is about hope. It's one plate.
Participation in the service, which included prayers and readings by Jewish, Muslim and Christian leaders, and interlude music by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, was by invitation only, but the service was broadcast by World Central Kitchen. It was streamed live on the website. The organization and Mr. Andres Restaurant Group are based in Washington.
Funerals have already been held for the victims, but this was the only memorial service held in the United States. Among the 560 people in attendance were Doug Emhoff, husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, representatives of three families of victims, and volunteers from World Central Kitchen, which has worked with disasters and conflicts around the world. and dozens of contractors. Only a small portion of the cathedral was buried, and the cathedral has hosted four state funerals for presidents and a memorial site for the victims of the September 11 attacks.
While World Central Kitchen's death sparked global outrage, more than 220 other aid workers were killed in Gaza.
But these are the first casualties the group has suffered since Andres conceived it while working on a culinary relief mission in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.
His concept was simple. The idea was that chefs living in disaster-stricken areas could serve people in distress faster and more frequently with delicious, comforting food than traditional relief organizations.
Andres used his connections, charisma, and smart use of social media to recruit culinary volunteers and build World Central Kitchen into a $550 million global company.
Last week, Andres and hundreds of mourners, including representatives of the Polish president's office, attended a Roman Catholic Mass in Przemyśl, the hometown of slain worker Damian Sobol.
Sobol, 35, a vibrant former hospitality student who was planning to get married, began helping feed the war refugees flooding into the station in early 2022 at World Central Kitchen. He became the organization's logistics wizard as World Central Kitchen set up operations in other regions. Places including Gaza.
Andres also attended a service last week in Saint-Georges, Quebec, for Jacob Flickinger, 33, an avid outdoorsman and former member of the Canadian Armed Forces. Flickinger started working for the organization in October, helping feed residents near Acapulco, Mexico, after a hurricane struck. Then he headed to Gaza.
“We talked about the risks,” his father, John Flickinger, said in an interview with The Associated Press shortly after his son's murder. “He basically said, 'Dad, people are starving over there and I think I can help. And I appreciated that.'
On Thursday, Andres shed tears as he praised Lalzaumi Francom, 43, an Australian woman whom everyone called Zomi. He said she was like a sister to him: she was tough, funny and the most senior member of the Gaza team.
She first volunteered in 2018 when a volcano erupted in Guatemala and went on to help victims of floods in Bangladesh, earthquakes in Morocco, poverty in Venezuela and wildfires in California. She was recently appointed Senior Manager of World Central Kitchen's Asia operations and was based in Bangkok.
Saifeddin Abutaha, a 25-year-old Palestinian member of the relief team, had been working as an interpreter and driver since the beginning of this year. He returned from the United Arab Emirates to help with his family's flour mill. He had connections in Israel that helped the organization coordinate permits.
The remaining three employees, John Chapman, 57, James Kirby, 47, and Jim Henderson, 33, work for UK-based security firm Solace Global. Was. They were employed as part of the organization's security team. All three had served in various units of the British Army.
The World Central Kitchen entered war for the first time when Russia invaded Ukraine in October 2022. After Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, the organization quickly set up relief soup kitchens in Israel and subsequently took on a mission to help Palestinians in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people are at risk of starvation. Expanded.
Seven workers spent a long day helping unload a barge loaded with more than 100 tons of food transported from Cyprus to the Gaza coast by the Spanish nonprofit World Central Kitchen and Open Arms. and headed to Rafah to sleep. Just after 10pm Gaza time, the first of three vehicles carrying workers was attacked by an armed drone. The cars, white with prominent World Central Kitchen logos, were allowed to pass by Israel.
Within minutes, the drone hit a second car, then a third.
“I know we all have many unanswered questions about what happened and why,” Andres said in his eulogy. “We still demand an independent investigation into the IDF's actions against our team.”
World Central Kitchen immediately suspended operations in Gaza following the bombing. The group plans to announce its next steps there soon, said Linda Ross, communications director for the group.
Mr. Andres indicated he had no intention of leaving. He read out a message from Mr. Abutaha's brother. “We hope that World Central Kitchen will carry on the spirit of those who died and the resilience of the Palestinian people as we continue our humanitarian work around the world.”
