One night in Gaza
Posted by John, November 22nd, 2012 - under Gaza, Israel, Palestine, Zionism.
Ever since I came back from Gaza, I haven’t felt the same, writes Gigi Ibrahim at her Angry Egyptian website. I have been through other traumatic experiences through the revolution, of course nothing like Gaza, but I am even surprised how heart-felt Gaza has hit me. It is like it shattered all my core into little pieces of sadness, not because ‘poor them, people are dying’ feeling, but because I wish we could do more as Egyptians. We are one of the most crucial countries in solving this whole “complicated issue” also known as, the deadly Zionist occupation. After all the path to Jerusalem passes through Cairo, not just symbolically or physically, but politically.
For Israel to exist, Palestinians must die, this is a fact proved over the last 60 years since Israel’s existence This is not an even battle field for war, where two countries are fighting over land like most Western media, academics, and pundits insists on explaining the reason behind the deeply rooted conflict. This is a genocide, this is colonialism, this is Zionist imperialism, where Israel together with the support of the United States administration (all of them) kill, destroy, steal, rape, and expand at any cost in order to simply sustain the Zionist state. I have always believed so, I will always do, and my trip to Gaza reassured this belief even more.
After 8 hours on the road from Cairo to Rafah, 4 hours in the Rafah border on the Egyptian side, 2 hours on the Rafah border on the Palestinian side, the 8-bus Egyptian People’s convoy reached Gaza city at Shifaa Hospital, the main and largest medical center in Gaza. We spent the entire night of 7 hours in the hospital and around it hearing the soundtrack of war, Israeli rockets and drones shaking the ground and our hearts with it every few minutes one was dropped on the civilian people of Gaza, injuring mostly children, women, and elders as I saw in the hospital.
I can’t even describe in words how that was like, for even an Egyptian who spent most of the revolution on the front lines of the battle field, the war on Gaza shook me to the core of my soul on every level. It was the first time I experience how a rocket feels when it hit near by five minutes after we reached the Rafah Border Port on the Palestinian side, I literally almost fell over from the impact. Israel was attacking Gaza from sea and air while the buzzing sound of drones never stopped all the time we were there. Gaza was seemed like a ghost town, pitch black, only the light of our buses lit the road. Power kept going off every hour leaving us in a pitch black night with our uncertain future and Gazans’ resilience & courage to carry us through the intense night.
Once we reached Shifaa hospital we were greeted with ear-to-ear smiles from Palestinians, who were so happy to see that some Egyptians would risk their lives at a time of war to bring them solidarity. What they didn’t realize was how much each Gazans we met lifted our spirit and gave us more power to fight than any solidarity we may have brought them. I went into the hospital expected to find sad faces, miserable people who have just lost their families, but I was amazed at how every doctor, nurse, volunteer, injured patient, and family was in the highest revolutionary spirit full of strength, courage, resilience, and determination against the Zionist occupation.
It was as if every drop of blood gave them more fuel to fight and optimistic that they themselves are still alive despite the harshest conditions to live in anyone can possibly imagine. This is exactly what brought me to tears a lot of times because we, as Egypt, could be doing much more to lift the blockade on Gaza and support the resistance in every way we could; it is not only our duty, it is in our very own interest and security.
The continuation of same-old Mubarak policies when it comes to Palestine will no longer be tolerated. Egypt post revolution especially with a president, who phrases himself on being ‘pro Palestine and revolutionary’, must and ought to take radical steps in support of Palestinians against Israel. Symbolic change like recalling our ambassador or even evicting the Israeli ambassador in Egypt was our demand since 2000 if not even before! We must cut all ties with Israel, we must open the Rafah border for all goods and people without any strings attached, and we must end the Camp David accord even with a referendum.
This is the least we could do and anything Morsi does less than those three things would simply be bogus.