Cape Town radio journalist Gadija Davids, 25, is relieved to be back home and says all she wants to do is sleep after her "harrowing ordeal" at the hands of Israeli forces.
She said she got to see what Palestinians "go through every day in their open jail... constant surveillance and terror".
Davids, from Strandfontein, was speaking at a press conference organised by the Muslim radio station 786 just hours after she landed in Cape Town yesterday.
Davids was one of 40 international journalists aboard the Mavi Marmara, one of three ships laden with aid for Palestinians in Gaza. Nine people died when the boats were intercepted by the Israeli navy in international waters.
With the other journalists and 600 activists from 36 countries, Davids was transferred to Israel where she was detained and interrogated.
"The not knowing was the hardest - where we were and what was happening," she said.
During the Israeli raid on the ship, she and other women were kept below decks, their only link a voice over the intercom: "Stop attacking - we are unarmed."
Davids, who has been expelled from Israel for 10 years, said the interrogations were "intimidating". She had the impression what was being recorded was not what she said.
They were not allowed to make phone calls to reassure their families.
She would not forget the long drive from the prison in a windowless van to the airport from where they were deported. "It was a slow drive and there were cockroaches everywhere."
She did not regret the trip and would do it again. And although she was happy to be home, she had been tempted to stay in Turkey when she heard about all the media attention her arrest was getting back in Cape Town.
Her news editor, Zubeida Samsodien, said Davids had been working at the community radio station for four years. "I had mixed emotions when we received news of what had happened, because I suggested she go. I asked myself, 'why did I send this child all alone?' But no one expected an onslaught on ships carrying aid to Gaza."
Her mother, Magboeba Davids, said Gadija was her "baby" and that this had been her first overseas journey.
"The worst was the silence and not knowing where she was or whether she was alive. Through this journey she has shown us that she has a strong sense of justice. When she told us that she was going on this trip we prepared her for the worse. But we did not expect the ship to come under attack in international waters."
Her mother added: "Gadija was born during the apartheid struggle. She is a flower of the South African struggle. She is a remarkable young woman. We are very proud of her. It was an inhumane attack on civilians."
She thanked government officials who had made every effort to ensure Gadija came home safely. She was also grateful to all South Africans for their caring response.
She said would let her daughter rest before they would celebrate her safe return with Gadija's favourite meal, lasagne.