They say you shouldn't go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. Has anybody yet coined the phrase, you shouldn't blog with tears in your eyes? Even if so, the extrovert I am, I shall type.
Just over 2.5 years ago I wrote my first blog entry. I was excited by the doors opening and adventures starting in Africa. Two years ago, almost to the day, I started my life in Cairo, Egypt. Now, is the night before I leave this continent(- at least for now.)
Of course, its almost mid-night and the taxi arrives at 7am. My bags are not yet packed and I still have to finish a report...but my phone keeps ringing and my heart keeps tugging...
People have always asked me why I chose to do my Master's degree in Egypt. American's somehow respect my individuality and just give me a puzzled look and keep their mouths shut. Egyptians usally laugh at me. Africans (the non-Egyptian ones) smile. I came to Egypt to do my MA because I wanted to work more with Africans, in particular I wanted to learn the East African flavors.
Now, two years later my facebook is full of memories and my phone keeps ringing with my East African family saying their version of "see you laters." I successfully accomplished what I came here to do and now I am leaving yet another family.
This is the most eclectic family however comprised of people from Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Ivory Coast, Congo, Iraq (tho not African!) and me, from Amreeka (America in Arabic.) We have learned so much together through hard work, tears, challenges, a revolution, racism, discrimination, poverty... you name it, this group has overcome it. I could write a book on how much they inspire me...but now is not the time. I must yet again pack.
Life is what you make of it. Family- biological or no- are those with whom you share and love life. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to my Cairen family. Ma'salema.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
Moments of disbelief and celebration.
The night that Mubarak stepped down we were all jumping, singing, and just smiling in disbelief. As we were celebrating numerous times we were knocked off of our feet by people literally sweeping underneath us! People were already cleaning up! Word quickly spread for all hands on deck at 9am to start cleaning and repairing the Square.
The next morning I had work meetings and thus couldn’t be in the Square early but as soon as we were complete a group of co-workers walked to Tahrir. On the way a co-worker explained that she was in front of the National TV station the day prior and watched an incredible protest. The building was lined with tanks and military decorated the windows. Rolls of barb-wire fence divided the tanks and the people. She said at one point while the protestors were chanting, they knocked down the barbwire fence. They had a clear shot to the building (as long as they could get past the tanks). But instead of storming, the front line bent over, picked up the metal fence posts and re-instated the fence before resuming chanting! They didn’t want violence- they wanted rights! They knew that if they stormed it would be bloody and then the government would have his excuse to kill. The wouldn’t give that to him.
Through all their passion and demands- in the face of a major oppressor, the National T.V.- they remained rationale and peaceful. Amazing. Inspiring.
That afternoon walking through the Square emotions mixed between lack of breath in awe and an overflowing heart that translated to overflowing eyes.
A big truck towed a burnt police truck—the people cheered.
People- rich, poor, man, woman, young, old, with disabilities- came with broom and bucket to clean all of downtown. Where streets were normally cluttered with garbage and sprinkled with cigarette butts barely even dust remained.
A crane lifted a cement barrier from the middle of the road. The cement block was so representative of many life barriers and the struggles that hopefully, were removed the day prior.
People repainted the stripes on curbs, the arrows in the road and then human chains surrounded their work so as not to damage the fresh paint.
The Head of Defense drove through the middle of the Square and waved. It seemed he just came to appreciate the people’s efforts and to show himself. This is new to Egyptians.
Tent city folded up and blankets were donated.
Dirty city walls got a fresh coat of white paint and prideful, hopeful new murals emerged.
Cafes opened their doors and created ad hoc street cafés.
Civilians started directing traffic—and driver respected them! (normally there are traffic police but police were off the streets, and they’re not usually respected anyway.
People placed flower arrangements on tanks and took pictures with military personnel.
Egyptian music blarred.
People smiled from their hearts.
Fear had been replaced with pride and hope.
Whoever could have imagined that after people successfully decapitate a dictatorial regime, they clean and rebuild?!?! A popular sign that day was, “Yesterday I was a protestor, today I rebuild Egypt.”
