The Viva Palestina convoy is hours away from Egypt while participants of the Gaza Freedom March have started arriving in Cairo. VP organiser Kevin Ovenden asks, "Will they get through?" Two groups of largely Westerners, disgusted by their governments' indifference to the plight of the Palestinians besieged by Israel in Gaza, have descended on Egypt, hoping to convince the Egyptian authorities to once again defy the Israeli blockade and help their Palestinian brothers. Viva Palestina's (VP) long journey from the UK to Gaza is almost coming to an end. The convoy is dubbed "Return to Gaza" by its organisers, who have taken this life-saving journey twice already this year, using different itineraries. They are now appealing to the Egyptian government, both directly and through letters and e-mails to Egyptian embassies around the world, not to impede their advance towards their noble goal to provide succour to the beleaguered Gazans. As Al-Ahram Weekly was going to press on Wednesday, the convoy was still at its Amman stop where it will remain for another night before heading south to Jordan's Maan then Aqaba. It is expected to land in Egypt on Christmas day and plans to be at the Rafah border crossing with Gaza on 27 December, to commemorate the first anniversary of Israel's brutal invasion of Gaza -- Operation Cast Lead. Over 200 vehicles -- ambulances, trucks, minivans, passenger cars, minibuses and approximately 420 activists from the UK, the US, Turkey and Malaysia -- have been racing against time and barely sleeping to make it to Gaza on time. Whether or not the donated vehicles, medical aid and food stuffs they carry will be allowed into besieged Gaza or not remains to be seen. Their previous endeavours have not been entirely successful in this regard because of Egypt's refusal to allow entire convoys across the borders, citing security and logistical objections. Convoy leaders stress their politico- humanitarian message. For British MP George Galloway, who came up with the idea last January, VP is more of a political statement, an attempt to break the siege imposed on Gaza since June 2007. The convoy's 200 plus vehicles with their aid are a symbolic gesture as Gaza requires at least 400 such trucks of aid daily just to survive. He was quoted on 21 December telling the Internet news site Bikyamasr: "these convoys are a statement that we won't rest until this illegal siege is broken." So far the convoy's journey has been without major incident. Ignored by the media in Western Europe, it started getting attention in Greece. In Turkey, where the convoy met up with its Turkish arm, the local IHH relief organisation, VP received a "royal" welcome from both officials and the public throughout their three-day stay. They were joined by more activists and donations (vehicles and aid). On 20 December VP crossed the border to Syria where the government hosted the activists in hotels and organised several publicity receptions for them. In Damascus, the convoy was joined by more volunteers from Italy and Malaysia and found its aid supplies and equipment supplemented with donations from Syria. Kevin Ovenden, convoy organiser, said, "the level of support has been tremendous, and I would like to thank Syria for welcoming us so warmly. Unlike in Britain and the United States, in Turkey and Syria the issue of Palestine, the people, the civil society and the government are as one." He added, "the international nature of this convoy demonstrates the depth of popular support for the Palestinian people around the world, and more governments need to recognise this reality, including those in Britain and the US." Meanwhile in Egypt, organisers of the Gaza Freedom March (GFM), a coalition of international organisations and activists from 42 countries, received a blow from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Monday after it issued a statement saying it will not "cooperate" with the march, citing security and logistical concerns. Ann Wright, a retired US diplomat and organiser of the march has been in Cairo for almost three weeks to carry out the required procedures with the authorities in Egypt to get approval for the 1,361 activists to cross the Rafah border on 29 December. The GFM, like VP, aims at breaking the siege. While both groups are different and are not working together, VP and GFM are likely to be held up at Rafah at the same time. In response to the Foreign Ministry's statement, GFM organisers issued a press release saying they are "determined to break the siege" anyway. "Although we consider this as a setback," said the statement, "it is something we've encountered -- and overcome -- before. No delegation, large or small, that has entered Gaza over the past 12 months has received a final OK before arriving at the Rafah border. Most delegations were discouraged from even heading out of Cairo to Rafah. Some had their buses stopped on the way. Some were told outright that they could not go into Gaza. But after public and political pressure, the Egyptian government changed its position and let them pass." The GFM will include amongst its participants Pulitzer Prize winning author Alice Walker, leading Syrian comedian Dureid Lahham, French Senator Alima Boumediene-Thiery, author and Filipino MP Walden Bello and former European Parliament vice-president Luisa Morgantini from Italy. The world, at least the world composed of people with hearts, holds its breath.
