December 30, 2009
Dear CODEPINKer,
The
Gaza Freedom March continues-in Cairo, we hope in Gaza, and around
the world. Because of all your emails and the determination
of the almost 1,400 people who came to Cairo to be a part of the
March, including 300 French nationals who have been camped out in
front of their embassy for three nights, we secured a meeting with
Madame Mubarak, the president´s wife. Madame Mubarak arranged for
100 marchers to enter Gaza to deliver the humanitarian aid we had
brought with us, under the umbrella of her organization The Red
Crescent. This was considered a success until
we began the difficult task of figuring out which 100 of the 1,400
would go.
Some
of the country representatives declined their seats, and some delegations
decided they would prefer not to send anyone if the whole group
was not allowed to go. Those who boarded the
buses towards Rafah included journalists who had come to report
on the conditions in Gaza, Palestinians who would be reunited with
family they had not seen in years, and some members of the team
who were committed to delivering the aid that had been collected. One
of the desired results of the march was to focus world attention
on the continuing and devastating effects of the blockade on Gaza. The outpouring of support from around the world for the Palestinians
in Gaza has been amazing. Twenty-two marchers began a hunger strike
in Cairo, including 85-year-old Hedy Epstein, a Holocaust survivor,
who has been interviewed by journalists from around the world. This
morning´s New
York Times piece on the march and the hunger strike was
a huge success in getting the story of Gaza to a wider audience,
and reflected the passion of those who had traveled so far to be
a part of this historic movement. The hunger strikers ask that sometime during
the period marking the Operation Cast Lead invasion anniversary--December
27-January 18--you join them in remembrance by skipping a meal,
or fasting for a day or a week. Sign
up here.
And please be a part of the international solidarity movement for
the Palestinians of Gaza by doing what you can to spread the story,
tweet or Facebook the NY Times story and keep up with the ever changing
tides of the march on the PINKtank.
You can find up to the minute information on our Twitter
page. Follow us on twitter and march with us virtually!
Solidarity actions for the Gaza Freedom March began taking place
December 27th to mark the one year assault on Gaza, with more actions
scheduled through January 1, 2010. The massive mobilization includes
candlelight vigils, concerts, processions, marches, demonstrations,
art installations, house parties and movie screenings all over the
world. View
solidarity actions worldwide and visit our flickr
slide show.
Not
attending a March or Solidarity Action? Join us in Solidarity Online.
The Gaza Freedom March site is being updated almost hourly, so check
it out, share the photos, videos and articles with your friends!
www.gazafreedommarch.org.
"The
ONLY recognizable feature of HOPE is ACTION"-- so
ACT today and support CODEPINK with a donation
and get your Grace Paley t-shirt, designed by Phillip Niemeyer in
our
store!
So here's a toast to our power and our passion -- we have our work cut out for us in 2010!
Medea
Benjamin and the CODEPINK Team (Dana, Emily, Farida, Gael, Gayle, Janet,
Jodie, Kitty, Marina, Nancy, Paris, Rae, Suzanne, and Whitney)
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