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Day 1 – December 27, 2009 – Event 1:
Delegates gathered on the Kasr El Nil Bridge to hang letters and flowers on the bridge to commemorate the start of the Israeli assault on Gaza. After about an hour, Egyptian police came and herded us off the bridge, out of sight from the locals. We came back later and found all the letters, cards, and flowers ripped off the bridge.

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Day 1 – December 27, 2009 – Event 2:
Delegates planned to take Felucca boat rides down the Nile and float 1,417 candles down the river to commemorate the lives lost during the assault. When we arrived, we were told the Feluccas were closed for the night and we were cordoned off onto the sidewalk. So we decided to do what we do best…protest! We attracted a lot of attention from the locals as well as the media.

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Day 1 – December 27, 2009 – Event 3:
After the Egyptian government revoked our permits for our orientation meeting, which would have taken place at a church, we finally were able to settle on meeting in front of the Mogam'a building in Tahrir Square.

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Day 2 – December 28, 2009 – Event 1:
The buses were supposed to be at the garage this morning to pick us up and drive to El-Arish. The Egyptian government revoked those permits and ordered all private and chartered bus companies NOT to take foreigners in the direction of El-Arish. We all showed up to the bus stop with our bags in protest of this decision.

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Day 2 – December 28, 2009 – Event 2:
Following the example of the 300-strong French delegation (who camped out in front of their embassy after their buses never arrived), the rest of decided to stage a sit-in at the UN building. We were cordoned off and barricaded with riot police.

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Day 2 – December 28, 2009 – Event 3:
(Pics are from the entire week) The 300-strong French delegation camped out in front of their embassy after blocking the street in protest when their buses didn't show up to take them to El-Arish. They had brief discussion/negotiations with their ambassador which went nowhere. They were camped out under siege for 5 days. Police told them they could leave but had to leave their bags in the camp, so they had no choice but to stay. They became the GFM heroes of the week.

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Day 3 – December 30, 2009 – Event 1:
The 20+ individuals who started a hunger strike this morning held a small press conference on the steps of the Journalist Syndicate. Local and international media were present and a statement was given by Hedy Epstein, 85 year-old holocaust survivor.

*Photo Credit*: Lizzie Arizona (from Facebook)

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Day 3 – December 29, 2009 – Event 2:
Netanyahu was in Cairo for one day to meet with Mubarak and Egyptian activists held a protest at the Journalist Synidcate. They invited the GFMers to join them. 500 people chanting “Down down Hosni Mubarak, down down Netanyahu!”

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Day 4 – December 30, 2009 – Event 1:
The night before, CodePINK negotiated a deal with Mrs. Mubarak to allow 100 people on 2 buses enter into Gaza. We had less than an hour to submit the names; but after further discussion, we decided to reject the deal. We showed up with our bags at the bus stop to ask: “Where are the buses?” At the end, about 60 people got on the buses for various personal reasons.

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Day 5 – December 31, 2009 – Event 1:
Today, we should have been marching in Gaza, but instead decided to march in Cairo in Tahrir Square. We flash mobbed in the middle of the street in front of the museum and almost immediately met with plain-clothed secret police. Marchers were beaten, punched, dragged by their hair; chanting “The Whole World Is Watching.” Eventually, we were cordoned off on the sidewalk but attracted a great deal of attention. We occupied Tahrir Square (dubbed “Free Gaza Square”) for about 5 hours and intended to camp out overnight, but our number dropped when people left to use washrooms, buy food/water, and were told they were not allowed back in.

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Some amazing shots of the march in Cairo.

*Photo Credit*: Brandon DeLyzer (bdelyzer@uvic.ca)

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Day 5 – December 31, 2009 – Event 2:
Delegates gathered again at Mogam'a building in Tahrir Square to ring in the new year by holding a candle-light vigil in honor of all those who lost their lives during the war on Gaza. Alot of singing, dancing, and…candles :)

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Day 6 – January 1, 2010 – Event 1:
As a final act of protest before leaving Cairo, delegates had a flash mob rally in front of the Israeli embassy. Both sides of the street were occupied and protesters actually caught Egyptian authorities off-guard and had a strong-hold for about half an hour before the riot police and barricades were brought in.

*Photo Credit*: Bill Perry (from Facebook)

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Day 6 – January 1, 2010 – Event 2:
Delegates gathered one last time in front of Mogam'a building in Tahrir Square for our last and final meeting to close out the march and discuss achievements, successes, and future plans. Lots of speeches, singing, chanting, and disbelief that it's all coming to an end.

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Day 7 – January 2, 2010 – Event 1:
Canadian delegates planned a trip to the pyramids for sightseeing as well as a little bit of activism. We took a picture with banners on the bottom steps of the smallest pyramid (inspired by French who did the same with Palestinian flag). We were literally followed all the way back to the entrance by 15-20 “tourism police” who were so irked at our actions and wanted to detain us. They were convinced we were Egyptian journalists and attempted to impose their will upon us because of this. We laughed and proceeded to exit the compound…but not without attracting the attention of other tourists in the vicinity!

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