I Got a call from Ann Write at 1 a.m. letting me know that I was on the list of 100 to go in, and that Bill was not. Asked about the Costellanos and the other people on the front line and was appalled to learn that I was the only one of the 55 of us out here, alone, on our own, making it up as we go and generally grinding ourselves into the ground with lack of sleep. Ann herself was as shocked and up set about this oversight and said she’d work on it. She called back 10 minutes later and said that they would stop in El Arish and pick up 10 of us, one for each nationality and three Costellanos since they were the largest group here and had spearheaded most of the action.
I tried to contact the hotel in town to reach anyone who was still awake to let them know. The list of 100 had been published and I really did not want them to see the news without the knowledge that 10 of the El Arish group would get to go in. I had no luck contacting them and no ability to get there as our resident police officer was not letting us out after dark. The Britts had a conference and the three young ones unanimously voted to let Peter go because he is trying to bring in art supplies for an art therapy group. There were a lot of tears shed over this turn of events, we all want to go. I am in disbelief that I will go without Bill.
I woke Manuel at 7:30 to let him know, he said that even before the list was published they had decided as a group that it was all 1300 marchers or none of the marchers. OK, I said and left since I had escaped my shadow-er I had some shopping to do. I loved shopping without him, people talked/signed with me and were so friendly and warm; when Mohammad shadowed us everyone averted their eyes and were very perfunctory. We delivered bracelet gifts to all the people who had helped us, they were so grateful and their eyes lit up with surprise and joy especially after I explained that these were not form me, but from my friends who could not come.
A call from Ann Write again another turn in events, now ALL the delegates in El Arish who wanted to go could get on the buses that were going to be stopping to pick me and the 10 up! This was fantastic news since Bill and I had just talked with the Hassidic Jews and had decided that if Bill got a spot he would give it up to one of them so that they could travel in a pair instead of alone. We had no idea what was going on in Cairo and why all of a sudden there was room for all of us. A quick word to the Brits, out the back door to the beautiful beach a small lie to Mohammed and 5 minutes later were we in a taxi to give the news to the other delegates.
Good! They announced the buses must be almost empty! I was shocked to hear this, and learned of all the conflict and trouble in Cairo over the compromise agreement. We had a lengthy ad heated discussion; apparently I am an ignorant traitor because I still think it is important for us to go. I explained about Madame Mumbarak’s pervious role in helping get CodePINK into Gaza and hoped to persuade them that this was a process, that we never really expected that the gates would miraculously open and Gazans would be free to come and go as they pleased and to buy the goods and procure the services they needed without having to resort to smuggling for the most basic needs. One step at a time, and that we are doing great work by all of the press we are generating around the world and finally in the US. The Egyptian Foreign minister is furious with Madame Mumbarak for overstepping her place going above him and making this agreement. If we were to reject her offer we would be cutting the legs out form under the only ally we have in the fight for human rights in Gaza. Sadly we were also getting conflicting messages form Gaza. The Castellanos had a message form someone there asking us to reject the deal, and we were getting other people on the phone begging us to come.
I am so tired of this place where things move so slowly and then the big important things change in the wink of an eye with no time to plan or react rationally. It still worries me that I am an ignorant traitor, that I have been the pawn for the Egyptian Government not for the Peace Movement.
The Castellanos we were with are louder, they have more resources and access to the Net than we did and they dominated group meetings demonstrating a complete lack of understanding of consensus building. I did not mind any of this too much up until today, I was enjoying the cultural differences and considerations when working with people whose thought process were so alien to mine. It got ugly today, we had aggressive people in our faces shouting at us and telling us how stupid we were being. Please let them be wrong.
They made it difficult to get on the buses, and they were able to persuade many of our group not to go. In the end only 20 of the 55 of us from the border frontier got on the buses. 84 of us had some very joyful moments as the bus crossed over into Gaza in the dead of night. Of the 20 only 6 of us had been in town the whole time, the others came in form having been part of the Underground Railroad system of support up there just in time to catch the busses. They kept track of goings on through email and twitter only so when they came out of the darkness to the bus stop it was a surprise and delight to see them. The Castellanos persuaded about ½ of them not to go. Alex, a complete cutie turned 21 on the bus tonight. One of his friends decided not to go along after talking with the Castellanos, he is worried about the other one, they lost him somewhere along route to the bus stop.
We delegates had a most wonderful time with each other on the bus and in the processing center getting to know one another and sharing stories of our adventures during these quiet wait times. It was great to get first hand accounts of the Cairo actions.
The Gazans greeted us warmly and we could not refuse the lavish spread they put out for us at 12:15 in the morning. I was too tired to visit with any of them, but I look forward to doing so tomorrow. Tomorrow we march, and then I have 2 days to get the mural up.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Hum Duli La (Praise Be to God)
I have had absolutely no sleep in days. At times in the past I have described events in my life as akin to a roller coaster ride, however there has been nothing to compare to this madness. The roller coaster ride we have been on this past week could never exist in the US; there are absolutely no safety inspectors around and the thing was likely designed by a complete lunatic, erected with an odd assortment of legos, tinker toys, Lincoln logs and the odd bits left over from someone’s erector set. I imagine the lunatic designer to be an amazing artist, but nothing near an engineer.
By the grace of God and the hands of all my lovely friends I will go into Gaza today, but I will leave Bill and some amazingly big hearted new friends we have made behind in El Ashir. For every delegate that gets in 13 will have been left behind. If it were not for the love and hope promised by the community mural and sweet sweet pencil cases we made together I would be one of those left behind.
By the grace of God and the hands of all my lovely friends I will go into Gaza today, but I will leave Bill and some amazingly big hearted new friends we have made behind in El Ashir. For every delegate that gets in 13 will have been left behind. If it were not for the love and hope promised by the community mural and sweet sweet pencil cases we made together I would be one of those left behind.
Action in El Arish
The day began with the Brits Ali, Charlotte, Ian and Peter, and Kathleen and Bill form Santa Cruz trying to help the Hasidim get out of the Swiss Inn. It looked like they were going to be able to go, but in the end they asked us to stop fighting for them. We did give up and leave when we got a call from Manuel of the Spanish delegation asking for our assistance at the square of Sadat.
