Peaceful Protests and the Punching Police

I feel most comfortable continuing our story chronologically -it ensures I don't forget important events. Let me just start by telling everyone that the three of us have averaged 1 meal a day and around 4 to 5 hours of sleep every night so far. The smog in the Egyptian capital is pretty disgusting and the honking of the taxis seems incessant. We are so relieved to finally retreat to the home of some amazing Algerian-Egyptian friends -dare I say, family.

Today was particularly eventful. Each day seems to hold the Egyptian authorities more and more accountable. Last night, as I finished my last post, the French delegation was beginning to set up camp on the boulevard across the French Embassy and in front, as Salah noted, of the Giza Zoo (let me also note that Salah was very disappointed when we chose not visit this infamous zoo). The French literally set up tents and sleeping bags  in the middle of an extremely busy 4 lane boulevard when they were told that their buses to Al-Arish would never arrive. They were pushed onto the sidewalk and have been camping out and patiently waiting for those buses to take them to Al-Arish. Last I heard, the French were approaching 24 hours of sidewalk camping. Their actions overnight have structured our collective action and reaction to Egyptian politics.


7:00: We all woke up. Salah left directly for the Garage bus station, where delegates would symbolically be present to board banned buses. The energy he claims was exciting. People were aware and accepting of the new rules of the game and they were ready to make their presence in Cairo meaningful. Abdu and I slept a little longer and organized some of our footage.

10:00: I left the Australian Hostel for the French Embassy. The taxi driver, in between his broken English and my broken Arabic, made bad jokes about his government, the police and the fact that Egyptians eat beans for breakfast. He dropped me off in front of the Embassy and warned me that there was a protest going on. I pretended I didn't know anything about it. I arrived at the same time as 3 other Canadians. We were in awe at the amount of security forces present - generals, police chiefs, barriers, rubber guns, teargas canisters, batons, "secret" police, and 16 year old soldiers - who were more interested in sharing a cigarette or a laugh than slapping us around. We got through four rows of soldiers to join our colleagues at the front of the embassy.
There were at least 200 French men and women on the sidewalkand they were encompassed by at least twice as many soldiers and security officials. They made speeches and cheered for Gaza, they had an emissary speaking directly with the Ambassador, they lined up and waited up to an hour to reach the "only washroom inside the embassy", they played soccer, slept, and ate as a group. Very inspiring.


13:00: Salah and Abdu finally caught up with me. After witnessing an anti-government protest on their way to the French Embassy, the boys tried to snake their way onto the surrounded sidewalk. Security forces pushed them
back and kept them at a distance. Video cameras are usually greeted this way. No worries though, we were already being told that another protest was under way at the UN/World Trade Center Building near the Nile. On the main plaza, hundreds of Gaza Freedom March delegates were causing a raucous.

14:45: The noise we were making was being heard across the world. There were drummers, guitars, chants, an official delegation sent to the UN, an 85-year old Holocaust survivor on hunger strike, and lots and lots of activists. The stress on the Egyptian mukhabarat, as we have been calling them, was causing more than a few wrinkles.Around 3 PM, our group was trying to gain a little more ground. A short hijabi girl got into a shoving match with some oversized police officers. She was standing on a ledge linking arms with some other activists when an officer, in civilian clothing pushed her off the ledge. In response, she kicked and yelled towards two of the officers (even though I got most of this on tape, I want to be clear that I saw everything with my own eyes -I am speaking directly from experience). One officer, who I assume was being kicked ,  punched the California-schooled girl under her right eye. We helped her out of that corner. Abdu and I ended up accompanying her to the American Embassy and the Police Station to file a report (a story we can update you on in the coming days).

This incident is a clear signal that the Egyptian security establishment has begun to show signs of stress and anxiety at our increasing occupation of Cairo's public spaces. We hope that the emotions they are feeling will be translated into meaningful action by the Foreign Ministry. Our stories are already being covered by Al-Jazeera, AFP, Reuters, BBC, and a slew of Arab channels. People around the world know our cause. The Egyptian government is not going to be able to contain the voices of 1400 activists - their only option, we hope, is to save face and open the Rafah crossing to international solidarity groups.

Stay tuned: How will the siege at the French Embassy end? Delegates plan on occupying the World Trade Center plaza until all of our conditions are met and delegations are sent into Gaza. Will the Foreign Ministry budge?


On behalf of all delegates, we urge you to make a contribution to our cause. Send a letter or make a phone call to the Egyptian Embassy. Their foreign ministry has already complained that embassies around the world are being flooded with calls -they can no longer ignore us. Join the cause. 


www.gazafreedommarch.org