GFM Marks 1st Anniversary of Gaza Invasion

Gaza Freedom Marchers mark first anniversary of Gaza invasion

WHAT: Gaza Freedom Marchers Remember Gaza's dead by floating candles on the Nile

WHEN: Sunday, December 27, 4:30 pm gather at Cairo's Garden City Nile Cornice

(next to the Grand Hyatt and opposite the Four Seasons.) to take feluccas at sunset.

(Cairo) - On December 27^th, 2009, marking one year since the brutal Israeli invasion of Gaza, members of the Gaza Freedom March in Cairo will place 1,400 candles in the Nile River to commemorate the dead.

The Gaza Freedom Marchers had hoped to be in Gaza to commemorate the war, but access to Rafah is being denied by the Egyptian authorities. The Marchers, coming from 43 countries, have appealed to President Mubarak to allow them to proceed.

The delegation includes families of three generations, doctors, lawyers, diplomats, students, artists, rabbis, priests, imams, a women delegation, a Jewish contingent, a veterans group and Palestinians born overseas. The coalition spent seven months planning for their trip to Gaza. As they flood into Cairo with a longing to reach Gaza, they plan to remember the besieged strip while being trapped here.

"We mark this date, December 27, with great saddess for those killed and wounded, and we call on the world's leaders to hold Israel accountable," said Medea Benjamin of the Gaza Freedom March. "We also call on Israel and Egypt to lift the blockade that is causing so much suffering in Gaza."

يتذكراعضاء مسيرة الحرية لغزة ضحايا القطاع بالقاء الشموع في مياه النيل يوم الاحد ٢٧ ديسمبر في الساعة الرابعة و النصف مساء في كورنيش جاردن سيتي بالقرب من فندق جراند حياة و امام فندق الفور سيسونز حيث نقطة التجمع لاخذ مراكب شراعية في النيل. يوم ٢٧ ديسمبر ٢٠٠٩ يمثل مرور عام علي حرب اسرائيل علي غزة. سوف يلقي اعضاء مسيرة الحرية لغزة ١٤٠٠ شمعة في النيل في ذكري ضحايا الحرب. كان اعضاء المسيرة يتمنون ان يحيوا ذاكرة الحرب في غزة و لكن السلطات المصرية قد منعتهم من الوصول الي رفح. و قد طالب اعضاء المسيرة من الرئيس المصري محمد حسني مبارك تغيير موقف الحكومة. يضم الوفد اسر من ثلاث اجيال من دكاترة و محامين و دبلوماسيين و طلبة و فنانين و شيوخ و رهبان و وفد نسائي و وفد يهودي و فلسطنيين ولدوا بالخارج. تم التنظيم للمسيرة لمدة سبعة اشهر وبينما وصل الكثيرون بتطلع لدخول غزة فانهم سوف يتذكرون الحرب الاليمة و هم في مصر. تقول ميديا بنجامين من مسيرة الحرية لغزة: في هذا التاريخ ٢٧ ديسمبر نتذكر بحزن عميق ضحايا الحرب من جرحي و قتلي و نطالب زعماء العالم بمحاسبة اسرائيل. كما نطالب مصر و اسرائيل برفع الحصار المتسبب في معاناة الشعب الفلسطيني في غزة.

Gaza Freedom March Letter to President Mubarak

I'm not quite sure what the outcome of all of this will be with regards to us getting into Gaza or not. Honestly as the days go by, I feel like it is less and less of a possibility but I still have hope and I'm trying to be as optimistic as possible even when the Egyptian government is not cooperating with us at all.

Either way, I know there will be various actions and things done in Cairo in solidarity with the Palestinians but its sad to see that something as simple as a peaceful demonstration would be so over complicated. Ugh, Egypt...

-Sana

- - -

OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT MUBARAK FROM THE GAZA FREEDOM MARCH

December 25, 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 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 and thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely

Tighe Barry, Gaza Freedom March coordinator
Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK, USA
Kawthar Guediri, Collectif National pour une Paix Juste et Durable entre Palestinens et Israeliens, France
Mark Johnson, Fellowship of Reconciliation
Alessandra Mecozzi, Action for Peace-Italy
Germano Monti, Forum Palestine, Italy
Ehab Lotayef, Gaza Freedom March, Canada
Ziyaad Lunat, Gaza Freedom March, Europe
Thomas Sommer, Focus on The Global South, India
David Torres, ABP, Belgium
Ann Wright, Gaza Freedom March coordinator
Olivia Zemor, Euro-Palestine, France

Cairo - Day 2 & 3 :D / HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNIE! :)

So yesterday was my second day in Cairo! :)

I started off the day by meeting up with a friend of Rana's, Sarah, who is from the states but is now living in Egypt. She had some family visiting and so I tagged along with them and we went to see the Citadel.

