Gaza blog 2010 Day 2
After less than four hours sleep we set off from Cairo to make the long journey through the Sinai desert to get to the crossing point into Gaza.
We stop on the way and there are more introductions. - some national parliamentarians from Greece, from Poland and from Switzerland.
Majed Al-Zeer of the Palestinian Return Centre tells us he was born in Bethlehem but has not been back to Palestine since 1967.
Rafah is partly on the Egyptian side and partly in Gaza. People cannot go from one to the other without prior permission and this depend on the decision of the Egyptian government.
Even this VIP delegation has waited 2 months for permission to enter Gaza through Rafah.
Now we have arrived and we have been told in advance that crossing at Rafah should go smoothly and that there should be no long delays in getting into Gaza. It takes an hour and a half and then the delegation enters.
As we go in Omar Faris who has accompanied the Polish parliamentarians that he is a Palestinian who has never set foot in Palestine before. It is an emotional moment for him. He was born in a tent on the Golan Heights between Palestine and Jordan and lived in other countries since then.
The delegation is received by the deputy speaker in Gaza. At the press conference he says he hopes the visit by the European Parliament will be followed by a visit by the Arab League.
Gerard Kaufmann talks of the suffering of people in Gaza. He says. The oppressed people of Gaza must have their voice in the world.
'We shall report back to our parliament and our government on what we see and what we learn on this visit. We will be your voice but we will not replace your voice' he says.
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