CODEPINK

Report Back From Gaza January 14, 2010 CODEPINK LA Los Angeles, CA

	Most of the 1,362 people from the Gaza Freedom March have returned home, full of stories about a wild week in Cairo, in the Egyptian border towns of Al Arish and Rafah, in Gaza for those who got inside, and in the West Bank and Erez crossing for those who went to Israel. Six of those marchers returned to the Los Angeles area, including CODEPINK co-founder, Jodie Evans, and associate director of Office of the Americas, Shae Popovich to share their experiences at the Report Back From Gaza event held Thursday, January 14 at Venice United Methodist Church. Four women shared the stage: Dara Wells-Hajjar, Laura Durkay, Shae Popovich, and Jodie Evans, to recount their experiences of being in a police state, the brutality they faced, resisting force, secretly planning large scale demonstrations, and the amazing support they received from Egyptian locals. Two of the presenters, Kelly Van Pelt and Morgan Elzey, were part of the very small group of people, numbering about 90, who were able to cross the border into Gaza. As talented photographers, they relayed their story and experience through photographs. They witnessed destruction and poverty like nothing they had ever seen before. But they also witnessed and spoke with some of the most loving and positive people while in Palestine. Their stories are just a few of thousands around the world. Please visit http://www.GazaFreedomMarch.org for more report backs and photos.