Finally Arrived in Cairo - Alhumdulilah!

Alhumdulilah (Thank God), I have finally arrived in Cairo! :D

I left D.C. Monday around 10:30 and have arrived in Cairo around Tuesday at 9 p.m. and needless to say that was the longest bit of travelling I have ever done. I took a bus to New York, then the shuttle to JFK, then a flight to Amman, Jordan, and then another flight to Cairo. Alhumdulilah nothing was delayed because of the massive snow storm on the U.S. east coast but it was still madness getting here. I am just grateful to have made it.

And many many many thanks to Hana and her sister Rana for opening their home and all of their hospitality. I have only been here a few hours and Rana is such a sweetheart. I am really lucky to have such caring people in my life.

I honestly still can't believe I am here. When we were driving to Rana's house it was just surreal seeing the Nile and the beautiful mosques just on a way here. I think the one thing that I automatically has made me fall in love with Cairo is the Muslim-ness of it all. When we got on EgyptAir we were greeted with "Salaam Alaikum" and before the plane took off they said the prayer for safe travelling and there was this beautiful sense of comfort in small things like that. Coming from the States where Islam is foreign and often feared, it is so nice, and such a relief, to not have to explain or defend anything and just enjoy the fact that you can say "salaam", or peace, to any and everyone on the street. Even seeing huge mosques in the middle of city is such a beautiful sight. I'm not going to lie, it makes me all really happy :)

I am excited to wake up early tomorrow and start exploring Cairo. I think I first might go to the Egyptian Museum with all the history (and mummies!). Rana said that to take it all in you might need all day so we'll see how that goes :-)

I'm also super excited, to practice the little Arabic I know while I'm here. Hopefully I won't make a big fool of myself, but if I do I think thats still part of the fun. Either way, I'll learn a lot, see beautiful things, eat loads, and of course, end the occupation.

Also to anyone reading this: please take a moment and call the Egyptian embassy and urge them to let the Gaza Freedom March into Gaza. Here is how you can help us :

Please call the Egyptian Embassy (in the US 202-895-5400) and tell them to let us into Gaza.

Contact your local consulate here:
http://www.mfa.gov.eg/MFA_Portal/en-GB/mfa_websits/

Contact the Palestine Division in Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cairo

Ahmed Azzam, tel +202-25749682 Email: ahmed.azzam@mfa.gov.eg

In the U.S., contact the Egyptian Embassy, 202-895-5400 and ask for Omar Youssef or email omaryoussef@hotmail.com

Possible text for emails:

Dear Sir/Madam,

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 Congress 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

Okay so I'm exhausted and I don't want to sleep the day away!!

Ma'salaama and lots of love from Cairo,
Sana

Try And Stop Us.

So I'm on my way to New York to catch my flight to Cairo and news comes, unsurprisingly, of the Egyptian government's refusal to allow the March to occur and how those who break the law will be dealt with. If anyone is familiar with this conflict already, I think it is needless to say that I don't really care or respect the Egyptian governments views very much, because of their inhumane and heartless treatment of the Palestinian people.

The Egyptians have often denied access to Palestinians fleeing the Gaza Strip from outright bombings and starvation, to the point of even shooting innocent people and killing them. So given that, and the fact that Egypt just released news that they are building a steel wall on the Gaza border, I am not really surprised by this "news" coming from Egypt.

What I think is more important though than Egypt's lack of sympathy and humanity for Palestinians and those who are taking a stand on their behalf, is the press release from the Gaza Freedom March and how we are responding (read: disregarding) this denial from Egypt.

It says the following:

December 21, 2009

We are determined to break the siege

We all will continue to do whatever we can to make it happen

Using the pretext of escalating tensions on the Gaza-Egypt border, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry informed us yesterday 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, that we do not feel threatened, 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 1,300 delegates coming from over 42 countries to change their plans now. We both agreed to continue our exchanges.

Although we consider this as a setback, it is something we've encountered-and overcome--before. No delegation, large or small, that entered Gaza over the past 12 months has ever 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 march on December 31 against the Israeli blockade. We are continuing in the same direction.

Egyptian embassies and missions all over the world must hear from us and our supporters (by phone, fax and email)** over the coming crucial days, with a clear message: Let the international delegation enter Gaza and let the Gaza Freedom March proceed.

Contact your local consulate here:
http://www.mfa.gov.eg/MFA_Portal/en-GB/mfa_websits/

Contact the Palestine Division in Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cairo

Ahmed Azzam, tel +202-25749682 Email: ahmed.azzam@mfa.gov.eg

In the U.S., contact the Egyptian Embassy, 202-895-5400 and ask for Omar Youssef or email omaryoussef@hotmail.com

We look forward to seeing you all in the coming week.

The GFM Steering Committee

If any of you have a spare moment to send an e-mail or a phone call, please do so to ensure that this March can happen and Egypt is pressured to do the right thing and let this peaceful demonstration for the sake of humanity occur.

Wish me safe travels!

-Sana

Getting ready.

Peace everyone,

My name is Sana Javed, and I'm going to graduate this Sunday from the University of Maryland with a degree in Government and Politics and Spanish Languages and Literature. I'm a member of the Muslim Students Association and Students for Justice in Palestine.

I am from the DMV- (D.C./MD/VA) and in one week I will be leaving for Egypt. On December 26th I will be joining over 1300 activists and other human beings of conscious for the Gaza Freedom March. This march is to demand an end to the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip and to remember that exactly one year ago, Israel massacred 1400 Palestinians, where 900 of them were women and children.

I hope with this blog that I can describe and write the things I've seen, the people I've met, and relay what life under a brutal occupation is really like. I doubt this will be a fun blog with vacation like memories, but it will be real and honest and about the people living in the Gaza Strip.

Oh and the name of this blog, is in reference to what Palestinians use when they are gassed by Israeli soldiers. When gassed, they tie their keffiyeh on like a mask, and then cut onions and hold it up to their face to lessen the burning from the gas.

This one is for Gaza.

In struggle,
Sana.