We were expecting it of course — every Code Pink delegation to Gaza is told at some point that they don’t have Egyptian permission — but it is difficult not to feel a bit in shock:
“Citing escalating tensions on the Gaza-Egypt border, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry informed us on December 20 that the Rafah border will be closed over the coming weeks, into January. We responded that there is always tension at the border because of the siege and that if there are any risks, they are risks we are willing to take. We also said that it was too late for over 1,360 delegates coming from over 42 countries to change their plans now.”
As if! Right now, right in the middle of packing donations and making plans to meet in Cairo on December 27, the 11 of us leaving from London, like the rest of the 57 Canadian participants and the rest of the 1360+ internationals – we’re hardly about to drop our plans now because Egyptian officials say so. We can’t just stop now – for one thing, there are too many other people in the community who have put their trust in us. Like the Palestinian-Canadian who told me the other day at the London mosque that we had to go to Gaza for all those who cannot return – he went away to write a (large!) cheque as a donation towards our delegation’s travel costs just when a small child came up with a double fistful of coins they had collected in class to dump into our donation tin. We have raised funds from bake-sales, film nights, dinners and T-shirt sales, but mostly from outright donations as our community opened its hearts and its wallets for this cause. After all of the heartwarming generosity that has made it possible for our delegation to travel to Gaza (many of our group are students on limited budgets), we cannot turn back now
But most of all, we cannot turn back because we have heard the call from the Palestinians of Gaza themselves:
“The people of Gaza need your support to end the blockade. Over 1400 international activists from over 42 countries will be in Gaza on December 31. They will march with us to demand that Israellift its blockade of the Gaza Strip immediately and permanently.
[…]
We need you to show Israel that we have a common humanity; that you watch what it does and you will not tolerate it because silence is complicity.
[…]
We need you to show us, the people of Gaza, that you remember the horror that we face each day, and that you are with us as we fight against the Israeli-apartheid killing machine.”
Code Pink has of course seen this sort of Egyptian response before (they have successfully brought six delegations to Gaza since February 2009):
“No delegation, large or small, that has entered Gaza over the past 12 months has received a final OK before arriving at the Rafah border. Most delegations were discouraged from even heading out of Cairo to Rafah. Some had their buses stopped on the way. Some have been told outright that they could not go into Gaza. But after public and political pressure, the Egyptian government changed its position and let them pass.
Our efforts and plans will not be altered at this point. We have set out to break the siege of Gaza and to march in Gaza on December 31 against the international blockade. We are continuing the journey.
Egyptian embassies and missions all over the world will be hearing by phone, fax and email from delegates and the supporters of the Gaza Freedom March over the coming crucial days, with the clear message: Let the international delegation enter Gaza and let the Gaza Freedom March proceed.”
So while the BBC reports Egypt is warning that anyone attempting the crossing from Egypt into Gaza would be “dealt with by the law” (whatever that means), I’m pausing from packing books for my colleagues in Gaza to send a fax and more e-mail to the Egyptian authorities. Please take a moment to do the same:
Egyptian embassy in Ottawa
Tel: (613)234-4931 (613)234-4935
Fax: (613)234-4398
Embassy’s E-mail: [email protected]
Ambassador’s e-mail: [email protected]
Consulat général d’Égypte à Montréal
tel : 514-866-8455
fax: 514-866-0835
[email protected]
Palestine Division in Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cairo
Ahmed Azzam, tel +202-25749682 Email: [email protected]
Other consular offices: http://www.mfa.gov.eg/MFA_Portal/en-GB/mfa_websits/
(possible sugested text:
Dear Sirs,
I am writing to express my full support for the December 31, 2009 Gaza Freedom March, and am in touch with my Member of the Canadian Parliament on this issue.
I respectfully urge the Egyptian government to allow the 1,360 international delegates to enter the Gaza Strip through Egypt.
The aim of the march is to call on Israel to lift the siege. It is also humanitarian: the delegates will also take in badly needed medical aid, as well as school supplies and winter jackets for the children of Gaza.
Please let this historic March proceed. Doing so will do much to endear Egypt to both the marchers and their many friends and supporters.
Thank you.)
See you in Cairo!
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