As I said in one of my first posts, people were tired of garbage. Well, not only did they take care of the garbage but they restored downtown to better than its ever been before. One of my favorite signs from that day, “Dear World, Sorry for the disturbance. We rebuild Egypt. Love, Egyptians.” Cairo, is truly a beautiful city!
The next morning I had work meetings and thus couldn’t be in the Square early but as soon as we were complete a group of co-workers walked to Tahrir. On the way a co-worker explained that she was in front of the National TV station the day prior and watched an incredible protest. The building was lined with tanks and military decorated the windows. Rolls of barb-wire fence divided the tanks and the people. She said at one point while the protestors were chanting, they knocked down the barbwire fence. They had a clear shot to the building (as long as they could get past the tanks). But instead of storming, the front line bent over, picked up the metal fence posts and re-instated the fence before resuming chanting! They didn’t want violence- they wanted rights! They knew that if they stormed it would be bloody and then the government would have his excuse to kill. The wouldn’t give that to him.
Through all their passion and demands- in the face of a major oppressor, the National T.V.- they remained rationale and peaceful. Amazing. Inspiring.
That afternoon walking through the Square emotions mixed between lack of breath in awe and an overflowing heart that translated to overflowing eyes.
A big truck towed a burnt police truck—the people cheered.
People- rich, poor, man, woman, young, old, with disabilities- came with broom and bucket to clean all of downtown. Where streets were normally cluttered with garbage and sprinkled with cigarette butts barely even dust remained.
A crane lifted a cement barrier from the middle of the road. The cement block was so representative of many life barriers and the struggles that hopefully, were removed the day prior.
People repainted the stripes on curbs, the arrows in the road and then human chains surrounded their work so as not to damage the fresh paint.
The Head of Defense drove through the middle of the Square and waved. It seemed he just came to appreciate the people’s efforts and to show himself. This is new to Egyptians.
Tent city folded up and blankets were donated.
Dirty city walls got a fresh coat of white paint and prideful, hopeful new murals emerged.
Cafes opened their doors and created ad hoc street cafés.
Civilians started directing traffic—and driver respected them! (normally there are traffic police but police were off the streets, and they’re not usually respected anyway.
People placed flower arrangements on tanks and took pictures with military personnel.
Egyptian music blarred.
People smiled from their hearts.
Fear had been replaced with pride and hope.
Whoever could have imagined that after people successfully decapitate a dictatorial regime, they clean and rebuild?!?! A popular sign that day was, “Yesterday I was a protestor, today I rebuild Egypt.”
As I said in one of my first posts, people were tired of garbage. Well, not only did they take care of the garbage but they restored downtown to better than its ever been before. One of my favorite signs from that day, “Dear World, Sorry for the disturbance. We rebuild Egypt. Love, Egyptians.” Cairo, is truly a beautiful city!
Day of Deliverance!
If only we would have known—but really, NO one could have imagined this!
11 February, 2011
After prayer (12:30p.m.) we spent most of the day inside, not knowing what was going to happen, but expecting the worse. More people were protesting than ever before. They were in front of the National TV station, the Presidential Palace, Parliament and other major squares downtown. The T.V. stayed on most of the day but nothing really happened.
By early evening word had spread that Mubarak was in Sharm el Sheik, a resort town in the Sinai. Half believed it. Questions began to circulate, why would he leave Cairo? Should we expect another Tiananmen tonight? Did he just not care anymore? Was Suliman in power? A few hours later Suliman was to appear.
I sat next to my friend’s sister in the small sitting room, his parents were sleeping. CNN streamed in Suliman from National T.V. I don’t even remember the first words/sentence but within less than 30 seconds the CNN interpreter monotonous voice quickly gave way to incredibility, “He stepped down. Hee Stepped down. MUBARAK STEPPED DOOWN!” Not even the reporter could hide his disbelief (and I would like to think, his excitement!) I grabbed her arm and squealed with delight! I guess it was more than delight as I woke up his parents. I ran to change to street clothes again and call my protest buddy to come and get me— time to party!
Tahrir was incredible! Really, beyond description. Flags, music, people jumping, people hugging…actually, it was kind of like a mosh-pit too. If it wasn’t for the fact that I was surrounded by four guys I easily could have been trampled but it was a PARTY!
