The Middle East Children's Alliance joins people all over the world who are watching the hopeful resurgence of a new democratic society in Egypt.  First in Tunisia then in Egypt, mothers, fathers, doctors, academics, students, taxi drivers, and ordinary people who have for many years been quietly suffering under the Mubarak dictatorship have taken to the streets in peaceful demonstrations.

The Middle East Children's Alliance joins people all over the world who are watching the hopeful resurgence of a new democratic society in Egypt.  First in Tunisia then in Egypt, mothers, fathers, doctors, academics, students, taxi drivers, and ordinary people who have for many years been quietly suffering under the Mubarak dictatorship have taken to the streets in peaceful demonstrations.  Their first demand is that Hosni Mubarak and his inner circle, including his recently named and US-backed Vice-President Omar Suleiman, the former Head of Intelligence, step down immediately–not in the eight months as Mubarak has promised.  

For those of us who have traveled to Egypt over the years, this uprising is not surprising.  One could not help but be struck by the unbelievable poverty of many of the citizens living under Mubarak's regime, where the average worker’s salary is about US $2 a day, making it almost impossible to feed one's family.  There was also the fear that everyone in Egypt felt about talking politics with anyone who visited because one of the huge number of undercover thugs paid by the government to spy on its citizens was always close and listening.  I will never forget a visit I made to Egypt many years ago when I went to the American University of Cairo (AUC)  while there was a student demonstration taking place.  The demonstrators were peaceful but shortly after the demonstration began, army tanks arrived and began shooting at the students.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 27th, 2011 Ziad Abbas, Palestinian Refugee from Dheisheh Refugee Camp in the West Bank, to Speak at South Puget Sound Community College Rachel Corrie Foundation Joins Effort to Bring Clean Water to Children in Gaza CONTACT: Ziad Abbas, Middle East Children’s Alliance, 510-717-6644, ziad@mecaforpeace.org Rochelle Gause, Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice, 360-754-3998, rochelle@rachelcorriefoundation.org On Monday, February 7th, Ziad Abbas, a Palestinian refugee and Associate Director of the Berkeley-based Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA), will be speaking at 7p.m. at South Puget Sound Community College, in Bldg 26, Room 101 in Olympia, WA. Ziad will give an informative and moving presentation entitled Children Under Occupation: Human Rights, International Solidarity and Water in Palestine about the water situation and MECA's Maia Project that provides clean water to children in Gaza. Ziad will delve into the reasons behind the water crisis and the personal impact of both the crisis and the Maia Project on people in Palestine. “The Maia Project is close to my heart because the struggle for clean drinking water was a constant in my childhood.” The Rachel Corrie Foundation has recently partnered with MECA on the Maia Project to raise the funds for a water purification and desalination unit for a Kindergarten in Rafah, Gaza. There is a growing water crisis in Palestine that affects agriculture, industry, and the health of virtually every adult and child. In the Gaza Strip, poor sanitation and over-extraction have polluted the limited water supply. Recent reports from the World Bank, Amnesty International, UNRWA, Gaza's Coastal Municipalities Water Utility & Science of the Total Environment conclude that: • The Gaza aquifer is already over-extracted; the UN estimates that Gaza will have no drinking water in the next 15 years. • Researchers have found that water from the aquifer is 90-95% polluted and unfit for human consumption. • A recent study found excessive nitrate levels in the drinking water of Gaza. 90% of their water samples contained nitrate concentrations that were between two and eight times higher than the limit recommended by the WHO. • There has been a marked increase in kidney diseases due to contaminated water. • The most common infectious diseases affecting Palestinian refugees in Gaza—who make up more than three-quarters of the population—are directly related to inadequate supplies of safe water and poor sanitation: water diarrhea, acute bloody diarrhea and viral hepatitis. The Maia Project began when the Student Parliament in Bureij Refugee Camp, Gaza was given the opportunity to choose one thing they most wanted for their school: They chose to have clean drinking water. MECA’s partner in Gaza heard about this vote and came to MECA's Director of Gaza Projects, Dr. Mona El-Farra, to see if we could respond to the children’s request. MECA provided the funds to build a water purification and desalination unit for the school in 2007. Ziad proudly explains since then “We have succeeded in building 27 water purification systems in primary schools and kindergartens giving 30,000 children access to clean water. As a result, thousands of mothers will feel less frightened that their children might be harmed by polluted water.” He adds that “The Maia Project seeks to expand to all the schools in Gaza so more children can realize their right to clean water.” LOCATION/DATE/TIME Children Under Occupation: Human Rights, International Solidarity and Water in Palestine: South Puget Sound Community College, Olympia, Bldg 26, Room 101 Monday February 7, 7p.m. For information please contact the Rachel Corrie Foundation at 360-754-3998. ###Egypt gets more US aid than any other country except Israel. The same US-made tear gas that is being used against demonstrators in Cairo has been used against Palestinians for decades.  Egypt has upheld the Israeli blockade of Gaza from the south—keeping goods and people from going in or out.  When Dr. Mona El-Farra and I were working to get aid from Egypt into Gaza during the terrible Israeli attacks in January 2009, it was the Mubarak regime that stood in our way.  The revolution we are seeing in Egypt could make daily life better for millions of Egyptians, and for the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza, too.

U.S. politicians have been talking for years about “bringing democracy to the Middle East,” but all our government has brought to the region is war, occupation, and support for Israeli apartheid and repressive regimes.  Today, we’re seeing millions of people fighting for democracy.  I hope they succeed in Egypt and we see the real freedom and democracy in the Middle East that its people deserve.

The Middle East Children's Alliance urges you to participate in solidarity actions in your community: Go to the Adalah website and make your voice heard to end US aid and sales of tear gas to the Tunisian, Egyptian and Israeli governments.  Continue to support the people of Gaza who are surrounded on all sides by US weapons and who struggle to survive under continued occupation and imprisonment.

Sincerely,

Barbara Lubin