Our handler did not want to let us go, but we walked away and kept walking, when we explained out intentions, that we would walk to the 7 kilometers to join out compatriots he hailed 2 cabs for us and came along for the adventure.
The Peace delegation occupied the space under the statue of Sadat in the Sadat square. The plan was to begin marching towards the Raffa border again after a short break for some food. Upon returning to the square the police knew of our plan to march and insisted we would not. Chanting and singing ensued, eventually we stepped off the sidewalk and began the march, when we were grabbed and pushed at we all sat in the middle of the street, changing and singing. It was very tense, when if looked like we could move again we stood up and began to walk, but did not get far before they began to block us again, in the middle of this pushing and shoving and shouting a local Lawyer from El Arish began shouting our chant “Culana Palestina, Afta Hoo Gaza” which means “We are all Palestinian, open the gates of Gaza”. The police tried to stop him from joining us and we surrounded him with our bodies and moved back up to the space under the statue of Sadat. This very brave Egyptian man, Jamal Juma’a Ibraheem Sulayman has placed himself in very grave danger. He gave a moving speech about the state of Gaza and Egypt. When we asked him about the consequences of his actions he said that he would possibly face at least 5 years in prison but that all Egyptians were already prisoners in prison living in a police state. He gave a moving speech which several activists and a documentarian caught on tape. His daughter came into our midst to give her papa a hug and stay with us all evening. Now we have an Egyptian national that we are somewhat responsible for and very concerned about, we have moved him into the Siani Star hotel with us.
We will see what tomorrow brings.
Our handler did not want to let us go, but we walked away and kept walking, when we explained out intentions, that we would walk to the 7 kilometers to join out compatriots he hailed 2 cabs for us and came along for the adventure.
The Peace delegation occupied the space under the statue of Sadat in the Sadat square. The plan was to begin marching towards the Raffa border again after a short break for some food. Upon returning to the square the police knew of our plan to march and insisted we would not. Chanting and singing ensued, eventually we stepped off the sidewalk and began the march, when we were grabbed and pushed at we all sat in the middle of the street, changing and singing. It was very tense, when if looked like we could move again we stood up and began to walk, but did not get far before they began to block us again, in the middle of this pushing and shoving and shouting a local Lawyer from El Arish began shouting our chant “Culana Palestina, Afta Hoo Gaza” which means “We are all Palestinian, open the gates of Gaza”. The police tried to stop him from joining us and we surrounded him with our bodies and moved back up to the space under the statue of Sadat. This very brave Egyptian man, Jamal Juma’a Ibraheem Sulayman has placed himself in very grave danger. He gave a moving speech about the state of Gaza and Egypt. When we asked him about the consequences of his actions he said that he would possibly face at least 5 years in prison but that all Egyptians were already prisoners in prison living in a police state. He gave a moving speech which several activists and a documentarian caught on tape. His daughter came into our midst to give her papa a hug and stay with us all evening. Now we have an Egyptian national that we are somewhat responsible for and very concerned about, we have moved him into the Siani Star hotel with us.
We will see what tomorrow brings.
Monday, December 28, 2009
House Arrest and other News
Bill and I are under house arrest as are all other Gaza Freedom Marchers that made it as far as El Arish. El Arish is the last town before the Raffa border crossing. We left Cairo a day early other wise we would be stuck there like all of the rest of the Gaza Freedom Marchers. There are about 40 of us here, in El Arish. 5 Americans from Viva Palestina, 20 from Spain, 2 Japanese, 1 French, 4 Brits, 4 or 5 from Luxenburg, 4 Jews from New York City, and us.
We are the lucky ones, a whole bunch of people who left Cairo after us have been detained at check points along the route to El Arish. They have gotten out their transportation and refused to go back to Cairo. The result of this is forced hunger strikes all along the route.
The authorities in Cairo have made it illegal to transport any foreigners out of Cario. There have been some arrests,and peaceful protests have been broken-up.
Is the US press covering any of this?
Bill and I are here to deliver hope and friendship in the form of a community made art glass mural. It will likely not get delivered. Thankfully the police officer who is in charge of watching our house is very friendly and kind.
We will wait it out and see what happens, on a plane back to the US on January 3rd, no matter what else is happening here.
Peace,Love and Light,
Kathleen
We are the lucky ones, a whole bunch of people who left Cairo after us have been detained at check points along the route to El Arish. They have gotten out their transportation and refused to go back to Cairo. The result of this is forced hunger strikes all along the route.
The authorities in Cairo have made it illegal to transport any foreigners out of Cario. There have been some arrests,and peaceful protests have been broken-up.
Is the US press covering any of this?
Bill and I are here to deliver hope and friendship in the form of a community made art glass mural. It will likely not get delivered. Thankfully the police officer who is in charge of watching our house is very friendly and kind.
We will wait it out and see what happens, on a plane back to the US on January 3rd, no matter what else is happening here.
Peace,Love and Light,
Kathleen
Egyptian Security Forces Detain Gaza Freedom Marchers in el-Arish
Egyptian Security Forces Detain Gaza Freedom Marchers in
el-Arish and shuts down Gaza Memorial in Cairo
What: Egyptian security forces detain internationals in el-Arish, break up memorial actions in Cairo
When: Sunday, December 27, noon: the Egyptian security forces detained a group of 30 internationals in their hotel in el-Arish and another group of 8 at the bus station. They also broke up a memorial action commemorating the Cast Lead massacre at the Kasr al Nil Bridge
At noon on December 27, Egyptian security forces detained a group of 30 activists in their hotel in el-Arish as they prepared to leave for Gaza, placing them under house arrest. The delegates, all part of the Gaza Freedom March of 1,300 people, were Spanish, French, British, American, and Japanese. The Egyptian security forces eventually yielded, letting most of the marchers leave the hotel, but did not permit them to leave the town. When two younger delegates, a French and Japanese woman, attempted to leave el-Arish, the Egyptian authorities stopped their taxi and unloaded their luggage.
Another group of eight people, including citizens from American, British, Spanish, Japanese and Greece, were detained at the bus station of Al Arish in the afternoon of December 27. As of 3:30 PM, they were still being held.