In 2002, when I was living in Brazil and Brazil won the World Cup it really felt like the country exploded with excitement. Nationalism was personified and I thought I would never feel such an incredible feeling again. Well, for a normally apathetic population to unite and mobilize to topple a three decade long, oppressive regime totally surpassed that feeling from Brazil! For the first time in a long time, people exercised their rights to Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Assembly and true democracy—and they did it all PEACEFULLY… it brings tears to my eyes.
My words cannot do justice to feelings of empowerment, pride, relief, belief in power of people that night…there are plenty of videos on Facebook, Youtube and other internet pages that attempt it…
It was a truly incredible feeling…one I’ll never forget and hopefully never again take for granted.
11 February, 2011
After prayer (12:30p.m.) we spent most of the day inside, not knowing what was going to happen, but expecting the worse. More people were protesting than ever before. They were in front of the National TV station, the Presidential Palace, Parliament and other major squares downtown. The T.V. stayed on most of the day but nothing really happened.
By early evening word had spread that Mubarak was in Sharm el Sheik, a resort town in the Sinai. Half believed it. Questions began to circulate, why would he leave Cairo? Should we expect another Tiananmen tonight? Did he just not care anymore? Was Suliman in power? A few hours later Suliman was to appear.
I sat next to my friend’s sister in the small sitting room, his parents were sleeping. CNN streamed in Suliman from National T.V. I don’t even remember the first words/sentence but within less than 30 seconds the CNN interpreter monotonous voice quickly gave way to incredibility, “He stepped down. Hee Stepped down. MUBARAK STEPPED DOOWN!” Not even the reporter could hide his disbelief (and I would like to think, his excitement!) I grabbed her arm and squealed with delight! I guess it was more than delight as I woke up his parents. I ran to change to street clothes again and call my protest buddy to come and get me— time to party!
Tahrir was incredible! Really, beyond description. Flags, music, people jumping, people hugging…actually, it was kind of like a mosh-pit too. If it wasn’t for the fact that I was surrounded by four guys I easily could have been trampled but it was a PARTY!
In 2002, when I was living in Brazil and Brazil won the World Cup it really felt like the country exploded with excitement. Nationalism was personified and I thought I would never feel such an incredible feeling again. Well, for a normally apathetic population to unite and mobilize to topple a three decade long, oppressive regime totally surpassed that feeling from Brazil! For the first time in a long time, people exercised their rights to Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Assembly and true democracy—and they did it all PEACEFULLY… it brings tears to my eyes.
My words cannot do justice to feelings of empowerment, pride, relief, belief in power of people that night…there are plenty of videos on Facebook, Youtube and other internet pages that attempt it…
It was a truly incredible feeling…one I’ll never forget and hopefully never again take for granted.
the night of significant disappointment or perhaps too high of expectations
Written at 2:30 am after returning from an extremely disappointing night- the night Mubarak did NOT step down.
The past few mornings I have visited Tahrir Sq, mostly to deliver food and basic supplies to medical and volunteer staff. It’s a truly amazing mini-city that they have built. A barber shop, medical clinics w/ free services/supplies, tent city w/ a day care tent, free cell phone charge center, stages w/ speakers and entertainment, media centers that display all the daily newspapers, etc. It’s one of the first times in the 1.5 years that I've been here that I haven't been harassed on the streets but instead actually interacted with Egyptian citizens from all walks of life.
Tonight around 7:15 pm I was returning to my house w/ my friend. Curfew was to start in 45 min and he got a call that Mubarak was in Dubai! We quickly turned on the radio, called our key contacts and consumed the rumor that Mubarak was to speak and perhaps even step down. I ran inside and changed my clothes (good running shoes and a scarf in case of tear gas) and dropped everything but my passport and camera. Within 3 min, two more friends had joined and we headed to Tahrir to participate in what we expected to be a historical night.
The energy was intense. As we passed through each security check pt (one must show id and get searched by civilians four times in order to enter the square) they asked us basic questions and rushed us through with an excited welcome. Flags were waving. Music from the 1973 victory over Israel played over loud speakers. Small groups of drummers danced and chanted.
