More than 40 Canadians who were taking part in a global march to Gaza have been detained in Egypt and blocked from reaching the border of the war-torn enclave.
OMNI News spoke to two Canadians minutes after they were detained by police and forced onto a bus in northeastern Egypt.
“Some people were stopped in their hotels, some people had been followed for a large portion of the morning. Some people were stopped while they were in Ubers, some people were stopped in cafes. It’s really been unpredictable as to what to expect as it’s happening everywhere,” said Afnan Kaid, a student at Saint Paul University in Ottawa, who was one of the thousands of activists from around the world who had flown to Egypt to take part in the march.
The movement is aimed at breaking the Israeli blockade that’s stopping food and supplies from flowing into Gaza. Kaid says she was one of those in an Uber that was pulled over by officers, who demanded to see her passport.
A second member of the Canadian delegation also claims his documents were seized even though he had a legal visa to visit Egypt.
“We violated zero Egyptian rules-zero Egyptian rules,” said Ammar Afaneh. “Even the police officers we talked to, we asked them, ‘did we do anything wrong?’ And they said no, we just have orders. Then they shoved us into this bus, without our passports, and now we’re going somewhere – God knows where – without our passports.”
Roughly 4,000 volunteers from more than 80 countries are taking part in the march and protest.
Both Canadians are calling on the federal government to take action after they were seized in Egypt. Global Affairs Canada has been advising Canadians to avoid all travel to northeast Egypt and to Gaza.
Ziad Arab-Oagley of OMNI News contributed to this report
