As we left Cairo yesterday as the noon prayers were ending, we could see the police lines and the first clouds of tear gas near Tahrir Square. We saw some people in the streets, but they were still peaceful having just left the mosques. Many, many more streets were still empty and calm just like they had been as Katie and I had walked around earlier in the morning. A few hours later after we had landed in Jordan, it was hard to imagine the voilence that has now erupted in Egypt.
We had dinner with a few of my Egyptian friends the night before we left. They were excited about what was happening and hoping for change. One said she was so proud to see Egyptians caring this passionately about something besides soccer. They are particualry moved by the diversity of people from all levels of society that have been coming to the protests. They want real change- an end to corruptuion, legitimate elections, fair economic policies for all. This is not a violent movement and it is not a religiously fueld one.
There is no strong leader of the protesters, but their main objective is to get Mubarak out. There is currently one party in Egypt, so a clear successor hasn't emerged. Elbaradei (a Nobel prize winner who worked for the UN Nuclear regulatory committee) is a potential, but he is not a politician and has spent much of his life outside Egypt.
Anyways, I jsut wanted to recount a bit of what I saw and heard as we left Egypt. We've been following the news as much as possible and heard that no flights came from Egypt today. We were lucky to be on one of the last flights out, but I am constantly thinking of my many Egyptian friends and hoping for their safety. The internet and cell phones are shut down in Egypt, but I hope to hear from them soon. Please send your thoughts to Egypt and remember that it is people like you and your family who are in the streets asking for thier rights.
We had dinner with a few of my Egyptian friends the night before we left. They were excited about what was happening and hoping for change. One said she was so proud to see Egyptians caring this passionately about something besides soccer. They are particualry moved by the diversity of people from all levels of society that have been coming to the protests. They want real change- an end to corruptuion, legitimate elections, fair economic policies for all. This is not a violent movement and it is not a religiously fueld one.
There is no strong leader of the protesters, but their main objective is to get Mubarak out. There is currently one party in Egypt, so a clear successor hasn't emerged. Elbaradei (a Nobel prize winner who worked for the UN Nuclear regulatory committee) is a potential, but he is not a politician and has spent much of his life outside Egypt.
Anyways, I jsut wanted to recount a bit of what I saw and heard as we left Egypt. We've been following the news as much as possible and heard that no flights came from Egypt today. We were lucky to be on one of the last flights out, but I am constantly thinking of my many Egyptian friends and hoping for their safety. The internet and cell phones are shut down in Egypt, but I hope to hear from them soon. Please send your thoughts to Egypt and remember that it is people like you and your family who are in the streets asking for thier rights.
1 comment:
Beautifully said Mae. I can't wait to visit Egypt and I hope it's an open, democratic society when I go.
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