Canadians 'detained' ahead of planned global march to Egypt-Gaza border say they're willing to go back again

Canadians who made the journey to the Middle East to join a global protest in solidarity with the Palestinian people say they were "detained" and mishandled in Egypt, forcing them to come back.

But they say, the ordeal isn't deterring them.

"I'm seeing this for over a year, a live stream genocide happening," said Windsorite and activist Elizabeth Ha. "I have so many sleepless nights as a mother."

Ha who was among those from Windsor who flew to Cairo on Friday. 

As part of the March to Gaza demonstration, Ha had hoped to join potentially thousands of people in Cairo before marching three days to Rafah, the border point between Egypt and Gaza.

But when she and an accompanying Canadian were on the way to the campsite at the city of Ismailia, almost two hours outside of Cario, where they were to join other delegations, they were stopped at a checkpoint on the highway.

Ha said police officers took their passports — something other foreign nationals experienced, too.  

That included Windsor couple, Mireille Coral and her husband Paul Chislett. The three got acquainted there.

"The whole afternoon they were saying, 'if you want your passwords back, get on the bus.' If we get on the bus, we're just going to the airport and get deported," Chislett said.

In 37 C heat, the three Windsorites say hundreds of activists from around the world were "detained" for seven hours, with a police officer holding thier passports. 

"Then, they brought in these big plastic barricades, started putting them around us and moving in closer, almost squishing us," Ha said. "They literally were treating us like animals, putting us in this small space. Behind us, there were military vehicles and guys with big rifles."

Kicked, shoved, dragged and harassed

Ha said she saw two police officers "kicking" another person who had been detained, and tried unsuccessfully to intervene.

At this point, Ha went live on her Facebook.

"When they saw us with the camera videotaping, that's when they got more violent. They saw Paul videotaping. They knocked his phone out, grabbed him. They violently pulled him toward the bus," she said.

Chislett said he was carried and dragged across the parking lot forcefully taken into a bus.

"I've been in lots of protests but I've never been manhandled like that before," he said.

"One or two guys had my arms, somebody had one of my legs, one's dragging… there were other people getting pushed into the bus over me."

Chislett said he tried to resist but "got thumped in the side" and felt "there was a boot in" his rear end.

At this point, Ha and Coral got separated from Chislett.

Pushing us "like animals" into police vans

"The more phones that came out, the more angry they got," Ha said.

"They were pulling me in all directions, pulling my hair, pushing my head and grabbing my neck. It was unreal. I really thought at that moment, 'I'm gonna die,'" she said.

"It was like just pushing animals onto a bus. People were tripping onto the bus and they just kept using force ... they got on the bus and started shoving."

Ha says she and Coral were dropped off in "the middle of nowhere" and took a taxi back to Cairo. 

"I didn't know where Paul was. He wasn't answering his phone. At one point, a stranger answered the phone. I was concerned, what happened to Paul? Did they get him? Is he in a police station somewhere? Did they dump him in the desert?," she said.

"This was my great fear before we left, that we would get separated."

Luckily, Chislett says he was able to contact Coral via a stranger's email after his phone was lost, and the couple were reunited. 

By Monday night, Ha said they were notified that the situation was escalating, with reports of foreign nationals being arrested and deported at further check points. She flew back that night. 

'All detained Canadians have now been released,' Global Affairs Canada says

Ha said the Canadian embassy should have been more proactive, especially since at another check point closer to the border thousands of people were detained.

In a statement Thursday, Global Affairs Canada said it is aware Canadian citizens were detained in Egypt.

"Consular officers were in contact with local authorities to obtain more information and offered consular assistance," a spokesperson for the department said.

"All detained Canadians have now been released."

Due to the provisions of the Privacy Act, the department said no further information can be disclosed and reiterated that the decision to travel is the sole responsibility of the individual.    

'Absolutely would do it all over again'

The Windsorites said while they don't blame the Egyptian government, authorities could have acted without the force.

Chislett says he would do it again, even after sustaining minor scratches and pulled muscles. Coral said she wouldn't go back in present conditions —  but will continue to speak up in Canada.

"Children bombed, parents holding their dead children, ambulance drivers and first aid responders trying to do their jobs while avoiding sniper fire. I thought they had no voice. So, I am their voice," she said with tears.

"This was about Palestinians. They're human beings, and we want to remind the world of that humanity."

Ha says she, too, would do it again. 

"I probably would be a lot smarter about it ... I would organize a lot better," Ha said.

"I will always choose to fight for humanity. I believe that there is hope. I will fight for justice and I did it for the people in Palestine.

"I wanted them to know that our bodies were there. We physically showed up."