A large "screen" suspended to a building projected Mubarak's speech a few hours later. The insufficiently large speakers turned up way too loud distorted the sound beyond comprehension (not that I can understand that much Arabic anyway!) The entire square w/ 1000s, perhaps millions of people, went silent. Egyptians are rarely silent and it was a tense and eery feeling. (The kind of feeling that makes you feel you have to pee, when you really don’t have to.) Cell phones and radios delivered the speech though his voice still projected over the square.
At certain points, small groups would start to chant in frustration. They were quickly squelched. And as he finalized his speech, curse words were quickly covered by angry chants. Silence errupted.
I was with five well connected guys who quickly got calls telling us to get out. A mob like feeling consumed the Square. As we quickly fled the square, I passed a women who just sat on the curb screaming. Her screaming frustrations quickly became mixed with body-shaking sobs. I cannot imagine her frustrations- her disappointment. We passed growing chants-- march to the Palace tonite! "Leave" mubarak. etc. Eventually we ran to beat the protesting crowds to the bottleneck exits and to get to the bridge before they over took our way home. We made it safely.
I haven't been personally involved since the beginning however anybody could have felt the 180 in emotions tonight. As we made our journey through the desert backroads one friend's lips were sealed with anger, another one basically said, "f*** it, he'll kill us all before he leaves." I sat and tried to analyze, of course we shouldn't believe he would leave so easily. Only 17 days to topple a military dictator after 30 years? We were foolish to believe it. The scariest thing to think about isthat Mubarak really has nothing to lose but his pride-- and that will not be taken easily. He's worth approximately $70Bil USD, cannot relate to Egyptian people and has basically done anything he (and the US) wanted for the past 30yrs...it's starting to look ugly. Who knows what will happen tomorrow. Most likely it will involve a lot of blood...
The past few mornings I have visited Tahrir Sq, mostly to deliver food and basic supplies to medical and volunteer staff. It’s a truly amazing mini-city that they have built. A barber shop, medical clinics w/ free services/supplies, tent city w/ a day care tent, free cell phone charge center, stages w/ speakers and entertainment, media centers that display all the daily newspapers, etc. It’s one of the first times in the 1.5 years that I've been here that I haven't been harassed on the streets but instead actually interacted with Egyptian citizens from all walks of life.
Tonight around 7:15 pm I was returning to my house w/ my friend. Curfew was to start in 45 min and he got a call that Mubarak was in Dubai! We quickly turned on the radio, called our key contacts and consumed the rumor that Mubarak was to speak and perhaps even step down. I ran inside and changed my clothes (good running shoes and a scarf in case of tear gas) and dropped everything but my passport and camera. Within 3 min, two more friends had joined and we headed to Tahrir to participate in what we expected to be a historical night.
The energy was intense. As we passed through each security check pt (one must show id and get searched by civilians four times in order to enter the square) they asked us basic questions and rushed us through with an excited welcome. Flags were waving. Music from the 1973 victory over Israel played over loud speakers. Small groups of drummers danced and chanted.
A large "screen" suspended to a building projected Mubarak's speech a few hours later. The insufficiently large speakers turned up way too loud distorted the sound beyond comprehension (not that I can understand that much Arabic anyway!) The entire square w/ 1000s, perhaps millions of people, went silent. Egyptians are rarely silent and it was a tense and eery feeling. (The kind of feeling that makes you feel you have to pee, when you really don’t have to.) Cell phones and radios delivered the speech though his voice still projected over the square.
At certain points, small groups would start to chant in frustration. They were quickly squelched. And as he finalized his speech, curse words were quickly covered by angry chants. Silence errupted.
I was with five well connected guys who quickly got calls telling us to get out. A mob like feeling consumed the Square. As we quickly fled the square, I passed a women who just sat on the curb screaming. Her screaming frustrations quickly became mixed with body-shaking sobs. I cannot imagine her frustrations- her disappointment. We passed growing chants-- march to the Palace tonite! "Leave" mubarak. etc. Eventually we ran to beat the protesting crowds to the bottleneck exits and to get to the bridge before they over took our way home. We made it safely.
