Join the International Appeal to Egypt: “Let the March Proceed”

Pace e Bene has just received the following email from Sherri Maurin and Pace e Bene staff-member Fr. Louie Vitale, who are part of the 1300-member Gaza Freedom March, which the Egyptian government is currently preventing from entering Gaza:

“We are in Cairo.  The situation is very tense…So far everything (buses, meeting spaces, etc ) have been stopped by the authorities.  Major actions are starting.  …We met some Pace e Bene members today in our hotel and are staying at the same place as the 85 year-old Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein, who is starting a hunger strike this morning to protest the border closure.  We are well and send love to you.” 

The Gaza Freedom March is a nonviolent international initiative to help end the year-long siege of Gaza. It represents the largest gathering of international solidarity activists in the Middle East in history.

Pace e Bene urges you to call on the Egyptian government to permit the marchers to enter Gaza by clicking on this Fellowship of Reconciliation webpage.
 

To see previous reports from Louie Vitale ands Sherri Maurin, click here.
 

Here is a report from Sherri, Louie, and Jan Hartsough from earlier today (December 28, 2009):
 

Sherri Maurin:

 6AM:

We are on the road to Egypt, with great enthusiasm.  Although the Egyptian government has announced the closing of the Rafah border until January, we’ve learned that they are opening it for four days for Egyptians and Gazans to travel back and forth, which negates the excuse that it is “unsafe,” so 1363 of us are converging on al Arish to attempt the crossing.

It is early morning and we are heading directly into a huge orange sun and will be arriving at the Dead Sea.  The environment is dry and hilly, with only scrub plants, boulders and an occasional grove of date palms to break the monotony.  We don’t know what we are facing in the next phase of our journey, but thoughts of the weeks now completed will be with us for a very long time.

Louie Vitale:

This has been an overwhelming experience of the occupation that exists for the people of Palestine.  It reminds me of visiting with representatives of the Iraqi Parliament in Jordan following the bombing of Lebanon in 2006.  They insisted that the American occupation of Iraq was very oppressive to their countries. 

The people here in Palestine refer to their situation as “Apartheid,” similar to the experience of the people of South Africa.  There they hoped that Nelson Mandela would emerge from prison to become President of their country, because ir would  mean the end to apartheid.  Palestinian people here and many internationals make clear to us every day how much such a change is needed here.

At a meeting yesterday, the Holy Land Trust director Sami Awad commented that people say that conditions are perhaps improving. We hope this is true and will work to support their effort at building the nonviolent movement here in Palestine to a true liberation.

Our hotel in Bethlehem was very close to Manger Square. In 2002 the square was filled with Israeli tanks.  No pilgrims had access to the shrine of Nativity, nor did local people have safety in their own community.  It was a contrast that filled us with joy to go the celebration of the birth of Jesus this year, 2009. The square was filled throughout the day and night with thousands celebrating the birth of Jesus with the spirit of liberation and hope. 

Within the basilica those who were fortunate enough to have obtained tickets to enter filled this ancient place of worship with devotion and songs in many languages.  The mass was presided by the Patriarch who reminded us of Jesus’ concern for the poor and for peace, and his ardent plea for healing in this land of division and violence.  At the end of the mass we went down into the historic crypt where Jesus’s birth is recalled and left with a true spirit of Christmas.

On Christmas afternoon we were privileged to join the vigil with the Women in Black who have been a constant presence, every Friday since January 1988, one month after the first Palestinian Intifada (uprising) broke out. Although it was a coincidence that the weekly vigil fell on Christmas Day, it seemed very appropriate given the message of hope and challenge of the Patriarch and   women of Jerusalem and their faithfulness to this witness for peace to end the occupation

Vigiling with them reminded us of many peace demonstrations in our own towns.  We did experience certain expressions of hostility and antagonism towards us with hand gestures and spitting on us; never-the-less it seemed like a fitting way to end the Christmas day and evoked a thought of “Blessed are the Peacemakers.”

We leave Palestine with hope that the dreams, the efforts, the passion and the energy of this great people will be realized even in our lifetime. 

Jan Hartsough:

As we listened to both Israelis and Palestinians tell us the stories of their life experience, I was continually struck how neither has the opportunity to hear the stories of each other and acknowledge their common pain, and their dreams for a future on the small piece of land they share.  The occupation drives people further and further apart.   There seems to be little opportunity to meet each other as human beings, and discover their common humanity.

I was most touched by several projects that try to bridge this gap.  We met with an Israeli man who lost his daughter in a suicide bombing, and decided that he must find a way to speak to the “other” about his pain.   Together with Palestinians who have lost family members, they  formed a group called “Bereaved Families” that goes out in mixed teams to speak to Israeli and Palestinian audiences about their loss, and the need to hear each other and work through the pain.  They have spoken in more than 1,200 classrooms in both Palestinian and Israeli schools to try and reach young people with a message of understanding rather than hate. Their hope is that little by little people will learn to live together. 

Another group working to bridge the conflict is “Combatants for Peace”, started by people who have served in the military, but then refused to return as reservists to the occupied territories.   There are a number of different groups of military resisters, who all speak about the need to humanize the relationships at every opportunity.  For instance, at the checkpoints, they try and develop human contact – to look each other in the eye. 

We heard the example of a Palestinian who had a gun pointed at him for having his hands in his pockets.  Instead of being angry back, he started talking with the Israeli soldier about his commitment to nonviolence.  At a later crossing, the soldier recognized him, and said to his comrade “this guy is okay – let him through.”

The strongest image of the opposite dynamic was our time at the vigil in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem where Palestinian families have been forced out of their homes and are currently living in tent on the street out front.  We arrived there near the end of the protest demonstration to find young Israeli men dancing in the street in front of these Palestinian homes and saying Shabat prayers.  How, in the name of God, can taking away someone’s home be justified and celebrated?   This was a dramatic example of how the Israelis are trying to get Palestinians out of East Jerusalem.  Many other homes in their neighborhood are slated for takeover.

Sherri Maurin:

11:00 PM

We are in Cairo….After a long and sometimes arduous 16 hour journey, and a diversion to Cairo because we were not allowed on the road to al Arish, we are here.  Due to the last minute change of plans we arrived and needed to get rooms in a city crowded by 1,300 delegates arriving with plans to depart for Gaza.

All our buses have been cancelled by officials.  Permits for all of the group organizing meetings were cancelled.  No meetings of any size are being allowed in public spaces or in hotels here in Cairo.  All events that were planned here today, and which had been scheduled for quite some time, were summarily cancelled.   Those who already arrived in al Arish via public transportation are not being allowed out and are being watched.  Organizers are determining next steps as I write this.  I have much more to reflect on but this evening our focus is on getting into Gaza.

Please keep us, and the people who hope to support, in your thoughts.

To see previous reports, click here.