Simultaneously, Egyptian security police broke up a commemoration of the Israeli invasion of Gaza organized by the Gaza Freedom March at Kasr al Nil Bridge, one of the main bridges connecting Zamalek Island, in the middle of the Nile, to Cairo. As a nonviolent way of commemorating the more than 1300 Palestinians killed in the Israeli assault on Gaza that began a year ago on December 27, 2008, Gaza Freedom Marchers tied hundreds of strings with notes, poems, art and the names of those killed to the bridge.
“We’re saddened that the Egyptian authorities have blocked our participants’ freedom of movement and interfered with a peaceful commemoration of the dead,” said Ann Wright, one of the March’s organizers.
Wright added that the Gaza Freedom March participants are continuing to urge the Egyptian government to allow them to proceed to Gaza. They visited the Arab League asking for support, various foreign embassies and the Presidential Palace to give in an appeal to President Mubarak.
Medea Benjamin | medea@globalexchange.org | Egypt (18) 956-1919
Ann Wright | microann@yahoo.com Egypt (19) 508-1493 |
Ziyaad Lunat | Z.lunat@gmail.com Roaming +351938349206
el-Arish and shuts down Gaza Memorial in Cairo
What: Egyptian security forces detain internationals in el-Arish, break up memorial actions in Cairo
When: Sunday, December 27, noon: the Egyptian security forces detained a group of 30 internationals in their hotel in el-Arish and another group of 8 at the bus station. They also broke up a memorial action commemorating the Cast Lead massacre at the Kasr al Nil Bridge
At noon on December 27, Egyptian security forces detained a group of 30 activists in their hotel in el-Arish as they prepared to leave for Gaza, placing them under house arrest. The delegates, all part of the Gaza Freedom March of 1,300 people, were Spanish, French, British, American, and Japanese. The Egyptian security forces eventually yielded, letting most of the marchers leave the hotel, but did not permit them to leave the town. When two younger delegates, a French and Japanese woman, attempted to leave el-Arish, the Egyptian authorities stopped their taxi and unloaded their luggage.
Another group of eight people, including citizens from American, British, Spanish, Japanese and Greece, were detained at the bus station of Al Arish in the afternoon of December 27. As of 3:30 PM, they were still being held.
Simultaneously, Egyptian security police broke up a commemoration of the Israeli invasion of Gaza organized by the Gaza Freedom March at Kasr al Nil Bridge, one of the main bridges connecting Zamalek Island, in the middle of the Nile, to Cairo. As a nonviolent way of commemorating the more than 1300 Palestinians killed in the Israeli assault on Gaza that began a year ago on December 27, 2008, Gaza Freedom Marchers tied hundreds of strings with notes, poems, art and the names of those killed to the bridge.
“We’re saddened that the Egyptian authorities have blocked our participants’ freedom of movement and interfered with a peaceful commemoration of the dead,” said Ann Wright, one of the March’s organizers.
Wright added that the Gaza Freedom March participants are continuing to urge the Egyptian government to allow them to proceed to Gaza. They visited the Arab League asking for support, various foreign embassies and the Presidential Palace to give in an appeal to President Mubarak.
Medea Benjamin | medea@globalexchange.org | Egypt (18) 956-1919
Ann Wright | microann@yahoo.com Egypt (19) 508-1493 |
Ziyaad Lunat | Z.lunat@gmail.com Roaming +351938349206
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Egyptian Security Forces Detain Gaza Freedom Marchers in
el-Arish and shut down Gaza Memorial in Cairo
What: Egyptian security forces detain internationals in el-Arish, break up memorial actions in Cairo
When: Sunday, December 27, noon: the Egyptian security forces detained a group of 30 internationals in their hotel in el-Arish and another group of 8 at the bus station. They also broke up a memorial action commemorating the Cast Lead massacre at the Kasr al Nil Bridge
At noon on 27 December, Egyptian security forces detained a group of 30 activists in their hotel in el-Arish as they prepared to leave for Gaza, placing them under house arrest. The delegates, all part of the Gaza Freedom March of 1,300 people, were Spanish, French, British, American, and Japanese. The Egyptian security forces eventually yielded, letting most of the marchers leave the hotel, but did not permit them to leave the town. When two younger delegates, a French and Japanese woman, attempted to leave el-Arish, the Egyptian authorities stopped their taxi and unloaded their luggage.
Another group of eight people, including citizens from American, British, Spanish, Japanese and Greece, were detained at the bus station of Al Arish in the afternoon of December 27. As of 3:30 PM, they were still being held.
Simultaneously, Egyptian security police broke up a commemoration of the Israeli invasion of Gaza organized by the Gaza Freedom March at Kasr al Nil Bridge, one of the main bridges connecting Zamalek Island, in the middle of the Nile, to Cairo. As a nonviolent way of commemorating the more than 1300 Palestinians killed in the Israeli assault on Gaza that began a year ago on December 27, 2008, Gaza Freedom Marchers tied hundreds of strings with notes, poems, art and the names of those killed to the bridge.
“We’re saddened that the Egyptian authorities have blocked our participants’ freedom of movement and interfered with a peaceful commemoration of the dead,” said Medea Benjamin of CODEPINK, one of the March’s organizers.
Benjamin added that the Gaza Freedom March participants are continuing to urge the Egyptian government to allow them to proceed to Gaza. They visited the Arab League asking for support, various foreign embassies and the Presidential Palance to deliver an appeal to President Mubarak. They are calling their supporters around the world to contact Egyptian embassies and urge them to free the marchers and allow them to proceed to Gaza.
el-Arish and shut down Gaza Memorial in Cairo
What: Egyptian security forces detain internationals in el-Arish, break up memorial actions in Cairo
When: Sunday, December 27, noon: the Egyptian security forces detained a group of 30 internationals in their hotel in el-Arish and another group of 8 at the bus station. They also broke up a memorial action commemorating the Cast Lead massacre at the Kasr al Nil Bridge
At noon on 27 December, Egyptian security forces detained a group of 30 activists in their hotel in el-Arish as they prepared to leave for Gaza, placing them under house arrest. The delegates, all part of the Gaza Freedom March of 1,300 people, were Spanish, French, British, American, and Japanese. The Egyptian security forces eventually yielded, letting most of the marchers leave the hotel, but did not permit them to leave the town. When two younger delegates, a French and Japanese woman, attempted to leave el-Arish, the Egyptian authorities stopped their taxi and unloaded their luggage.
