Continued from: http://palywely.blogspot.com/2010/10/road-to-hope-convoy-libya-and-onwards.htmlBristol PSC member Sonette Aboud reports that all went pretty well with the Libyan leg of the journey.
They were accommodated in Gaddafi's son's luxury hotel near the border for one night. She cannot adequately express how generous and hospitable the Libyans have been.
They are presently at the Libyan-Egyptian border post.
She is not expecting any progress soon and they are camped in Bedouin tents in the car-park.
It seems it may take a couple of days to get clearance before they can continue.
It will then be about 1000 miles across Egypt to the Gaza border.
Some concerns are : Egyptian police preparing for "rioting".The peaceful nature of the convoy has been explained, but it appears they may be looking for an excuse to cause trouble.
Secondly there is a radical faction of some 30 young guys who are becoming disruptive and appear to have their own agenda. It's hoped that they will not precipitate a confrontation with the authorities.
This form of 'kettling' is probably designed to raise temperatures within the convoy and give the Egyptians an excuse to move in; the third road convoy was attacked in this way at al-Arish, but the first one was just attacked by mystery rock-throwers without warning or reason.
They were accommodated in Gaddafi's son's luxury hotel near the border for one night. She cannot adequately express how generous and hospitable the Libyans have been.
They are presently at the Libyan-Egyptian border post.
She is not expecting any progress soon and they are camped in Bedouin tents in the car-park.
It seems it may take a couple of days to get clearance before they can continue.
It will then be about 1000 miles across Egypt to the Gaza border.
Some concerns are : Egyptian police preparing for "rioting".The peaceful nature of the convoy has been explained, but it appears they may be looking for an excuse to cause trouble.
Secondly there is a radical faction of some 30 young guys who are becoming disruptive and appear to have their own agenda. It's hoped that they will not precipitate a confrontation with the authorities.
This form of 'kettling' is probably designed to raise temperatures within the convoy and give the Egyptians an excuse to move in; the third road convoy was attacked in this way at al-Arish, but the first one was just attacked by mystery rock-throwers without warning or reason.
Interlude: boycott video du jour: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WweHjdJj7iM
Arabnews24.net reports that the
Flashmob Says Israel Is Buying HP So We're Not
Update 2.30GMT, 28.10.2010: Again, word from Sonette, via her husband Emile :- They are still waiting at the Libyan-Egyptian border post.They have been accommodated in rooms ( on the Libyan side ) so are at least no longer camped in the car park !
Photo from http://l2g09.wordpress.com/
It may still be some time before they get clearance to proceed, but apparently this is just normal procedure - part of the bureaucracy.
A team of convoy members was playing a game of football against the Libyan border guards while I was speaking to her.
She and Dave ( the firefighter ) have "adopted" a local puppy while they are waiting.
Dave has been a stalwart and real asset, along with Judith.
A friendly Egyptian took them to see his hotel in his car, and they inadvertently crossed the border.
No problem - the Egyptians took it in good faith and merely asked them to return.
Food may become a bit of an issue.
They have only had a breadroll so far today, but again, this seems to be the norm.
Quite a mixed bag of characters in the convoy.
There is even a group of New Zealand Goths. Mainly young guys and easy going.
They found a camel skeleton in the desert and have mounted the skull on their truck !
The fundamentalists remain problematic.
They are largely opposed to women on the convoy and don't want any music played apart from that associated with their prayer sessions.
Sonette has become used to this and quite likes it.
The Goths prefer their own music, but play it discretely in their own vehicle. The main concern is that the radicals may antagonise the authorities and jeopardise the whole convoy.
Photo from http://l2g09.wordpress.com/
Update 29th October: Resident graffiti artist Shahid Iqbal decided to embellish all the trucks in the convoy with gold paint. This caused some resentment, and the Irish particularly were apparently not amused. There were even calls to send him home from some of the members; fortunately Sonette managed to prevent this by getting him to remove his handiwork.
Food remains a concern.
While there are some small stores nearby, nobody on the convoy has much Libyan currency left, as they all pooled their remaining resources to buy additional medical supplies for Gaza before leaving for the border.
They do have foreign money but this is difficult to exchange.
If nothing else, some lessons will have been learnt that may be useful to future convoys.
The convoy is still at the Libyan-Egyptian border and is likely to remain there for some time.
Apparently no advance arrangements have been made either for this crossing, or for entry into Gaza.
They are considering waiting until the 4th for the Libyan Al Quds 5 convoy, which does have clearance, to link up.
Convoy members have the option of returning this afternoon, and one or two have said they are considering this option, but the vast majority are planning to stay on.
A potential development of real concern is that Egypt may refuse passage to any future land convoys.
Photo by Tim King
Salem-News.com also reported, on the 29th October:
An update on the Road to Hope Convoy rolled onto the group's Facebook page at 10:00 p.m. BST Friday 29 Oct 2010.
Ellie Merton wrote, "The convoy is in the border area of Libya, near Tobruk, staying in temporary accommodation until our very kind hosts can get enough hotel rooms together in Tobruk..."
According to information released later in the day by Libyaalyom.com, the Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman, Hossam Zakithe, said authorities will facilitate the road convoy through the port of Al-Arish, through the air and sea, and confirmed its refusal to receive the convoy by road.
Arabnews24.net reports that the organisers of the convoy intend
to board vessels today in the
port of Benghazi, heading to
the Gaza Strip.
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