On the way there, the cab driver was really nice and he said that I had an Egyptian face haha :D Once I got there, I was there a bit earlier than Sarah and her family so I was waiting for them for a few minutes. A lot of schools take field trips to the Citadel so while I was sitting there tons of kids and their teachers walked by. One group walked by and there was a young girl at the end of the group probably like 4 or 5 years old and I waved to her and then she came back and said "Amreeka!!? Amreeka?!!!" hahaa She was beyond excited that I was from the states and she came and shook my hand and said "Hello! Goodbye!" It was super cute and then an older guy came to get her and he also had the same "Amreeka!?" expression and then said "Welcome" :) Seriously, everyone here is super nice. I love it.

Once we got to the Citadel there were two mosques that we saw. First was the Qalum mosque, which was older and had been stripped of the marble in the ceiling and according to the story, returned to Turkey. It was still beautiful though and the glass lamps that went all around the mosque were still intact and gorgeous as ever. We even found a sun dial that had been carved into one of the pillars on the courtyard inside the mosque and that was a really cool find. I wish we had gone into the minaret but I didn't realize there was even one until we were already outside.

After that we went to the Egyptian Military Museum, which in all honesty was really boring haha. I don't really care for the history of artillery and how it was used. There were a few cool things in there but it was unnerving to see war glorified in any country, but nonetheless a nice stop :) The funniest/best part of the whole thing though has to be how while we were walking through the museum there were a lot of teenagers there and in one of the halls, they all stopped us and asked for pictures with us! hahaha It was HILARIOUS. We probably took pictures with like 10 or 15 kids because they were so excited we were from the U.S. lol

Next we went to the Muhammad Ali mosque which was soooo beautiful. Oh. my. goodness. I cannot express how much I loved this mosque. Of course it was swarming with tourists but seriously it was amazing. There was an outdoor courtyard in addition to the musallah (the room where people actually pray) and that was stunning. Then once you come inside there were hundreds of these glass lamps that circled the entire room in layers and everything was done in such an ornate and intricate fashion that I wonder how people could even concentrate on their prayers when they're surrounded by something so beautiful. It was great :) Outside of the mosque, you got a gorgeous view of Cairo and although it was a bit hazy it was still great view.

As we were leaving the Sultan Hassan mosque, it was around Maghrib, and one of the guards escorting us out asked us if we wanted to see this prison that one existed there and of course we went. It was honestly really freaky because the cells were so small and some of them I guess to pay homage to prisoners of times past, had statues of humans in there in prison and if you didn't expect to see one there it was weird to see a face staring back at you haha

Since we spent a lot of time at the cafe during lunch and made a pit stop at the military museum, we didn't get a chance to see the Ibn Tulun mosque or the Sultan Hassan mosque that day, but inshallah I'm going to try and go there Sunday on the 27th. It will be something fun to do for my birthday :)

After we left the Sultan Hassan mosque, we went to a small cafe that was a part of one of the many hotels on the Nile River and that was absolutely beautiful. It wasn't too cool at all as a I expected since we were so close to the water but it was just breathtaking how serene the entire moment there was and with a warm cup of coffee it was fabulous :)

After the cafe, I went home for a bit and then with Sherif we met up with a few other people and hung out a cute little sushi place. We then went and got some shrimp sandwhiches which were pretty good and went to a hangout place called After Eight. Since it was Christmas Eve, they specially brought in a belly dancer who I even danced with a little bit haha so that was loads of fun :)

Since we were out so late last night today I mostly slept :( lol Once I was up though, I helped Rana and Leila decorate for the Christmas party that Rana was throwing at her place. People brought tons of food, we did Secret Santa as well and there was lots of fun dancing to old 90s songs. It was a great night and it was a nice break from all the tourist-y things I had been doing so far. It was also fab to meet more of Rana and Hana's friends who I have heard so so much about. They are all such sweet people, just like almost everyone else in Egypt :D

Tomorrow, we're heading to the Pyramids (!!!) and Khan el-Khalili as well so its going to be great and I'll try to get pictures up by the weekend!! Please also pray that we can get into Gaza. THANKS!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNIE!!! :)

Much love, always.