Another group of eight people, including citizens from American, British, Spanish, Japanese and Greece, were detained at the bus station of Al Arish in the afternoon of December 27. As of 3:30 PM, they were still being held.
Simultaneously, Egyptian security police broke up a commemoration of the Israeli invasion of Gaza organized by the Gaza Freedom March at Kasr al Nil Bridge, one of the main bridges connecting Zamalek Island, in the middle of the Nile, to Cairo. As a nonviolent way of commemorating the more than 1300 Palestinians killed in the Israeli assault on Gaza that began a year ago on December 27, 2008, Gaza Freedom Marchers tied hundreds of strings with notes, poems, art and the names of those killed to the bridge.
“We’re saddened that the Egyptian authorities have blocked our participants’ freedom of movement and interfered with a peaceful commemoration of the dead,” said Medea Benjamin of CODEPINK, one of the March’s organizers.
Benjamin added that the Gaza Freedom March participants are continuing to urge the Egyptian government to allow them to proceed to Gaza. They visited the Arab League asking for support, various foreign embassies and the Presidential Palance to deliver an appeal to President Mubarak. They are calling their supporters around the world to contact Egyptian embassies and urge them to free the marchers and allow them to proceed to Gaza.
December 27th
Be Ready to Change Plans Quickly!
Please excuse me if this is too long and if I make spelling mistakes, I have just an hour window to speak my mind. We arrived in El Arish yesterday. It was not a good day’s travel what with all the check point stops.
Bill and I were going to go to the Raffah Border Gate this morning in a taxi that was arranged by the Hotel Concierge. When we got up in the morning and came to the desk to leave we were given a covert warning by the hotel manager not to go. He said that there would be a bus we could take later.
Later when we came back to the hotel to get on the bus the hotel was surrounded by secret police, we went to our room to get our stuff, our British friends came to the room and told us that they were going to leave the hotel and go somewhere else. We like the Brits, they are thoughtful and considered in their decisions and they do not broadcast their intentions.
We grabbed our bags and headed out, I walk fast and thought Bill was behind me, the 2 Brit girls did the same. But trying to leave with our bags is when the shit hit the fan. Bill and the 2 British men were made to stay in the hotel. The hotel is on the second floor. Once we got out and were on the steps of the hotel we women parked ourselves with our stuff and waited for the men to be released.
Phones numbers between phones began to be blocked, I could no longer call the codepink organizers or any of the other International delegates who were also stuck up in the hotel with Bill. One of the Brit girls got some tweeting done and we got the numbers for the US and British Embassies. The US number did not work; I got the same error message as I did with all the other numbers I had previously been able to call. I began calling friendly Egyptians Bill and I had met in Cairo, explained our situation and asked them to call the US Embassy on our behalf. Eventually they let Bill and the Brit (Ian and Peter) men come down to talk with us (Ali and Charlotte) but they made them leave their luggage up in the hotel.
I have no idea who pulled strings or worked on our behalf, but we 2 Americans and the 4 Brits were allowed to leave and bring their stuff down to join us.
However, no taxis were allowed to come down the street. This American Woman who lives in El Arish had joined us and she was able to get 2 taxi's down the street by calling a police contact she has. The 2 taxi's pulled up but as soon as we tried to put our stuff in it they grabbed it and would not allow us to get in the taxi's, thankfully we all worked in unison quickly grabbed our bags and walked quickly away from the hotel, we got to a more busy street hailed cabs and took off.
We have rented a chalet on the beach, for less than the cost of the hotel, and if we were not on a mission, it would be a beautiful vacation spot. However we were there for less than an hour and the police parked out front and then kicked out the Egyptians in the adjacent space and moved themselves into it.
Some of the French tried to take a cab to the Raffah border they were stopped and turned back. The Castellanos are stuck in the hotel we were able to escape.
We are not sure, but we think that there are about 50 internationals who were able to make it as far as El Arish. We let ahead of the main body of the marchers who are stuck in Cairo. The few that try to get out are now being detained at checkpoints, the peaceful non-violent CODEPINK actions that have tried to take place in Egypt have been broken up.
I have some really great photos but am unable to upload them right now. Our Chalet does not have internet access, we are at a hotel using the internet access here, but do not want to stay too long and get detained or have our computers confiscated.
We are fine, we are safe; we are determined to get to Gaza, at least to the Raffah border! How that will happen is impossible to say, but I think once we have exhausted all options we will begin the Gaza Freedom March here in El Arish, and march towards the border.
If you have not been following this story please see my blog.
Please call our senators and ask then to advocate for our free and safe passage.
Be Ready to Change Plans Quickly!
Please excuse me if this is too long and if I make spelling mistakes, I have just an hour window to speak my mind. We arrived in El Arish yesterday. It was not a good day’s travel what with all the check point stops.
Bill and I were going to go to the Raffah Border Gate this morning in a taxi that was arranged by the Hotel Concierge. When we got up in the morning and came to the desk to leave we were given a covert warning by the hotel manager not to go. He said that there would be a bus we could take later.
Later when we came back to the hotel to get on the bus the hotel was surrounded by secret police, we went to our room to get our stuff, our British friends came to the room and told us that they were going to leave the hotel and go somewhere else. We like the Brits, they are thoughtful and considered in their decisions and they do not broadcast their intentions.
We grabbed our bags and headed out, I walk fast and thought Bill was behind me, the 2 Brit girls did the same. But trying to leave with our bags is when the shit hit the fan. Bill and the 2 British men were made to stay in the hotel. The hotel is on the second floor. Once we got out and were on the steps of the hotel we women parked ourselves with our stuff and waited for the men to be released.
Phones numbers between phones began to be blocked, I could no longer call the codepink organizers or any of the other International delegates who were also stuck up in the hotel with Bill. One of the Brit girls got some tweeting done and we got the numbers for the US and British Embassies. The US number did not work; I got the same error message as I did with all the other numbers I had previously been able to call. I began calling friendly Egyptians Bill and I had met in Cairo, explained our situation and asked them to call the US Embassy on our behalf. Eventually they let Bill and the Brit (Ian and Peter) men come down to talk with us (Ali and Charlotte) but they made them leave their luggage up in the hotel.
I have no idea who pulled strings or worked on our behalf, but we 2 Americans and the 4 Brits were allowed to leave and bring their stuff down to join us.
