December 28, 2009
Cairo — About one week before the December 31st march was scheduled to take place in Gaza, the Egyptian authorities announced that the 1300 international delegates were not welcome to cross into Gaza from Egypt. The delegates intended to cross into Gaza from the Rafah border with Egypt, delivering humanitarian aid and marching in solidarity with Palestinians suffering from the Israeli government’s siege and occupation.
As scores of marchers began to arrive in Cairo on December 27th, they have encountered massive interference from the Egyptian Government. This interference for the internationals has been just a small taste of the daily Egyptian and Palestinian experience. Restriction of movement and assembly, unwarranted detentions and arrests, combined with bureaucratic harassment has marked the first two days of the delegation. The marchers were scheduled to travel to El Arish today and proceed from there to the Rafah border crossing into Gaza. All this has been made impossible. The Egyptian government has revoked all permits for gathering, refused to allow public and private buses to take delegates to El Arish. They have followed, detained and arrested any members of the March who attempted to try crossing the border on their own.
The March coordinators and participants are actively engaged in weighing alternative plans while continuing to gather in protest of the Egyptian Government’s policies, which are almost certainly being enforced at the behest of the Israeli and American administrations. Approximately three hundred members of the French delegation have camped overnight at the French embassy in Cairo, begging for support from their ambassador and government. They held the space overnight and are currently maintaining a presence there, despite being encircled by a three row deep barrier of Egyptian riot police. The American delegation is likely to form a similar encampment at the American Embassy, which was cordoned off and surrounded by police as soon as delegation members arrived in Cairo. US participants have attempted to gain support from their ambassador, with no response.
The larger group decided to appeal to the United Nations today by conducting a mass demonstration in front of the United Nations office at the World Trade Center in Cairo. March Coordinators eventually obtained a meeting with UN officials and were told that not one member or even a small representative delegation would enter into Gaza through Egypt. In response, Hedy Epstein, an 85- year-old Holocaust survivor, started a hunger strike with the intention to fast until the Egyptians decide to open the border.
In contrast to the Egyptian governments behavior, the people of Egypt have been extremely welcoming and very supportive of the Gaza Freedom March. This support has largely had to remain underground due to the government’s ruling that a gathering of 6 or more people is illegal. Even so, it has been rumored that some 200 Egyptian citizens attempted to join the Gaza Freedom March of their own accord and were arrested on their way to Al Arish. The authorities have refused to comment on or substantiate this. If it is true, the whereabouts of the Egyptian citizens remains uncertain.
Despite the massive interferences, the marchers have not been deterred and will continue to advocate for the people of Gaza. Though these setbacks have been frustrating to the delegates who came to show solidarity with Palestinians, they are just a small taste of the Palestinian experience and can scarcely compare to the daily hardships imposed on the people of Gaza by the devastating Israeli siege and illegal occupation.