-Sana

Cairo - Day 1 :)

So today was my first official day in Cairo, and it was absolutely amazing. I can feel myself falling in love with this city so much where Islamic elements meet antique memories of colonization and the people are incredibly sincere and welcoming. I can't wait for the next few days because its only going to get better, insha'Allah :)

This morning I headed over to the Egyptian Museum, which was literally jam packed with artifacts and relics from thousands of years ago. There had to have been several millions of things packed in this room. I honestly think I only covered about 40% of it with the 4 hours I was there. It was an absolute information overload and I wish they allowed us to take pictures because everything in there was mind-blowing but I guess this means you'll just have to come see it for yourself ;) At one point I was walking past this slab of some ancient hieroglyphic etchings and I just touched them lightly and I got the chills all over thinking about how old something like this was and the fact that here it was in front of me when all else from the era has completely vanished. Not to over romanticize museums or anything, but you can truly feel the history and their age emitting from some of these pieces. It is really beautiful.

Funny story: This guy who worked at the Museum, who I thought was just being friendly, comes up to me and says like hi/hello/how are you etc, and then he asks me: "Why don't you have a wife"? hahaha. I figured he meant husband but it was just so funny because he asked me that several times, and then I told him I was Muslim he kissed my hand and asked me to recite verses from the Qur'an - it was the weirdest/funniest thing ever. He tried to teach me Arabic too but that didn't work well because of his accent and I didn't realize until much later that "moh-zzer" actually meant "mother" and same thing with "fah-zzer" lol! This dude Ahmed was too funny.

I also was fortunate enough to see the exhibit with the ancient mummies and in all honesty that was horrifying for me. Here you had these dead bodies with their faces revealed in all their terror and morbidness on display. I just felt squeamish and scared the whole time, especially because some of the faces looked like they were in pain or that something still sort of lingered on their lips, like their spirit left them in mid-sentence. It was really freaky. :/

The King Tutankhamen exhibit was beyond words beautiful. I know we've almost all heard of him and how he was King and what not but the detail and the intricacy that went into his tomb and burial are absolutely phenomenal. So much gold was layered onto the encasing of him tomb and then so much more detail and decoration went into the mask that was placed on his body and the actual coffin his body went into. Its just unbelievable when you see it up close and in person. Again, I really wish I could have taken pictures because it was breathtaking.

Interestingly enough, a guy that I walked past at the museum saw my shirt which said "Gaza 'Ala Bali"/"Gaza on my mind" and we started talking just about the Gaza Freedom March and everything going on in Palestine right now because he was from Gaza City and he still had family there. We talked for a while and then agreed to meet up once we both were done going through everything at the museum. So after we both got out, we then went out to eat koshary, which was absolutely delicious - just as everyone had predicted it would. I walked around with him for the next few hours and we went to Old Cairo and walked around and explored a lot. We saw tons of book stores, the Wall Street of Cairo, and stopped at a place for some mango juice which was sooo amazing. It was so rich and had thick pieces of mango in it and it was just divine. It was one of the best parts of the day :) After that, I left my friend Mohammed and then met up with Hana and Rana's friend, Sherif and went to eat at Abu Sid, which was yet another experience with delicious Egyptian food. We had tahini, grape leaves, Molakahely - which if I typed that correctly is the Egyptian National Dish. I've eaten so much today, I fear for how much weight I am going to gain by the time I leave to go to Gaza. :P

After that, we went to a small cafe by the AUC dorms and I got to meet all of Hana's friends who she talks about alllll the time and they were all so nice and funny. I think the one thing that is going to leave a seriously everlasting impression on me from Egypt is going to be the incredible warmth, kindness, and hospitality of the people here. Everyone goes out of their way to be nice to you and it is just the sweetest thing.

Okay - so I am beyond exhausted and my jet lag has caught up to me at last so it is time to crash.

Please if you haven't already send a message to the Egyptian government pressuring them to allow the Gaza Freedom March into Gaza so that we can demonstrate in solidarity with the people of Palestine. As much as I love Cairo, there is no way I came all this way just to sight see. We're too close now to back down, Egypt.

Here is the link in case you missed it earlier:

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/424/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1946

Love and solidarity,

Sana J.

Israel Threatens Gaza With War - AGAIN.

Ugh.

I am so angry right now. I don't even have the words to describe how ridiculous this nonsense is.

Commentary to come later when I'm not as tired or angry.