I haven't been personally involved since the beginning however anybody could have felt the 180 in emotions tonight. As we made our journey through the desert backroads one friend's lips were sealed with anger, another one basically said, "f*** it, he'll kill us all before he leaves." I sat and tried to analyze, of course we shouldn't believe he would leave so easily. Only 17 days to topple a military dictator after 30 years? We were foolish to believe it. The scariest thing to think about isthat Mubarak really has nothing to lose but his pride-- and that will not be taken easily. He's worth approximately $70Bil USD, cannot relate to Egyptian people and has basically done anything he (and the US) wanted for the past 30yrs...it's starting to look ugly. Who knows what will happen tomorrow. Most likely it will involve a lot of blood...
Monday, February 14, 2011
Thank you for your patience. The mood in the country has signifcantly shifted and thus the on-slaught of posts.
more to come about the night of significant disappointment, the day of deliverance and rebuilding efforts...but for now, the police are protesting down my block and I have to go watch!
yesterday they, those who previously teargased protesters, were being tear gassed by the military. lets see what happends today! ohhhhhh, the irony!
more to come about the night of significant disappointment, the day of deliverance and rebuilding efforts...but for now, the police are protesting down my block and I have to go watch!
yesterday they, those who previously teargased protesters, were being tear gassed by the military. lets see what happends today! ohhhhhh, the irony!
Side-line struggles with blue eyes
One of the biggest struggles has actually been “cabin-fever” and lack of freedom of movement. I am a very independent person (to say the least) and I have learnt that much of my inner contentedness (if that is a word) hinges on my freedom of movement. When my movement is restricted by curfews, protective hosts, and the “need” to have an Egyptian male companion I can become quite edgy.
The first few days, before moving to my friend’s house, I moved around cautiously but easy enough. Often times I could easily make my blue eyes bigger with that “I love you, Daddy” look and I could get into places without even showing my I.D.
As the days passed and protestors were not backing down the State started accusing foreigners of instigating the protests. At first we were all accused of being Israeli spies. (The “previous” !! Egyptian government planted a lot of fear tactics to instill a hatred of Israelis by Egyptians). Its rather ridiculous if you really think about it- this was a peaceful demonstration by Egyptians against the government, why would they care about Israelis at this time??!
Then all journalists were under attack.
There were numerous incidences of foreigners being very randomly picked up on the street by police and military and being detained at State security/intelligence. My current roommate was also arrested and detained over night—very fortunately no torture tactics were used just intimidation. Nonetheless, the mood significantly changed towards foreigners for a few days which basically resulted in house arrest.
One of the funniest times was when the government said that foreigners were being given 100USD and being supported by KFC (yes, Kentucky Fried Chicken) do perpetuate the protests. (Yes, this was after it was discovered that Mubarak paid the camel and horse drivers 100LE to raid the protests.)The protestors simply came to the square with KFC bags held high! Eat that Mubarak!
I dyed my hair black before returning to Cairo; little did I know it would help me blend in so much better! Thus when I put on my big sunglasses, a current trend in Egypt and didn’t say anything, I could move around in the day but only with an Egyptian and usually male companion. I started to carry my passport everywhere. Once curfew came, usually 4pm, I was in the house. Even though the neighborhood was quite and safe and I was always with Egyptian men, it wasn’t worth the risk- for me or them.
I think I’ve watched more T.V. during those two weeks than in the past 10yrs of my life!
Eventually, the State realized that people weren’t buying the “blame it on the foreigners” tactic and many were actually offended. Apparently, the government did not believe that Egyptians could organize and execute these protests. Then when Suliman said that Egypt was not ready for democracy, that was the last straw and protestors and Egyptians really started looking out for foreigners.
The first few days, before moving to my friend’s house, I moved around cautiously but easy enough. Often times I could easily make my blue eyes bigger with that “I love you, Daddy” look and I could get into places without even showing my I.D.
As the days passed and protestors were not backing down the State started accusing foreigners of instigating the protests. At first we were all accused of being Israeli spies. (The “previous” !! Egyptian government planted a lot of fear tactics to instill a hatred of Israelis by Egyptians). Its rather ridiculous if you really think about it- this was a peaceful demonstration by Egyptians against the government, why would they care about Israelis at this time??!
Then all journalists were under attack.
There were numerous incidences of foreigners being very randomly picked up on the street by police and military and being detained at State security/intelligence. My current roommate was also arrested and detained over night—very fortunately no torture tactics were used just intimidation. Nonetheless, the mood significantly changed towards foreigners for a few days which basically resulted in house arrest.
