FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 22, 2009 CONTACT
Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK <
http://www.codepinkalert.org/> co-founder,
415-235-6517
Pam Rasmussen, delegation coordinator, 301-518-0199
Jean Stevens, CODEPINK national media coordinator, 508-769-2138
*Egyptian tourist police attempt to block four foreign delegations from
reaching to Gaza border*
*CODEPINK delegates <
http://www.womensaynotowar.org/article.php?id=4817> say
they will not turn back*
CAIRO -- As more than 160 Americans and other citizens from around the world
begin arriving in Cairo with the intent to cross into Gaza, the operators of
Egyptian bus services say they been prohibited by the Egyptian government
from transporting them to the border. The groups, made up of four
delegations on the Egyptian side and one on the Israeli side, are part
of a CODEPINK
Women for Peace
campaign<
http://www.womensaynotowar.org/article.php?id=4817>to bring
humanitarian supplies and build playgrounds for the children of
Gaza.
“We had chartered a private bus company to take us from Cairo to Al-Arish,
the closest town to the Rafah crossing into Gaza,” explained Sandra Ruch,
who is leading a delegation of Canadians on the humanitarian mission.
“However, the operators tell us now that the government has prohibited them
from taking us anywhere near the border. They obviously believe this tactic
will keep us away, but we are determined. The Gazans are completely isolated
and struggling to survive. We cannot abandon them.”
The 10-member Canadian delegation is scheduled to be followed by a
14-member group from New York and a contingent of 40 students. The largest
of the CODEPINK delegations, numbering about 80, is scheduled to set off for
the border on May 29 – just days ahead of President Barack Obama's landmark
speech to the Arab world, planned for Cairo on June 4. The CODEPINK
delegations are invited to the Gaza Strip by the United Nations Relief and
Works Agency.
The delegations plan to enter Gaza to focus attention on the need to lift
the 21-month blockade and to deliver medical supplies, toys and sports
equipment to the children there, who make up more than half of Gaza’s
population. The groups are also bringing supplies for playgrounds, since
many of the schools and playgrounds were bombed during Israel's invasion
earlier this year, which killed more than 1,400, displaced more than 50,000
people and destroyed approximately 4,000 homes.
“The majority of Gazans are under 18, and many of the youth are traumatized
and depressed," said delegation coordinator Pam Rasmussen. "Thousands are
now living in rubble or cramped tents, while mourning the deaths of loved
ones and struggling to support their families despite an unemployment rate
in excess of 50 percent. It’s important for us to go there to show that the
international community cares about their plight.”
The CODEPINK delegations are not alone. Three British medics began a hunger
strike at the Egyptian border crossing on May 21 to protest being refused
entry into Gaza to establish a cardiac surgery unit at al-Shifa Hospital,
which currently has no such facility, and to help train medical students and
junior doctors there. The British medics have been denied access to the
Palestinian territory at the Rafah crossing since the beginning of May.
CODEPINK delegations say they are determined to get to the border and cross
into Gaza.
“We call on the Egyptian government to facilitate our travel to Gaza, not
create obstacles,” said Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK. “President
Obama is coming to Egypt on June 4 to speak to the Arab world. He claims he
wants to stand for peace and justice. We need to start by lifting the
blockade of Gaza.”
*For more information, please contact Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK co-founder,
at 415-235-6517, Pam Rasmussen, delegation coordinator, at 301-518-0199, or
Jean Stevens, CODEPINK national media coordinator, at 508-769-2138. *
--
Jean Stevens
National Media Coordinator
CODEPINK Women for Peace
646.723.1781 (o)
508.769.2138 (c)
jean@codepinkalert.org
Twitter: JeanStevens1
PINKTank: www.codepink4peace.org/blog