UPDATE: She was denied entry for lack of security clearance. Thanks Egypt!
Journalist Laila El-Haddad, author of the blog Raising Yousuf and Noor, has been held for over 24 hours in Cairo while attempting to go home to her parents who have survived the bombing campaigns against Gaza only three months ago.
She’s been twittering and blogging on the event using Cairo airports wireless. As others have pointed out, this is an interesting break from the days when those in holding cells disappeared for all accounts and purposes, unable to reach the outside world to tell about their conditions.
This is despite a signed letter of consent I received personally from the Egyptian consul-general in Washington the day of my travel from the US.
To quote the Egyptian officials here in the airport “so sue him”.
I tried to plead that it was not my fault Egypt was in the way of my home- that if I could,I’d parachute in; that i simply wanted to go back home.
For now, we wait and sleep on the roach ridden floors of the transit hall as our own “Borders” film (a classic Syrian satire by iconic actor Dreid La7am about a man who is stuck between the borders of two fictional countries who speak the same language) unfolds.
In the film “Borders,” Dreid La7am is stuck in between the borders of the two countries “Eastistan” and “Westistan,” and since neither will let him enter the country to renew his passport, he finally builds a squatter house in the middle and grows a giant beard.
For more coverage, see Global Voices Online, and Huffington Post.
[Tarboush Tip: Jillian]
Related posts:
- (Some) Anger in Cairo
- Getting Blitzed in Cairo
- Donkey #2 Held At Israeli Roadblock
- They Teach Their Children Hate
- Philip Rizk Film Showing in NYC
It sucks to be where she is. Allah Yikoon Ma3aha. I have been held at that exact room! It's messy and crappy and full of Gazans. two to three armed Egyptian officers guard you and if you want to get food, an Egyptian runner goes to buy you food–off course you pay through the nose. The guards hold your passport till they deport you on a bus (they charge you an arm and a leg for the ride) and you do not see your passport until you get to Rafah. Off course the bus driver will hustle you for a tip. It's not cool, but frankly what can the good people of Egypt do? the regime sucks equally for both of us.
Posted by Hami | April 9, 2009, 2:59 pm