Peace.

-

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=114471&sectionid=351020202

Israel threatens another large-scale Gaza war

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 10:55:35 GMT
Israel has threatened another massive war against the Gaza Strip as the impoverished enclave continues to suffer in the aftermath of the devastating January offensive.

Israeli planes have been dropping thousands of leaflets across Gaza, warning Palestinians against cooperating with the resistance fighters based in the coastal sliver.

The leaflets also threaten Gazans with a new attack just ahead of the first anniversary of Israel's 22-day onslaught against the Palestinian territory.

On December 2008, Tel Aviv launched an all-out military action against Gaza, killing 1,400 people, including a large number of women and children, killed and leaving thousands more injured.

The threats come despite the Israeli army's failure in its January operation to reach its strategic and military objectives — above all its pledged overthrow of Israel's long-time arch foe, Hamas.

In July, the activist group Breaking the Silence released print and video testimony from some 30 soldiers who said they entered Gaza with firing guns upon a "permissive" guideline by commanders, urging to shoot first and worry later about distinguishing civilians from combatants.

The 112-page testimony also accused Israeli troops of using Palestinian civilians as human shields and charged Israel with dropping forbidden white phosphorus bombs indiscriminately into Gaza streets on the top of aerial bombardment and heavy artillery fire.

In April, former South African UN prosecutor Richard Goldstone led an independent fact-finding mission commissioned by the United Nations Human Rights Council to investigate international human rights and humanitarian law violations during the Gaza war.

The committee's 575-page report mostly highlighted Israeli atrocities against the people in the beleaguered Gaza Strip and documented deliberate targeting of centers, such as schools and mosques, known to be holding civilians.

The document also filed complaints that the Israeli soldiers killed unarmed people on the run, saying some of the victims were even waving white flags.

In October, the damning report was put up for a vote in the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council and endorsed by an overwhelming majority of 114 countries while 18 opposed and 44 abstained.

The three-week Israeli land, sea and air offensive in the Gaza Strip also devastated a large part of the infrastructure in the impoverished coastal enclave, which remains under Tel Aviv's blockade despite international opposition.

In light of all this, and many other things, please take just ONE moment to send an email pressuring the Egyptian government to allow the Gaza Freedom March to take place. You can send an email here.

Lots of love from Cairo,

Sana

(updates on today's adventure coming soon, promise!)

Long Live Gaza

Best video.

<3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8Pj3i8YgR0

Why We Fight.

Amnesty International and several other human rights organizations and groups from the international community released a report today on how the world has failed the people of Gaza by not acting more strongly to shatter this brutal occupation.

I cannot believe how timely the release of such a strong report is, especially with the Gaza Freedom March. I hope this will answer the "why" and "what for" questions when people ask why it is not time for action - great action, to end this inhumanity. This is why the Gaza Freedom March is critical because while the diplomats and the Prime Ministers have stopped paying attention - we haven't. The people of Gaza have not forgotten their loved ones who were so ruthlessly murdered in the name of 'defense', their suffering has not lessened by any degree whatsoever, and the culprits behind all of this brutality are not only not being held accountable, their crimes against humanity are completely ignored. What kind of world is this?! While they all may have forgotten, the people of Gaza, of Palestine, have not and neither have we.

We have not, we will not, and we will not be silent by any measure.

It is time for this occupation to end, it is time for the inhumanity to stop, it is time, it is time, it is time.

Read the report and the articles here:

Aid agencies have strongly criticised the international community for failing to help bring an end to Israel's blockade of Gaza.

The charities made the accusation in a report published just ahead of the anniversary of Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip.

The aid agencies condemn not just Israel, but the world community.

In the words of Oxfam's director, Jeremy Hobbs, "world powers have failed and betrayed Gaza's ordinary citizens".

The charities call for more pressure to be exerted on Israel to end what they describe as its illegal collective punishment of Gazans.

Gazans despair over blockade Gaza voices: Life under blockade Guide: Gaza under blockade

Israel imposed a tightened blockade after the Islamist Hamas movement seized power two-and-a-half years ago.

That was bad enough, say the aid agencies.

Matters became that much worse after the destruction caused by the Israeli offensive in Gaza earlier this year.

The report points to an acute shortage, in particular, of building materials.

A spokesman for the Israeli prime minister told the BBC that Israel remains committed to humanitarian supplies of food, medicine and power.

But he said that sanctions will remain in place as long as Hamas is committed to destroying Israel and killing Israelis.