I left occupied Palestine on christmas day 2009 and travel to Egypt across the Sinai desert where I spend 3 days in the village of Nuweba waiting to meet the Viva Palestina convoy bringing medical aid and supplies to the occupied Gaza Strip. The reason I spent 3 days in Nuweba was because the Egyptian government was denying the convoy entrance into the country and it soon became apparent that they were going to have to take a different route. I called a contact and heard that similar cases where taking place inside the country and that international activists where amassing in the capital city of Cairo.
The actions that took place inside the capital city varied depending on the location and group performing the action itself. Some were direct action blockades, sidewalk protests, embassy sit-ins and of course endless negotiations. Instead of talking about the actions that took place I think it would be more important to address why things failed in the end. ‘Code Pink’ is an organization that was at the front of the ‘Gaza Freedom March’ (GFM) which never criticized the Egyptian government’s help on the Gaza blockade or the newly built wall for fear of not being allowed entrance to the occupied strip. By not creating any waves with the government they single handedly cut out and ignored all Egyptian activist groups who were more than willing to help.
When the time came for the march the government rejected all access into Gaza leaving Code Pink and GFM to quickly put together demonstrations in Cairo, a city and political system where they were completely unaware of the power and structure of the government they were now facing. Eventually the GFM decided to bring in Egyptian activists for help but even then when the time for organizing came the Arab voice was pushed back and overwhelmed by western words. At one point it was said by an American organizer that “This is our march! If the Egyptians want to join us they are more than welcome!” ..... I want to thank the international activists for giving the Egyptians the right to protest in their own country! You proclaimed your where here in solidarity but were unable to see your own destructive and colonialist ideas.
On the response to the actions themselves I can only say that the Egyptian government is nothing more than a childish tin-pot dictatorship. As a photojournalist I would actually prefer to work inside of Israel than Egypt. Israel at least tries to accommodate the lie that they are a democratic country and that there are rights. In Egypt, if you get in the way of the government and its grip on power you are simply removed by any means necessary. Taking a photograph can instantly make you the unpleasant center of attention by police and I have had a tug-of-war for my camera. Internationals leaving Cairo in the direction of Gaza were pulled off the bus and were forced back to the capital. In one action people where punched, kicked and woman where dragged out by their hair. All of these horrible acts are even worse for Egyptians where being arrested is almost a guaranteed torture sentence and political assassinations can shadow over activist organizations.
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