"The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a
class–it is the cause of humankind, the very birthright of freedom." –Anna
Julia Cooper, page 27, my US passport
The Gaza Freedom March announced the Cairo Declaration to End Israeli Apartheid
on January 1st, and so yesterday hundreds of Marchers smuggled freedom’s
smoke signals in our luggage as we climbed into buses, vans, and taxis and made
a mad dash for the Rafah border crossing. My own van was pulled over at the
first checkpoint on the way out of Cairo, where we sat on a dusty curb for two
hours before being forced to turn back. As we waited for guards to run our
passport numbers and strategized about next steps, a small bus filled with our
French friends sped by on the other side of the road, headed back to Cairo.
Their hands formed peace signs through the windows as they shouted at border
guards, and we were reminded once again of the historic nature of these days,
when more than 1,300 people have come to Egypt from 43 different countries to
support our sisters and brothers in Gaza.
When we were first pulled over, I felt silly for thinking our small van, filled
with aging activists and suitcases overflowing with medicine and other forms of
aid, would be permitted to pass to Rafah. As we drove away from the checkpoint,
where we picked up two stragglers who had been pulled from buses and told they
must return as well, my thinking began to change: Even if none of us arrive in
Gaza (an impossibility given the resourcefulness of this remarkable group), our
global solidarity community has accomplished something amazing here in Cairo,
and in countries around the world. We will now leave Egypt, either for Gaza or
for our homes, with a unified call to action, and a concrete plan to continue
this crucial work.
We have seen so many victories here in Cairo in the crazy days since the
Egyptian Foreign Minister announced we would not be permitted to cross the
Rafah border. There are some moments when the haze of Cairo clouds our eyes
with dust and disappointment, but we sing our successes into the smog of this
city, reminding ourselves and our allies around the world that our efforts will
not be deterred by Egyptian guards at checkpoints and the Israeli politicians
who are calling the shots:
On December 27, the French group of over 300 allies and mentors took over
Giza/Charles de Gaulle St, a terrifyingly busy thoroughfare, when their
Rafah-bound buses did not arrive at the French Embassy. They held the street
for a full hour before agreeing to wait for the buses on the sidewalk in front
of the Embassy. They camped in "Giza Strip" for a full five days, guarded by
three rows of riot police.
On December 29, Hedy Epstein, an 85 year-old Holocaust survivor, began a widely
reported hunger strike with thirty activists, announcing that they will feast
when all of Gaza feasts.
Later that night, hundreds of internationals stood alongside hundreds of
Egyptians, who bravely protested Binyamin Netanyahu’s visit to Egypt and
demanded an end to the siege.
On December 30, the Egyptian government sent two buses of marchers to Gaza in
an effort to temper the terrible press Mubarak is receiving in Egypt and
throughout the Arab world. So many of us refused to be satisfied by this token
gesture that the buses were not full when they reached Gaza.
Later that day, hundreds protested at the American Embassy, where police
managed to fracture them into small, highly guarded groups but could not divide
the loud, unified voice with which they demanded an end to the siege, both from
the streets in front of the Embassy and from negotiations inside.
Also on December 30, 25 French activists raced an enormous Palestinian flag to
the top of one of the pyramids as hundreds of Egyptians and others cheered them
on in this highly illegal act. This was the flag’s second trip to the top of
the pyramid since we’ve arrived.
On December 31, more than 500 internationals set out on a Freedom March to Gaza
from the Egyptian Museum, where they stopped heavy traffic on Tahrir Square and
fought fearlessly against guards who violently moved them to pedestrian areas.
In Gaza, internationals joined Palestinian marchers in the trek to the Erez
crossing, where hundreds upon hundreds protested the siege from the Israeli
side of the border. Thousands more joined solidarity protests around the world.
On January 1, more than 500 protested at the Israeli Embassy, forcing global
attention on the government that is desperately seeking to divert our efforts
to the Egyptian government’s role in the siege. We have proved that we will
not be fooled.
Later that night, the South African delegation officially announced the Cairo
Declaration that we have worked together to create in partnership with our
sisters and brothers in Gaza. The Declaration demands an end to Israeli
apartheid, lists our renewed commitments, and provides an action plan as we
move forward in this important work. In a week of historic events, this
document proves we have accomplished the mission that brought us to Cairo: We
are now united with the people in Gaza, and have a unified plan as we move
forward in our crucial work.
While Egyptians turn us away from checkpoints and borders, we remember that it
is the Israeli government that has demanded we be kept out of Gaza. And the
Israelis have made this demand because they are terrified of our movement.
Their weapons and soldiers are no match for the ideas we carry with us, sparked
in Palestine and now aflame in Egypt and throughout the world. Our global
community join Palestinian civil society in some demands of our own, which the
Israelis cannot quell by preventing our passage to Gaza. As the Cairo
Declaration states, we demand Self-Determination for all Palestinians.
We demand an End to the Occupation. We demand Equal Rights for All within
historic Palestine. We demand the full Right of Return for all People of
Palestine.
And we insist that as a global solidarity movement, we have the right to make
these demands. Egyptian guards have been unable to stop us as we scream our
demands from atop the pyramids, from the sidewalks of the U.S. and Israeli
Embassies, and from the front pages of newspapers in Egypt, Kuwait, Yemen, and
around the world. Allies have stamped these demands into the world’s streets
as they march for Palestine’s freedom.
We must make these demands because our work is too important to wait for the
governments of the world to acknowledge that the Israelis will never offer
Palestinians what they are owed. We can make these demands because we have the
power of a global boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement that will some
day be strong enough to cripple the Israeli economy, if we do the work we have
promised here in Cairo. And, as Anna Julia Cooper so eloquently states in the
US passport that was rejected by Egyptians working on behalf of Israelis
yesterday, we will make these demands because freedom is the birthright of
humankind.
We celebrate our sisters and brothers in Gaza and throughout Palestine who have
worked so hard to bring us to this historic moment. We celebrate allies here in
Cairo and around the world, who are renewing their commitment to their crucial
solidarity work by endorsing the Cairo Declaration. And we celebrate all of the
travelers who slowly make their way to Rafah, whether they arrive or not.
May the Egyptians run our passport numbers thousands of times as they turn us
back. May the Israelis be reminded again and again that they have only
encouraged us to work more tirelessly than we have so far. May the U.S.
government be reminded of the wisdom of Cooper’s words, spat on every time we
are rejected at a checkpoint or border crossing. May we leave Cairo with more
hope than when we arrived that the siege will end and Gaza and all of Palestine
will be free.
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