Canadian delegation from Global March to Gaza returns from Egypt

More than 80 Canadians who were taking part in the Global March to Gaza returned from Egypt after having been blocked from crossing the Egyptian border. On Wednesday they held a press conference in Montreal to talk about the experience.

The Global March to Gaza is the most recent initiative by civil society groups to effort to break the blockade established by Israel in March in order to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza. The march saw activists take off on foot to travel up through northern Egypt and cross the Rafah border, bringing food, fuel, medical supplies and other essential aid into the region.

“I think everyone came back home with anger, but a very strong, willingness to do more and to keep mobilizing,” said Baya El Hachemi, member of the Canadian coordination for the Global March to Gaza and participant in the march.

Canadian activists decided to return back to Canada after facing what they described as “growing threats to (their) physical and psychological safety” — a situation that saw more than 40 Canadians detained by the Egyptian government. Organizers also faced what they said was “deliberate political repression” by Egyptian authorities, which included “arbitrary expulsions, physical and psychological abuse, and the illegal confiscation of identity documents and personal devices,” according to a press release.

Organizers say that participants respected the laws and regulations for visitors while on Egyptian territory and that the march was non-violent with the sole aim of ending the blockade and opening humanitarian corridors.

“This was a peaceful action,” said activist Tamara Ghandour. “It was a people’s movement, and all that the Egyptian government did was basically brutalize the civilians that were just peacefully marching to Rafah.

Organizers have also expressed disappointment in the federal government, adding that Ottawa could have done more to put pressure on Cairo after it detained the Canadian activists. 

“The Canadian embassy gave us many different answers,” said Tatiana Harker, crisis cell coordinator for the Canadian delegation for the Global March to Gaza, “from ‘follow the Egyptians orders,’ to ‘you can get arrested for a couple of hours.'”

“What we witnessed there in Egypt was that Canada is more willing to cooperate with the economic and geostrategic interest than to protect their own citizens,” El Hachemi said.

Roughly 4,000 volunteers from more than 80 countries have taken part in the Global March to Gaza.

Global Affairs Canada has advised Canadians to avoid all travel to northeast Egypt and to Gaza.