An inauguration ceremony for the monument was held on Dec. 18 and was attended by Turkey's Ambassador to Spain Ender Arat, Palestinian Ambassador to Spain Musa Odeh, Leganes Mayor Rafael Gómez Montoya, Ahmet Emin Dağ of the IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation and representatives from Spanish non-governmental organizations.

Delivering a speech at the ceremony, Dağ thanked Spain and the Spanish activists while stressing that embargoes imposed by Israel on the Palestinian people is not only an issue for Turkey but an international problem.

The monument was built in the Leganes district of Madrid upon the initiative of three Spanish activists who were aboard the Mavi Marmara, which was subject to an Israeli raid and was part of the aid flotilla destined for Gaza. Their initiative was financially supported by civil society organizations.

The monument, designed by sculptors Roxanne Robinson and Arevalo Beteta, features a child launching the Mavi Marmara ship loaded with humanitarian aid materials in front of a tumbledown wall which represents Palestine.

Spanish activists have been planning to send two ships loaded with humanitarian aid from Spain to Gaza in the spring of 2011.