However, no taxis were allowed to come down the street. This American Woman who lives in El Arish had joined us and she was able to get 2 taxi's down the street by calling a police contact she has. The 2 taxi's pulled up but as soon as we tried to put our stuff in it they grabbed it and would not allow us to get in the taxi's, thankfully we all worked in unison quickly grabbed our bags and walked quickly away from the hotel, we got to a more busy street hailed cabs and took off.
We have rented a chalet on the beach, for less than the cost of the hotel, and if we were not on a mission, it would be a beautiful vacation spot. However we were there for less than an hour and the police parked out front and then kicked out the Egyptians in the adjacent space and moved themselves into it.
Some of the French tried to take a cab to the Raffah border they were stopped and turned back. The Castellanos are stuck in the hotel we were able to escape.
We are not sure, but we think that there are about 50 internationals who were able to make it as far as El Arish. We let ahead of the main body of the marchers who are stuck in Cairo. The few that try to get out are now being detained at checkpoints, the peaceful non-violent CODEPINK actions that have tried to take place in Egypt have been broken up.
I have some really great photos but am unable to upload them right now. Our Chalet does not have internet access, we are at a hotel using the internet access here, but do not want to stay too long and get detained or have our computers confiscated.
We are fine, we are safe; we are determined to get to Gaza, at least to the Raffah border! How that will happen is impossible to say, but I think once we have exhausted all options we will begin the Gaza Freedom March here in El Arish, and march towards the border.
If you have not been following this story please see my blog.
Please call our senators and ask then to advocate for our free and safe passage.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Arish via Checkpoints
December 26, 2009
We left the Lotus hotel in downtown Cairo today at 9 a.m. Each of us is carrying a back pack that weighs about 40 pounds. We have enough food and water to last us 5 days. In addition to the backpacks we are dragging along the mural, the crate is back in it’s suitcase, but it weighs 80 pounds, and since we don’t want to wreck the wheels we have to lift it up and down stairs. There are a lot of stairs in subway stations.
From the subway we caught a group taxi. to Arish. There were 6 Egyptian men including the driver Bill and myself stuffed into an old diesel Mercedes station wagon. The pre-arranged price was 18 Egyptian pounds per person, but it did not go that way. There have been too many foreign internationals making their way to El Arish which is the last town before the Raffah border crossing. A group of 4 Castellanos were traveling in another taxi at the same time, to this area that rarely sees tourists. The Gaza Freedom March has been banned and Egypt has said that they will not let any internationals through the gate. They have revoked all permits for gatherings of more than 5 people in one place and they will not allow CODEPINK or any other bus full of internationals to leave Cairo in the direction of Raffah. We decided to try to trickle in, but traveling so close together in time we were suspect. I think that if our taxis were not full of Egyptians who needed to get where they were going our taxis might have been turned back. Our drivers paid bribes to the police. At the last crossing they took the drivers licenses of our drivers and gave us a police escort to our hotel. We have had to say we are tourists and coming to El Arish to see the Mediterranean Sea. If we had said our true and final destination we would have been turned back right away. In the end we paid our taxi driver $150 pounds and another $20 to the police man who hung around to make sure we went in and registered at the hotel.
Aside from being on a mission that could get us in trouble and therefore a little nerve wracking it was a beautiful ride and it was great to get out of Cairo. The people are super friendly here too, but I have not been hustled here. This evening when we went out to get fruit for out camping trip some small boys were following us and begging, an older man swatted them both on the head with a newspaper they yelped and took off. I sure appreciated this kindness.
Our hotel manager is quite sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and has been very hospitable. He wants to get me a gift of a dictionary for translating Arabic into pronounceable English lettering for me so that I can do some more communicating. I’ve been having a good time learning some Arabic words and phrases, and the Egyptian people really seem to appreciate the effort.
We spent and hour or so with the Castellanos this evening planning strategy for getting to the Raffah border. Apparently we will have 5 more check points to get across, I suppose this means more bribes, and we are running really low on Egyptian money. We could spend dollars in Cairo, but not here.
Codepink’s new plan is to wait until about 25 of us reach the border and then they will descend on one of the embassies in Cairo and demand that that country help clear the red tape for those of us who are sitting at the border waiting to get in. They are not sure which country they will descend upon yet, but I am pretty sure it will not be the U.S.
We have one last meeting tonight with the Castellanos, off to bed and then on our way!
Wish us luck, if I don’t post a bog tomorrow it is because we are camping at the border!
Friday, December 25, 2009
Open Letter from GFM
OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT MUBARAK FROM THE GAZA FREEDOM MARCH
December 26, 2009
Dear President Mubarak;
We, representing 1,362 individuals from 43 countries arriving in Cairo to participate in the Gaza Freedom March, are pleading to the Egyptians and your reputation for hospitality.
We are peacemakers. We have not come to Egypt to create trouble or cause conflict. On the contrary. We have come because we believe that all people -- including the Palestinians of Gaza -- should have access to the resources they need to live in dignity. We have gathered in Egypt because we believed that you would welcome and support our noble goal and help us reach Gaza through your land.
As individuals who believe in justice and human rights, we have spent our hard-earned, and sometimes scarce, resources to buy plane tickets, book hotel rooms and secure transportation only to stand in solidarity with the Palestinians of Gaza living under a crushing Israeli blockade.
We are doctors, lawyers, students, academics, poets and musicians. We are young and old. We are Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists and secular. We represent civil society groups in many countries who came together and coordinated this large project with the civil society in Gaza.
We have raised tens of thousands of dollars for medical aid, school supplies and winter clothing for the children of Gaza. But we realize that in addition to material aid, the Palestinians of Gaza need moral support. We came to offer that support on the difficult anniversary of an invasion that brought them so much suffering.
The idea of the Gaza Freedom March—a nonviolent march to the Israeli Erez crossing-- emerged during one of our trips to Gaza in May, a trip that was kindly facilitated by the Egyptian government. Ever since the idea emerged, we have been talking to your government through your embassies overseas and directly with your Foreign Ministries. Your representatives have been kind and supportive. We were asked to furnish information about all the participants—passports, dates of birth, occupations—which we have done in good faith. We have answered every question, met every request. For months we have been working under the assumption that your government would facilitate our passage, as it has done on so many other occasions. We waited and waited for an answer.
