From Cairo

The weather, believe it or not is not as hot as expected, no higher than 100 fahrenheit, though I was expecting to have to deal with 110. Little surprises continue to occur. Traffic as rapid and chaotic and unrelenting as can be and on a road with no sidewalks you really need eyes in the back of your head--since the frantic last minute beeps and honks don't come until the car is right upon you.

There are over two hundred of us here working on various tasks in preparation for our delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and the shared commitment of everyone is just accepted and part of the conversation. I am working on the media committee, and would hope that when my posts are read by my chosen friends that these entries will be passed around to all. My understanding is that the Viva Palestina website will start carrying a blog entry or journal within the next few days and I will post the link to it when it comes up.

Things are a bit hectic and I still am scrambling to find someone who can upload my pictures--though I have not had a chance to take that many of the local scenery or the heated and dusty turmail that is this gigantic city--so I can get them posted here.

One of the convoy members has been checking coverage in the local media, and while there is news here, the news in the United States has been absolutely minimal, even though press releases have been sent, inteviews have been given to the AP and to Al Jazeera. So I would suggest your going to either of those places to find some articles and then pass on to your local news outlets to see if some local cover can be stimulated for the Viva Palestina convoy. The tendency of US papers in general to ignore any news about relief to the Palestinians, especially in Gaza, is a given, and indeed one of the intentions of the convoy is to generate interest. That's why we have Americans of various faiths and origins here, most from the East and West Coasts, but a number from mid-western states as well.

As the week rogresses, computer time will diminish, but I hope to get something up every day to record the events, and will certainly continue to follow the movement to bring relief and humanitarian assistance to the long-suffering people of Gaza.

Piracy Off of Gaza

For three days now I have been scouring the US press looking for updates--no, actual mention--of the piracy, complete with armed masked men boarding the ship in waters off the coast of Gaza Port. (First reports said that the ship was hijacked in International Waters, but according to one of the participants, they reckoned to have been in Gazan waters.) The ship was carrying toys, crayons, medical supplies, and some construction materials to Gaza. On board were over 20 people including Cynthia McKinney, the former Congressional Representative, and Mairead Maguire, the Irish Nobel Prize winner. The ship is the latest attempt of the Free Gaza movement to provide relief to the besieged people of Gaza.

McKinney is still in jail awaiting a "deportation order" which she has refused to sign since it was presented in Hebrew. Since the people on board were arrested by Israel and put into prison in Israel, and Israel is threatening deportation because of their "illegal entry" into Israel, the only conclusion to draw is that the state of Israel regards Gazan waters as Israeli waters, showing once again the illegality and the deliberate choke hold of control over the Palestinian people.

All of the countries whose citizens were hijacked have raised heavy objections with Israel. Except the United States, which remains very quiet in the face of this obvious international violation. It makes you wonder how much pressure is actually being brought by the Obama administration to settle the conflict. Silence and neglect seem to be the policy. It certainly is the operating policy of the Mainstream Media. Cynthia McKinney was pretty outspoken Congressperson, and the US press was quite good at demonizing and marginalizing her, so it is no surprise that her incarceration has not received any attention.

More later as I get to the Middle East and get to a computer.