One of the funniest times was when the government said that foreigners were being given 100USD and being supported by KFC (yes, Kentucky Fried Chicken) do perpetuate the protests. (Yes, this was after it was discovered that Mubarak paid the camel and horse drivers 100LE to raid the protests.)The protestors simply came to the square with KFC bags held high! Eat that Mubarak!
I dyed my hair black before returning to Cairo; little did I know it would help me blend in so much better! Thus when I put on my big sunglasses, a current trend in Egypt and didn’t say anything, I could move around in the day but only with an Egyptian and usually male companion. I started to carry my passport everywhere. Once curfew came, usually 4pm, I was in the house. Even though the neighborhood was quite and safe and I was always with Egyptian men, it wasn’t worth the risk- for me or them.
I think I’ve watched more T.V. during those two weeks than in the past 10yrs of my life!
Eventually, the State realized that people weren’t buying the “blame it on the foreigners” tactic and many were actually offended. Apparently, the government did not believe that Egyptians could organize and execute these protests. Then when Suliman said that Egypt was not ready for democracy, that was the last straw and protestors and Egyptians really started looking out for foreigners.
Many questions…
It seems like its been two weeks of “tonight’s events will be telling…let’s wait and see” or “lets wait another 24 hours and make a decision” or “I’ll call you in the morning if we can actually meet today…” Unstable or flexible, depends on your attitude.
To evacuate or not to evacuate, that was the first major question. The majority of my classmates evacuated. Of the 340 study abroad AUC students, 320 evacuated. UNHCR evacuated. Many foreign staff of non-governmental organizations evacuated. Many other countries evacuated their citizens (even for free and all the way back to the homeland—unlike the US!).
The first weekend, I had to entertain the question. Emotions changed by the hour but kept returning to waiting it out. Most of the phone calls circled around discussions of who was leaving and who would wait it out and where. I am in a unique situation in that I am in a safe neighborhood, with an Egyptian family and a number of close, male, Egyptian friends. Similarly, I am no longer here just for school but in fact have made a regular life. My work, my friends, my school, my home is currently in Egypt. Fleeing just felt wrong. Also, it definitely crossed my mind that all my refugee friends and many of my Egyptian friends cannot leave- if they can do it, so can I. It may sound a bit irrational but it was a real feeling. Another major factor is that my career path is focusing more towards disaster relief and humanitarian aid—this is the perfect training! If I can’t handle this then I need to reconsider my career goals. And of course, the patience and understanding of my Mom played a significant role in our decision. I do not wish to put my family under unmanageable distress and from our first phone call she expressed her understanding and respect of why I am here and my goals. I never desired to leave, she supported my decision making process and fortunately I’ve played my cards right and now I’m here until the end!
To evacuate or not to evacuate, that was the first major question. The majority of my classmates evacuated. Of the 340 study abroad AUC students, 320 evacuated. UNHCR evacuated. Many foreign staff of non-governmental organizations evacuated. Many other countries evacuated their citizens (even for free and all the way back to the homeland—unlike the US!).
The first weekend, I had to entertain the question. Emotions changed by the hour but kept returning to waiting it out. Most of the phone calls circled around discussions of who was leaving and who would wait it out and where. I am in a unique situation in that I am in a safe neighborhood, with an Egyptian family and a number of close, male, Egyptian friends. Similarly, I am no longer here just for school but in fact have made a regular life. My work, my friends, my school, my home is currently in Egypt. Fleeing just felt wrong. Also, it definitely crossed my mind that all my refugee friends and many of my Egyptian friends cannot leave- if they can do it, so can I. It may sound a bit irrational but it was a real feeling. Another major factor is that my career path is focusing more towards disaster relief and humanitarian aid—this is the perfect training! If I can’t handle this then I need to reconsider my career goals. And of course, the patience and understanding of my Mom played a significant role in our decision. I do not wish to put my family under unmanageable distress and from our first phone call she expressed her understanding and respect of why I am here and my goals. I never desired to leave, she supported my decision making process and fortunately I’ve played my cards right and now I’m here until the end!
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