Gaza delegation, in Gaza City: Susan Adelman's diary

Posted by CODEPINK Staff

Here's another update from Susan Adelman, in Gaza City now!

The Egyptians blinked!! We were contacted by the Egyptian Red Crescent just before dinner on the 7th and told that they and the Palestinian Red Crescent would facilitate the transportation of our relief supplies from Egypt to Palestine. This was a BIG signal. They also mentioned that Mrs. Mubarak was “very interested” in our International Women’s day project. At that point we knew that they Egyptian government did not want 60 international human rights activist camping out with big banners, Alice Walker and Rachel Corrie’s parents at the Rafah Gate. So.... Yesterday morning we set out from El Arish at 9 a.m. and after lots of bureaucratic screw-ups — including that LAST passport which was found on the copy machine — we were in Raffa, Palestine, where we were met by the mayor and had a press conference. We arrived, exhausted but exhilarated, in Gaza City at 5 p.m. and, after a brief lecture/q&a on the actual conditions in Palestine and hopes/despair for the future, we dispersed, some of us to the homes of Palestinians and some to hotels. Some of us stayed with a man who is a paramedic, studying to be a nurse. It was his ambulance which picked up Rachel Corrie’s body when she was mowed down by and Israeli bulldozer. More later about our families and our IWD events.