Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 30 Nov. - 6 Dec. 2000 Issue No.510

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In quest of Rafah

By Fatemah Farag

Between us stand fence after fence
And I am neither a giant nor a bird

Naguib Sorour

The words of Naguib Sorour's poem rang out only too true as they were sung by a busload of members of the People's Committee for Solidarity with the Intifada of the Palestinian People making their way towards the border town of Rafah. The convoy that passed through the desert early Sunday morning consisted of three buses carrying approximately 150 committee members and a handful of journalists, as well as six trucks carrying 90 tons of food and medicine.

"Our first priority was to transport to the Palestinians much-needed food and medicine. However, now that Israel has closed the border for 12 days, prohibiting the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, we decided that exposing this fact should also be a priority," said Adel El-Mashad, a committee member and one of the mission's organisers. He added that the committee's work had received the blessing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and that high-level coordination to allow the convoy near the border was taking place with state security officials.

So, it was with this dual mission of offering both material and moral support to the Palestinians under siege that the convoy departed from Cairo at 6.00am. Bus windows were decorated with Palestinian mini-flags and banners supporting the Palestinian Intifada, while the transport trucks were covered in banners that shouted out: "Lift the blockade, end the war of starvation." The plan was to head to the northern town of Al-Arish, 50 kilometres west of Rafah, hold a meeting in the town square and then move on to the border crossing and attempt to secure the delivery of the food and medicine across the border. In the event that Israeli officials insisted on keeping the border closed, the plan was to hold a press conference near the crossing to highlight Israel's intransigence.

The first obstacle to achieving the mission's goals was encountered at 11.20am some 10 kilometres outside Al-Arish, where a local solidarity committee had arranged to meet the convoy. Committee members stood by the roadside with welcoming boxes of pastry, news of a Palestine solidarity march that had been arranged in their hometown on the occasion of the convoy's arrival, and several police cars carrying officers who were clearly unenthusiastic about the gathering.

"Our aim is the same as yours," explained Police Brigadier-General Salah Lutfi as his cars blocked the road. "I am an Egyptian just like the rest of you, in fact I am from Qena [in Upper Egypt], and we all want the Israelis to open the border so that food and medicine can reach the Palestinians, but I do not want to give Israel the excuse to attack Egypt. Rafah has become a very dangerous area and the Israelis seem to be looking for an excuse to open fire. I fear for your lives if you go there for a peaceful protest. What I mean is that we have seen them shoot and kill little boys who only have stones in their hands."

For over an hour and a half, beleaguered police officers attempted to explain that they had spent the night trying, but without success, to convince Israel to permit the humanitarian assistance to be delivered to Gaza. At one point, an exasperated officer exclaimed: "For 22 days we have been trying day and night to get medicine across the border, but they refuse. It is going bad in the storage rooms and they still won't agree. Assistance from Saudi Arabia, Algeria, all over the place, and they still won't agree. What can I do?"

Committee members were miffed that they would not be allowed any closer to the border than Al-Arish. "What? Are you saying that we can't move freely in our own country?" shouted one member. Committee members had travelled a great distance to highlight Israel's policy of sealing off Gaza as it continued its murderous offensive against Palestinian civilians. They were adamant that their show of solidarity with the Palestinians required that they make it to Rafah.

Thousands of Al-Arish residents march to welcome the convoy of the People's Committee for Solidarity with the Intifada, as it arrives from Cairo (far left). The Arishis, who share strong ethnic ties with Palestinians, seemed to identify fully with the uprising raging across the border some 50km away -- facts which the image of the woman (left) clearly illustrates

Eventually the decision was made to go to Al-Arish, take part in the rally organised by its residents, while continuing negotiations with the police over the convoy's ultimate destination in Rafah.

Shortly after entering the quiet town, whose streets are lined with low white-stone buildings, the buses were greeted by thousands of people who marched to the centre of town. Marchers could be divided into three distinct groups. Dominated by officials, the front-line included a senior police officer carried on people's shoulders alongside people carrying pictures of various high officials displayed in gold-coloured frames. Further back, in the middle of the crowd, a local council official chanted anti-Israeli slogans, some of which had an Islamic tone, as he was borne through the streets on the shoulders of the young men participating in the march. Bringing up the tail of the march were the members of the committee, who also shouted anti-Zionist slogans of a secular nature.

A half hour after the march began, everyone converged on the local council building and members of the committee, such as writer Salwa Bakr, Tagammu Party member Fathiya El-Assal and actress Raghda, delivered emotional addresses to the crowd about the situation in Palestine. Not that the people of Al-Arish are not well-informed.

"We are pretty much like one people, us and the Palestinians," a young man in the crowd told Al-Ahram Weekly. "We are cousins and brothers, and many people here have relatives in Palestine. We all know and see what is happening in Gaza. It is the murder of our people."

Men, women and children were excited about the guests who came from Cairo to support "their people." Older women in traditional dress boarded the buses to shake hands with committee members. Children, who wrapped their faces in Palestinian headscarves imitating their across-the-border cousins, inquired if they could join the trip to Rafah, while some young men said they would organise a procession of their own.

END THE WAR OF STARVATION: As Israel continued to claim the lives of unarmed Palestinians and prohibit the entry of desperately needed humanitarian aid, yesterday marked the International Day for Solidarity with Palestine. This day of commemoration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1977, on the anniversary of the Partition Plan approved in 1947 by the Assembly. L-R: Earlier in the week, the People's Committee for Solidarity with the Intifada of the Palestinian People headed north to the Egyptian-Israeli border along with truck loads of food staples and medicines. And in the northern town of Al-Arish, thousands converged on the streets to greet the Committee and express solidarity with "their people" across the border. (see Region) photos: Mohamed Mos'ad

But the negotiations between committee members and state security officials did not go well. Ultimately, officials refused to budge. They said they were unwilling to risk exposing Egyptians to possible Israeli aggression from across the border and supported their position by citing unconfirmed allegations that an Egyptian was shot by Israeli soldiers. A number of young men of Al-Arish, it was later discovered, had zealously gone ahead to Rafah, believing that they will shortly be followed by the convoy. They were, however, stopped short of their destination. "Seven kilometres from Rafah we were stopped by two armoured personnel carriers and four police trucks," a young man who preferred to remain anonymous told the Weekly.

On the way back to Cairo, Farid Zahran, one of the mission's organisers, received the news that Palestinians in Gaza had heard of the convoy and staged a demonstration against Israel's insistence on sealing the border. "We left the donations with a Palestinian official in Al-Arish where the Palestinians have storehouses. Even though we did not reach Rafah, I think that the point has been made and our message of solidarity has reached the Palestinian people," Zahran said.

It was unclear at time of printing, however, when (and whether) Israel will allow the popularly-collected donations of food and medicine, at a cost of LE250,000, across the border into Gaza.

Related stories:
Walking in Gaza
Solidarity days 26 Oct. - 1 Nov. 2000
Palestinian flag over the Nile 19 - 25 October 2000

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