DENIED

Well, there's some discouraging news. First, after the Viva Palestina convoy protests it seems that the Egyptian government has had enough with internationals trying to get into Gaza and exposing them for the criminals that they are. So they officially have closed the border, using very firm language, to all international convoys. From now on, they say, no one will get in through Rafah, but rather must go through the Egyptian Red Crescent in order to get in humanitarian aid. No word about individuals, but it certainly seemed that their stance was getting more and more rigid.

The following day, yesterday, we were notified by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry that our entry permissions were officially denied. It is unclear if that means that in the future we have all been blacklisted because of our association with the GFM or what, but it does mean that for now my official channels have been completely denied. In the past it seems that there was a disconnect between the border and Cairo decisions, and that people have just gone to the border, knocked, waited, but often gotten in, without official permission from Cairo. But now we are not sure, and it seems that there is more coordination and a very hard line. In fact it will probably be very difficult for me to even reach the border before being stopped and turned back at a military checkpoint. Many internationals have tried and are most have been returned. To my knowledge, only one person from the GFM has been successful in getting in, an Indian man, who had the support of his Embassy to pressure the Egyptian government. Obviously I don't have that support.

So now faced with this reality I am not entirely certain what my next steps may be. I have played with the ideas of trying to get to the border and wait, and hope. I have thought about going back to the states. I have thought about going back to the states earlier than I had planned. I have thought about going to the West Bank and trying to finish the work that has been started there, so I have initiated phone calls to see if people are still interested and/or have the time.

One thing that is clear is that we all now realize that Egypt is a huge pressure point in effecting change in this issue, and is considered a domino in the region for democracy, one thing that both Israel and the US, in actuality, FEAR rather than promote.

In the past two days I have been involved in drafting proposals for how to create a transparent, democratic, and participatory process for making decisions around the Cairo Declaration Movement. The premise is that there are seven points for implementation, and we are assuming that SOME sort of structure is necessary, not for an organization, per se, but for consultation and decision-making. What we have developed is a proposal for a type of "straw poll" or referendum process carried out over the internet that will ideally be used to consult all signatories of the Declaration and get feedback that will inform direction and policy in the movement. It is actually quite exciting, I have never heard of an international effort, on such a large scale, that has attempted such a democratic and truly participatory process. I hope that it can be implemented, useful, and potentially serve as a model for other movements. We'll see! But that is where I have been focusing my efforts in the past few days. Lots of meetings, lots of writing and thinking and sitting around and drinking tea.

FYI: there has been a call for action on the 16th or 17th (either day) of January to protest Israeli embassies all over the world. It is also a day where people are being encouraged to banner and leaflet and educate around the Cairo Declaration. Let's get the ball rolling!

For now, I really don't know what my plans are. I feel like I am so close to the region to not be involved, but I am trying to get clarity about whether its the right time or not, for me. I have given myself a few days, maybe this week, to try to make that decision, because I am still productive here in these meetings and such. When I cease to be productive here I have a feeling that my opinion about staying will change significantly. Also, it seems clear that I am going to be putting most of my energy behind implementing the Cairo Declaration, so that might actually mean that I need to go back to the States anyway. We'll see.