Meanwhile, time was getting short and we had to start organizing. Travel over the Christmas season is not easy in the countries where many of us live. Tickets have to be purchased weeks, if not months, in advance. This is what all 1,362 individuals did. They spent their own funds or raised money from their communities to pay their way. Add to this the priceless time, effort and sacrifice by all these people to be away from their homes and loved ones during their festive season.
In Gaza, civil society groups—students, unions, women, farmers, refugee groups—have been working nonstop for months to organize the march. They have organized workshops, concerts, press conferences, endless meetings—all of this with their own scarce resources. They have been buoyed by the anticipated presence of so many global citizens coming to support their just cause.
If the Egyptian government decides to prevent the Gaza Freedom March, all this work and cost is lost.
And that's not all. It is practically impossible, this late in the game, to stop all these people from travelling to Egypt, even if we wanted to. Moreover, most have no plans in Egypt other than to arrive at a predetermined meeting point to head together to the Gaza border. If these plans are cancelled there will be a lot of unjustified suffering for the Palestinians of Gaza and over a thousand internationals who had nothing in mind but noble intentions.
We plead to you to let the Gaza Freedom March continue so that we can join the Palestinians of Gaza to march together on December 31, 2009.
We are truly hopeful that we will receive a positive response from you.
We thank you for your kind assistance and understanding.
Tighe Barry, Gaza Freedom March coordinator
Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK, USA
Olivia Zemor, Euro-Palestine, France
David Torres, ECCP, Belgium
Germano Monti, Forum Palestine, Italy
Ziyaad Lunat, Gaza Freedom March, Europe
Ehab Lotayef, Gaza Freedom March, Canada
Alessandra Mecozzi, Action for Peace-Italy
Ann Wright, Gaza Freedom March coordinator
Kawthar Guediri, Collectif National pour une Paix Juste et Durable entre Palestinens et Israeliens, France
Mark Johnson, Fellowship of Reconciliation
Thomas Sommer, Focus on The Global South, India
Vangelis Pissias , Gaza Freedom March, Greek delegation
December 26, 2009
Dear President Mubarak;
We, representing 1,362 individuals from 43 countries arriving in Cairo to participate in the Gaza Freedom March, are pleading to the Egyptians and your reputation for hospitality.
We are peacemakers. We have not come to Egypt to create trouble or cause conflict. On the contrary. We have come because we believe that all people -- including the Palestinians of Gaza -- should have access to the resources they need to live in dignity. We have gathered in Egypt because we believed that you would welcome and support our noble goal and help us reach Gaza through your land.
As individuals who believe in justice and human rights, we have spent our hard-earned, and sometimes scarce, resources to buy plane tickets, book hotel rooms and secure transportation only to stand in solidarity with the Palestinians of Gaza living under a crushing Israeli blockade.
We are doctors, lawyers, students, academics, poets and musicians. We are young and old. We are Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists and secular. We represent civil society groups in many countries who came together and coordinated this large project with the civil society in Gaza.
We have raised tens of thousands of dollars for medical aid, school supplies and winter clothing for the children of Gaza. But we realize that in addition to material aid, the Palestinians of Gaza need moral support. We came to offer that support on the difficult anniversary of an invasion that brought them so much suffering.
The idea of the Gaza Freedom March—a nonviolent march to the Israeli Erez crossing-- emerged during one of our trips to Gaza in May, a trip that was kindly facilitated by the Egyptian government. Ever since the idea emerged, we have been talking to your government through your embassies overseas and directly with your Foreign Ministries. Your representatives have been kind and supportive. We were asked to furnish information about all the participants—passports, dates of birth, occupations—which we have done in good faith. We have answered every question, met every request. For months we have been working under the assumption that your government would facilitate our passage, as it has done on so many other occasions. We waited and waited for an answer.
Meanwhile, time was getting short and we had to start organizing. Travel over the Christmas season is not easy in the countries where many of us live. Tickets have to be purchased weeks, if not months, in advance. This is what all 1,362 individuals did. They spent their own funds or raised money from their communities to pay their way. Add to this the priceless time, effort and sacrifice by all these people to be away from their homes and loved ones during their festive season.
In Gaza, civil society groups—students, unions, women, farmers, refugee groups—have been working nonstop for months to organize the march. They have organized workshops, concerts, press conferences, endless meetings—all of this with their own scarce resources. They have been buoyed by the anticipated presence of so many global citizens coming to support their just cause.
If the Egyptian government decides to prevent the Gaza Freedom March, all this work and cost is lost.
And that's not all. It is practically impossible, this late in the game, to stop all these people from travelling to Egypt, even if we wanted to. Moreover, most have no plans in Egypt other than to arrive at a predetermined meeting point to head together to the Gaza border. If these plans are cancelled there will be a lot of unjustified suffering for the Palestinians of Gaza and over a thousand internationals who had nothing in mind but noble intentions.
We plead to you to let the Gaza Freedom March continue so that we can join the Palestinians of Gaza to march together on December 31, 2009.
We are truly hopeful that we will receive a positive response from you.
We thank you for your kind assistance and understanding.
Tighe Barry, Gaza Freedom March coordinator
Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK, USA
Olivia Zemor, Euro-Palestine, France
David Torres, ECCP, Belgium
Germano Monti, Forum Palestine, Italy
Ziyaad Lunat, Gaza Freedom March, Europe
Ehab Lotayef, Gaza Freedom March, Canada
Alessandra Mecozzi, Action for Peace-Italy
Ann Wright, Gaza Freedom March coordinator
Kawthar Guediri, Collectif National pour une Paix Juste et Durable entre Palestinens et Israeliens, France
Mark Johnson, Fellowship of Reconciliation
Thomas Sommer, Focus on The Global South, India
Vangelis Pissias , Gaza Freedom March, Greek delegation
December 25, Change of Plans
December 25, 2009
The day started with breakfast with Medea Benjamin, Tighe Barry and Ann Wright, a few of the the big dogs of the Gaza Freedom March. We were part of the planning for peaceful activist activities that will take place in Cairo. It is clear that the Egyptian Government will not allow any busses to leave Cairo towards El Anish and the Raffah border. But with 1350 + internationals in Cairo all of them itching to do something plans needed to be made.
