In The Arms of The Catholic Worker Again

I arrived at Heathrow in such fatigue and was promptly detained at passport control. The security woman who questioned me was not satisfied with my explanation that my purpose was to visit friends until the 23rd of July. Her line of questioning eventually led to me naively explaining that I would be helping out with the care of homeless women. After phone calls and accusations that we were dishonest people and her religion guided her better than us ours, my passport was returned to me and I happily met Maria at the arrival hall. My mother used to call these kind of people with a little power "two-bit Hitlers" but I understood it to be an exercise in humility and patience. A violent rage rose in my chest and I thought, so this is how Palestinians are made to feel, along with so many other groups of people over the course of our bloody history. 

But it is wonderful to be here and I have collapsed with flu-like symptoms in this safe haven. I can only image what being homeless or a refugee does to a person's physical and mental health.

I receive reports back from the border and the international group of activists have written eloquent testimonies as to what brought them to the Rafah gate on behalf of the Palestinian people. My favorite one comes from Ashraf who says this kind of pilgrimage is a holy duty that one must take on. He describes his awakening of two years ago when he learned more about the situation and was compelled to become involved. He, and the others in the group are all are people of amazing integrity, love, and commitment. They have heard the cry from their brothers and sisters, they understand the need for mutual aid, and they have a vision for a new state. We must support them with our prayers and even travel to the border ourselves to bear witness if we can. And there is always the call to do the works of mercy close to home as well. I am beginning to feel homesick after nearly two months of being away.      

Holed Up In Munich

I am quite lonely without my new Egyptian friends and Paki at the border. It was a hot, sticky night in Cairo and I am now tired. Last night's report from Paki was about a Palestinian family stuck at the border with a grandmother who is in kidney failure, traveling with her son, the potential donor for a transplant, and his son and wife. They were refused flight from Cairo to France where the needed surgery is available. While waiting in the heat and in an attempt to get water, the grandson was hit by a soldier, the father defended his son, and was then taken to a "back room". The horrors of human behaviors. When the soldiers were told that the woman could die with this medical condition and no help, their response was "let her die".

But this morning my birthday present before leaving Cairo was a phone call from Paki reporting that there is hope for getting the family to France right away. Jean, one of our "saints at the gate" lives in France and has worked many years at the International Red Cross. She will be pulling strings to save another life at the Rafah border. We are not sure what happened to the man with diabetes and a recent leg amputation. These are crimes against humanity.

So I blog from my hotel room in Munich; I feel like a stranger in a strange land. There are sex shops down stairs, tall, young German men walking in tough groups, and Muslims walking with their family members. I feel tension here too. I picked up a piece of pizza for dinner from a Kurdish man working at the shop and was able to revisit Sorani, much to his delight. I stopped in at the Cathedral of St. Michael on Neuhauser Street to say a prayer of gratitude and the interior was stunning. We were soon shooed out of the church promptly at 7:00PM. I will catch my flight to London tomorrow and look forward to being part of a beloved community once again. 

Leaving The Rafah Border Sit In

The camp (named Camp Seabreeze by us who yearn for the beach( was quiet for a few days with just 4 of us holding the siege against the siege. I left today and our numbers were up to 14 with more expected. The Galloway convoy will be arriving in 2 to 3 days with 200 people we hear. We witnessed a convoy of 15 trucks loaded with food go through in about one hour the other day. It was sent by the Saudis. Minutes after it passed through the gates of Rafah a Palestinian family was denied entry, it was their 10th day of returning to the border in a futile attempt to pass. The soldier's faces change from being friendly to practicing cruel lies and it feels like a schizoid world which it is. The tension is quite high, they know Galloway is on his way and there is nothing that they have been able to do about our campout in their military zone. It is absolutely crucial to have an international presence, otherwise our brave Egyptian activists would be treated savagely. When many diverse groups of people work together, the power is multiplied greatly.
So I am back in Cairo with a bed and shower to celebrate. The bathroom facilities were locked against us at the camp in attempts to drive us out. We climbed the gate to use the toilets and running water. When buying calling cards they extort more money than is usually charged and they stopped letting us charge the mobile batteries. All of this is nothing compared to what the Palestinians suffer, and for so long. We met people who appeared dead in their eyes, the need to shut down rather than explode with fury was seen in so many faces.
I fly to Munich tomorrow, my birthday, then on to the London Catholic Worker house for 10 days. My heart remains in Rafah, where a few brave souls carry on against massively corrupt powers.

Back To The Border

We (Paki Weiland and I and Egyptian colleagues) have been in Cairo for three days and have failed 2 times to be allowed into the US Embassy to talk with someone about the closing of the Rafah border gate. We must have the correct names and paperwork in place despite the fact that the Egyptian government is unaccountable to anyone about accepting or rejecting paperwork of those who are trying to cross. It seems that arbitrary decisions and misinformation are the norm. We met one man from Houston, Texas who is American Palestinian and his wife and 3 kids were let through; he was not. They are now on the "other side" with no husband/father, money, or support. He was told to go back to Cairo (a day's trip away) to get another piece of paper and when he came back they still said no. 

We will try to follow up with the information given to us from our representatives about how to get into the Embassy, however it is the 4th of July holiday and no one was available on the 1st for this same reason. My contact from my representative's office said the Embassy does not know you are at the door or that you are US citizens. But we know that we have knocked on the door and have been heard. We also presented ourselves to the Foreign Ministry and they could not understand how we would even think that there would be help there. 

And so we will continue to play David and Goliath and hope that our GI tracts will keep supporting the effort. Paki is teaching me much with her amazing experience as an activist. This morning's daily reading in  John:2024-29  speaks about Thomas who had to put his hands into the wounds of Jesus to believe. I am putting myself into these wounds of the Holy Land and yes I believe we can keep up the struggle only with God's invisible hand providing comfort and protection. 

The press conference went well yesterday and we hope the wall of silence will be penetrated. Leaving Suli for this is mind blowing but every step of my way seems to be orchestrated for a good reason. The sit in is into the 22nd day, spread the word and send more people. Love and being willing to feel the pain of the other is the only solution.   

ongoing vigil at rafah border

I arrived on June 28th the 15th day of the International Movement to Open the Rafah Border vigil. The border was open June 27, 28,29. On those days over 5000 Palestinians were allowed into Gaza. It had been more than a month since the border was open to people without special medical needs. The scene at the border was horrific. People were made to stand for 5 to 10 hours in the sweltering heat and they were herded by the Egyptian police with no respect to their human dignity. There were severe limitations on sanitary facilities, and drinking water was sold at an exhorbitant price. This degradation of our Palestinian brothers and sisters is not being reported to the world and is being carried out with complicity between the US, Egyptian, and Israeli governments. A great sense of resignation, brutality, and dehuminization prevades the sight at the gates. Trash floats in the air and piles up near walls. The smell of feces and urine can be detected. The campers have been sleeping under a roof for shade, thank God, on the pavement. The flies swarm about throughout the day. My first night was very noisy with trucks roaring past a few feet from the tent, and men loosing their tempers and screaming. The next day we heard jets passing over and the thud of bombs were heard in the distance. I am terrified and very stressed but feeling good in the company of friends and activists.
I am pondering over what is the cause of this truely unnatural human disaster. What can we do other than be here as witnesses to this unspeakable and unneccesary suffering.