And into Gaza!

Accounts of a brief journey undertaken by an AUCian

Picture taken from Sabkha's Facebook profile

A beautiful valley with well built houses aligned aside each other. Just take a few more steps ... a few more … and there’s nothing. On the other side is a wasteland, a washed away area due to “intentional” flooding and years of struggle.

For some, this is new. For others, it is familiar. Ashraf Sabkha, an accounting freshman at the American University in Cairo (AUC), tells us his very brief encounter with life on the other side, Palestine.

“It was an obligation for me to go there.”

Being a Libyan, he’s had to endure a long and painful six months of war back home. He was given the opportunity to study at AUC on a full-ride scholarship, a dream for many. 

Behind the gates of a university

A few weeks ago, Gaza was struck with an unfortunate set of events, bombings, no surprise. People lost their lives, their homes and their families. An initiative was taken to collect donations and contributions from the communities of AUC and the German University in Cairo (GUC). Everything was collected in a large truck that contained roughly 500 KG of medicine and thousands of pounds worth of blankets and foodstuff.

This truck was to be accompanied by over 100 students from different backgrounds and cultures. Students from Sweden, Algeria, America, Egypt and many others joined this trip despite the risks posed against their citizenship and future travels.

They left the dawn of November 22. It was a long trip, from New Cairo through the massive lands of the Sinai. 

A little fuss in the Peninsula

As the bus drove towards the Sinai crossing bridge, they were stopped unexpectedly by security. The students managed to make every possible phone call. To the presidential office, the ministry of defense, the ministry of interior and many others with the success of receiving permission, and yet, they were not allowed to pass.

What followed next were frustrated students who took the matter into their hands. They sat in the middle of the road blocking passing vehicles in an attempt to create a protest of their own. Unwanted words were accidently thrown back and forth when finally they were allowed to cross. What was interesting is that they were also provided with a security truck to follow them to the Palestinian borders.

Here are your passports!

After what seemed like days, they finally reached the Egyptian side of the city of Rafah. They lost a complete day due to the previous encounter in the Sinai crossing bridge, a heavy hailstorm on their way and the hours spent waiting for their passports.

Rafah is part of or connected to the Palestinian city in the Southern part of the Gaza strip. This part of the journey made the international students worried. What were they to do if their passports were to be stamped? It was a risk. A risk Sabkha was willing to take.

“I told my father and he said it will be okay because it was the previous regime and hopefully it will be okay.”

Their passports were brought back. And to those who thought they were getting a copy stamped, were only left disappointed. But again, it was a risk everyone was aware of.

And they finally stepped into Palestinian land.

A story of resistance after 65 years of occupation

“I swear, it was just indescribable.”

Sabkha was shocked. The moment they left the bus, they were welcomed with open arms. They were hugged, they were thanked. People were happy.

The men spent the night at the mosque whereas the women were taken to the school just nearby.  In their brief stay, they manage to visit the heart of the Gaza strip, Gaza, as well as take a trip around their area.

Sabkha met various people, all with a different story.

On his first day, they visited the funeral of two men who lost their lives in the bombing. They met the father of one of the deceased. The old man welcomed them and served them tea. He told them his story.

“It was horrible, I met his father, he was just … he wasn’t crying, you can see sadness in his eyes.”

On another day, Sabkha spoke to the security individual at the mosque who had a 9mm gun. It was mainly for security as it would otherwise be a “waste of bullets”. This old man misses his family very much. He wishes to see his daughter in Turkey one more time before he dies. He has a son that he always imagines in a coffin whenever he hears of the news of war.

In their last day, Sabkha and the others were taken to a demolished house, or rather the barren land. It belonged to a Palestinian man. This man had a big family. He had daughters, daughter-in-laws, sons, a loving wife and infant grandchildren! This man lost all of them in one night. He was only left with two sons, one that was abroad and the other who followed him to work on the day of the tragedy.

“Three young men just lost their family. Three generations of human beings died unlawfully under one airstrike.”

Finding warmth in a war zone

The morning they had to leave, Sabkha left the mosque and decided to visit the school nearby. He was astonished with what he saw.

“You can see how persistent they were. They were all living normally.”

The students at that school smiled, played and talked amongst themselves. It was the first day after the three-day war. As Sabkha put it, they had “normal facial expressions”.  But what added to the impact of his shock was finding out it was not any regular school but a school for orphans.

“It killed me from the inside.”

Words could not describe what Sabkha felt from there on. He only had some pictures and souvenirs to keep with him, to go back to that memory left in Gaza. He knew this was something he had to do, to visit the Palestinian lands.

Sabkha is no stranger to these conditions but what he found different was what he experienced in six months, they had to endure it for 65 years. He will take these lessons and experiences with him wherever he goes.

“It was inspiring but in a tragic way.”