The two Egyptian lessons today: First: An Egyptian minute is longer than any other you have experienced, and the Egyptians are well aware of Americans not being used to waiting around, so they tell you it will be an Egyptian minute, it becomes a joke you share with them. Second: Public toilets do not have paper, buy it form the lady who sits at the door before you go in and sit down. I should have remembered this from my earlier days in Naples, but that was so long ago, oh well, live and learn!
Bill and I went on some location hunts today for the March organizers: Where could 40-50-60-100 people get together in the public eye?
After our scouting mission we went to the Egyptian Museum, no cameras allowed, and I still had not found a sketch book anywhere, not even in the museum gift shop! But a very kind girl behind the counter gave me 6 sheets of blank paper, no charge! The museum is not like any museum I’ve ever been in before, there was a lot of amazing art to be sure, but there were no ropes or barriers or special lighting or guards, we went on a weekend so it was really crowded. Apparently my sketching caused quite a stir, I had no idea I was gathering crowds, I was too busy looking and drawing, but Bill said that I was getting more attention than the artworks. IK found out why later when I went back to the gift shop to buy some postcards. I showed the young woman, who gave me that paper, my drawings and she said,
“Oh, you are truly an artist! If I had known I would have given you 50 sheets! She went on to tell me that art is not part of the school curriculum in Egypt, and that there is only one art college, but that enrollment has declined because the economy is so bad. I’ve heard many many sad things while here, but this hurts my heart so deeply. Here I am, an art educator/advocate in the county whose ancient art works inspire millions of people all over the planet and they are not able to participate in the contemporary art scene.
The evening ended with more strategizing and organizing. More and more of the delegates are arriving. It is going to be getting a bit crazy here, and I did not come to Egypt to be a protester, I came to bring friendship, art and hope to the people of Gaza. Since there will be no busses full of foreigners going in the direction of Gaza Bill and I will be heading out on our own tomorrow morning. We are confident we have the travel plans, communication network and enough money to get us to the gate. We do not have high hopes of being able to get in, but we are willing to camp at the gate. We will meet up at the gate with a small group from Spain and another small group from Brittan, we are all traveling separately at different times on different modes of transportation. We will be disassociating our selves form the Gaza Freedom March and attempting to go in only as an artist with a gift.
Peace, Love and Light, there will be a way.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
December 24, Pyramids and Bad News
Cairo, one of the shop keepers we met today tried to sell us a beautiful wool rug for $2000 US dollars including shipping. I know that a rug this size and quality would sell for at least $4000 in the US, we know we bought a few when Gottschalk’s was going out of business this summer. He said he needed to sell something, no one was spending money and that Egypt is a country with a very rich past, the present is very poor and the future looks worse.
We had to learn "No, thank you" in Arabic really quickly, if you step in camel dung someone has wiped off your shoe and is asking for payment for the service before you even know you had stepped in it. You cannot step outside your hotel without being hustled for something.
We played tourists today and went to the Giza pyramids in the morning, and then to the step pyramid in Saqqara. The drive out to Saqqara was so beautiful, sadly I had left my sketchbook in the hotel, and I am agreeing with Anna Oneglia, a drawing would do so much better catching the spirit of things than my camera is doing. I have had no luck with posting photos to the bog, so for now if you want to see them you still have to go to my face book page.
Life is hard here; I have no idea what percentage of the people live below the poverty line and if there is a middle class at all. Our very nice driver Ahmed Moses thinks it is 80% below poverty, and the middle class which was always small is slipping into poverty.
The possibility of getting into Gaza went from not so good to really bad today. While Bill and I were out playing the March organizers were meeting trying to figure out what to do about Egypt’s heightened stance against the March. The foreign minister went on TV today and said that there would be no passage into Gaza. Going on TV was a bad thing, if they let us in now it will be losing face, so that was kind of a seal that we won’t get in. In addition, whenever more than 10 people gather together in Egypt you need a permit. The organizers got word today that their permit request was denied. Now they are scrambling trying to find a private citizen with a private space that will allow us to get together. I expect that there will be some press releases about the situation sent out soon from the Gaza Freedom March organizers. The tactic now will be to try and put enough pressure on the Egyptian government from world citizens to make it happen.
It would be really helpful if each of you called our 2 senators and told them that you support the Gaza Freedom March and that you would really like them to send a letter to the Egyptian government as soon as possible asking that the Egyptian government allow the peaceful marchers who want to go in with armloads of humanitarian aide into Gaza.
Peace, Love and Light to all of you on this Holy Night.
Kathleen
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
December 23rd Getting to Cairo
Things never go quite as planned I expect anyone whose ever traveled to a foreign country will agree. But all's well that ends well, we've got a comfortable bed in a clean hotel and Bill is snoring up a storm as I write this.
The crate was too heavy, we were flying AirFrance through Delta, the Delta on line information said that a package could not weigh more than 90 lbs, the mural crate weighed 84 lbs. Air France won't take any single package weighing more than 32 Kilograms no matter how much y0u are willing to pay them. So we took the crate out of it's suite case and that reduced the weight to 34.4 Kilograms. Still too much, the agent went to get his manager. The very polite manager spent a great deal of time explaining about unions and labor rules. She wanted us to open it and take out some of the weight. At this point I pulled out a photo of the mural and she literally gasped! IN then end she marked the crate at 32 kilograms, told me it was an honor to meet me and personally lifted it onto the conveyor belt. Art wins! I wish I had thought to write down her name...
The two flights were long and uneventful, AirFrance serves very good meals and the stewards were all super friendly.
The pushing, calling out, shouting, aggressive hustlers at the Cairo airport took a bit getting used to. But I followed the crowds, we bought out visas, changed some currency, found our bags, and got through customs so quickly we missed our driver. So we hired a cab and got to the hotel. The ride to the hotel was the scariest part of our 24 hour long adventure, the drivers don't care to keep their cars in the marked lanes, they tailgate, and they love their horns. Afte 45 minutes of white knuckle hand holding we were dropped off in the middle of a downtown shopping district and pointed in the direction of a small lighted sign. We must have looked concerned becuasse he pointed us down a dark alley, smiled friendly and took off! (If I am unable to post pictures here please see them on my face book page) The alley, the sign, the stairwell, the elevator, none of it inspired confidence, but once we got to the 7th floor the management assured us that several CODEPINK organizers were already there and got us a room. We found Col. Anne Wright and Medea Benjamin who were worried about us and we had missed our driver at the airport, but we went out for beer and french fries to top off the day.
We'll brave traffic again tomorrow and head out to the pyramids for a little sight seeing before the Gaza actions get started. Bill's snores are calling me!
The crate was too heavy, we were flying AirFrance through Delta, the Delta on line information said that a package could not weigh more than 90 lbs, the mural crate weighed 84 lbs. Air France won't take any single package weighing more than 32 Kilograms no matter how much y0u are willing to pay them. So we took the crate out of it's suite case and that reduced the weight to 34.4 Kilograms. Still too much, the agent went to get his manager. The very polite manager spent a great deal of time explaining about unions and labor rules. She wanted us to open it and take out some of the weight. At this point I pulled out a photo of the mural and she literally gasped! IN then end she marked the crate at 32 kilograms, told me it was an honor to meet me and personally lifted it onto the conveyor belt. Art wins! I wish I had thought to write down her name...
The two flights were long and uneventful, AirFrance serves very good meals and the stewards were all super friendly.
The pushing, calling out, shouting, aggressive hustlers at the Cairo airport took a bit getting used to. But I followed the crowds, we bought out visas, changed some currency, found our bags, and got through customs so quickly we missed our driver. So we hired a cab and got to the hotel. The ride to the hotel was the scariest part of our 24 hour long adventure, the drivers don't care to keep their cars in the marked lanes, they tailgate, and they love their horns. Afte 45 minutes of white knuckle hand holding we were dropped off in the middle of a downtown shopping district and pointed in the direction of a small lighted sign. We must have looked concerned becuasse he pointed us down a dark alley, smiled friendly and took off! (If I am unable to post pictures here please see them on my face book page) The alley, the sign, the stairwell, the elevator, none of it inspired confidence, but once we got to the 7th floor the management assured us that several CODEPINK organizers were already there and got us a room. We found Col. Anne Wright and Medea Benjamin who were worried about us and we had missed our driver at the airport, but we went out for beer and french fries to top off the day.
We'll brave traffic again tomorrow and head out to the pyramids for a little sight seeing before the Gaza actions get started. Bill's snores are calling me!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Gaza Mural: Why did it take so long to get started?
I'm a community artist, I usually work in my own community, and on the occasions when I have working in communities other than my own I had been contacted by that community to make and art work for and with them.
This memorial I was taking on to bring to Gaza would hopefully enrich their community, but how was I going to interact with them? The idea of a western artist bringing in her vision and dropping off a large public art work and then leaving it there did not sit well with me.
The email communication began between myself and CODEPINK and between CODEPINK and their connections in Gaza. We started with an image from a poster from the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) in Gaza. Eventually we decided that there would be 1415 stars in the sky representing the Palestinian casualties from last winters offensive called "Cast Lead".
At some point in the process it was determined that a horizontal format would be better and that it would be good if we could memorialize the international communities coming together for the Gaza Freedom March. This is when I called Anna Oneglia. Anna is a Santa Cruz artist who travels the world and does remarkable paintings and drawings of people in the places they call home. Anna added 9 figures to the original drawing we got from the PCHR.
The digital image went back and forth for comment and revisions. It saddened me that the only image that got changed was the one from the PCHR. In the original poster one of the women has flowing hair and the suggestion of a breast. Both of those details have been modified.
It has been stressful saving the 400+ hours of glass placement to the month before departure. But communication is key to a successful community art work.
The latest communication I have received was from Tighe Barry who reported that there were squeals of delight and excitement when my facebook page was shared.
I'm getting excited too, I can't wait to meet them. See original photo here http://www.pchrgaza.org/images/posters/36.JPG
This memorial I was taking on to bring to Gaza would hopefully enrich their community, but how was I going to interact with them? The idea of a western artist bringing in her vision and dropping off a large public art work and then leaving it there did not sit well with me.
The email communication began between myself and CODEPINK and between CODEPINK and their connections in Gaza. We started with an image from a poster from the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) in Gaza. Eventually we decided that there would be 1415 stars in the sky representing the Palestinian casualties from last winters offensive called "Cast Lead".
At some point in the process it was determined that a horizontal format would be better and that it would be good if we could memorialize the international communities coming together for the Gaza Freedom March. This is when I called Anna Oneglia. Anna is a Santa Cruz artist who travels the world and does remarkable paintings and drawings of people in the places they call home. Anna added 9 figures to the original drawing we got from the PCHR.
The digital image went back and forth for comment and revisions. It saddened me that the only image that got changed was the one from the PCHR. In the original poster one of the women has flowing hair and the suggestion of a breast. Both of those details have been modified.
It has been stressful saving the 400+ hours of glass placement to the month before departure. But communication is key to a successful community art work.
The latest communication I have received was from Tighe Barry who reported that there were squeals of delight and excitement when my facebook page was shared.
I'm getting excited too, I can't wait to meet them. See original photo here http://www.pchrgaza.org/images/posters/36.JPG
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Why Gaza: The Inspirational Spark
Why Gaza? This past summer I went to the CODEPINK Peace Conference in Cambria. Medea Benjamin told the story of one of her visits to Gaza, it went something like this: A destitute Palestinian woman living in a tent invited Medea in for tea and told her that she had a souvenir from the USA. When Medea asked to see it she was shown a piece of the shrapnel that destroyed this woman's house and killed her husband and children. Stamped right on the twisted chard of metal was "Made in the USA".
It could have said "Sent by Kathleen" and I would not have felt any worse.
Later when Medea asked me if I would go to Gaza and make a memorial for them I did not have to think twice about it. Yes, I'm going.
It could have said "Sent by Kathleen" and I would not have felt any worse.
Later when Medea asked me if I would go to Gaza and make a memorial for them I did not have to think twice about it. Yes, I'm going.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Eleven Days and Counting
Bill and I will be on a plane headed for Cairo in eleven days. This came as a bit of a shock to me just a moment ago when I actually looked at a calendar and counted! The community mural we are taking to Gaza is coming along nicely, and I am ever so grateful to all the wonderful people who have contributed time and money to this project. There is still time to do both!
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