March of a Million February 1, 2011

Today over a million, upwards of two million, and according some people 2 and a half million people came to Tahrir Square and the streets leading inwards. The square just couldn’t handle the swell of people. The crowds were dense, and to enter individuals went through several checkpoints set up by the protesters. As the crowed got bigger, more checkpoints were set up farther back to maintain safety. The Egyptian people have shown a collective will, which is absolutely incredible, to maintain peace, order, cleanliness, and sustainability. While there was a military presents, they hardly did much of the hands-on crowd control. At one point today they put on new uniforms with an announcement, which I couldn’t hear over the crowd. One man told us that they announce “these are the new uniforms, any one with the old ones are thieves.

The energy is indescribable. It is clear that people have been camping out on the square for a while. In the grass people are sitting on newspapers and under makeshift tents. In the past days there has been more graffiti on the street and more signs hung up.

At one point today there was a false call that spread instantly that Mubarak left and people erupted in joy. This was quickly quieted down, but for that brief moment there was absolute euphoria. People were hugging, shaking hands, shouting, and clapping. These turned back into invigorated chants against Mubarak when they found out that the news wasn’t true.

It is clear that the crowd overall wants America to know they want the U.S. to stop “keeping their hand on the middle of the stick.” One person I talked to said, “Hillary Clinton said that the government was powerful, but the people are more powerful.”

Another person came up to me as I was leaving and said, “Please, tell you government to support the protesters, it is the only way to prevent fundamentalism against America.”

Other things I have heard were:

“Tell Obama to tell Mubarak to leave”

“We don’t want tyranny”

“We want Mubarak and the cabinet to leave, and a new Parliament”

One Muslim woman came up to us and started yelling passionately at us that “We are not going to be an Islamic state; we will be a normal state.”

Another man talked about how while the church said it would not take part of the protests there are many Christians here. As I wrote about Friday, a young man who was injured wanted to make sure it was known that he was Christian and he is here.

One person I talked to was concerned about what the next step is. He talked about how there is no decision on who will step into leader ship positions at this point. This is certainly true. Yesterday, as a left the square there were chants of “Barad’i! Barad’i!” but I am not sure if his staying in the background is going to bolster his leadership credentials, even if he is the main person al-Jazeera is talking about. Today I received a pamphlet that’s first line read, “Egypt announces it demands a man- Egyptian Nationality-Muslim-pious- and of a good relation with his lord-Fortuious (Standing with Allah)-owner of decisions-No fear except for Allah-loves justice-he has the ability to carry out the program subsequent electoral program for the president of the republic.” While this might be the opinion of some, it is not the expressed opinions of the majority of the people in the square and I highly doubt it is the true opinion of the majority.

We met a man named Ahmed, who lived in California for ten years and returned 3 months ago. He described the corruption that he saw as the reason why the economy is so bad. He showed us a picture of the customs office that he had to go to pick up things he brought back to Egypt from the U.S. I forget the figures he gave about his backsheesh (tips; sometimes a euphemism for bribes) he had to pay the goods he just paid customs for. The place was a mess, and the roads and building were dilapidated. He said he couldn’t believe he was paying so much money for his goods and they didn’t have enough money to maintain the building.

While, every day I have gone to the square since Friday, people have made the point to tell me that the Egyptian people love Americans, but not their government. Today, I had many more people come up to me telling me this, and asking why Obama still hasn’t used clear rhetoric against Mubarak. I have also had people ask me to say on camera my opinion about the rallies and if I feel safe, to which I always give an emphatic “Yes!” This is exactly where I want to be at the moment, not in Cairo International Airport. Even coming home after dark tonight, Beth and I were escorted to our house from the first check point we went through from Giza St. I feel in good hands when in my neighborhood at night and at the rallies during the days

Our escort Mustafa told us that the other night they had caught 3 men trying to rob from the neighborhood. He said they called the army to have the men taken away once they were apprehended. These men who don’t go to the marches and protect their communities they live in are just as important to this revolution as those at the rallies.

While there is some price gauging in my neighborhood, on the square food is being handed out for free or at a discounted price. I have heard rumors that the exchange rate is 12 L.E. per USD (This is no longer the case as of late February 2, once the internet was turned back on.

Pictures

January 31, 2011

The nights here have become a time of anxiety, listening to Al-Jazeera. Reports that police are returning filled me with fear that there would be violence today. This was not the case. Some police have returned, but it is the common people directing traffic. No Central Security personnel have returned as Al-Jazeera is reporting. I doubt that those men could even leave their trucks before being surrounded at this point. As I entered Tahrir Square I witnessed peaceful celebration and focused demonstration in the street. There are more families out today than yesterday and more people in general. There were also more women leading rallies. The sheikhs from Al-Azhar were also there again today. Egyptians from every sector of society are represented. While the TV reports are nerve racking, when I go out during the day I see nothing but peaceful protests; jubilation of collective will that has been demonstrated.

The people here have been maintaining order. Average people are sweeping the streets. I witnessed one man picked up a juice box he saw thrown in the street. The burnt out shells of police pickup trucks have been put to good use as dumpsters for the trash swept from the street. Shop owners have been rationing bread to make sure it gets distributed. It is a stark difference to the reports of looting that the state owned media loops. Case in point, today an individual fired blanks in the air near Tahrir Square, with the army fired warning shots in the air, but other protesters stopped him before problems could escalate. Afterwards the crowd started shouting, “The army and the people are one hand.”

The people however are still unsure of what use the military might be ordered to do. A man on the street was telling reporters that the high officers may be with the government, but “the soldiers are the people and the people are the soldiers.” A message meaning that the people are suspicious of the high command and the possibility of a power grab but the ordinary soldiers on the street are seen as brothers. People, again, today would throw their hands in the air and yell “Leave!” every time the helicopter flew overhead, but there were no jets today.

There have also been signs out today against “U.S. Hypocrisy” but not threats against the the American people, as western media seems to have been saying, from the very limited access I have had. Egyptians want this to be about Egypt and its future, not outside states. This was demonstrated when a few people attempted to hold an Israeli flag with slogans written on it. Fellow protesters tried to take it away the crowed in front of them gave hand signs signaling not to hold it up. The unifying message is about one cause and that is “the fall of Mubarak.” When I asked people what they want after Mubarak they talked about free elections, democracy, higher wages, and cheaper food. Here is what I have heard from people I talked to. I have attempted to keep the statement as close to what they said when looking over my short hand:

“We want Mubarak to leave. Obama and Hilary Clinton should not pick a side but remain neutral and stay out of our affairs. I love the American people but not the American government” (Egyptian youth with relatives in the US).

“I want freedom, justice, and cooperation of the people. 80% of people are under the poverty line. I am an Engineer but make 1500 L.E. a month. $200 a month! I have been an Engineer for 20 years. I want free elections in the Magles Al-Sha’ab (Peoples’ Assembly) and a change of the Constitution. Change to article 76 to permit free elections” (Engineer in Tahrir Square).

“We suffer from rising prices, no democracy, and many thieves in Authority. Any one in the government media says things are good, but the poor suffer from rising prices. We want protection of main foods like rice, loafs [of bread], sugar, oil, and salt…[some joking from nearby people about other foods like macorona]… Koshery costs 5 L.E. How Come? It costs 30 L.E. to eat with my family. Salaries are low. There is no chance for employment. Businessmen take all the resources, not the men in the factories. We are against this corruption.” This man had his one hand in a cast and told me about the skirmish where it was hurt. “We lost four youths, victims, on Rehan street, near the Ministry of the Interior. They are dead! We lost people and resources in the markets and the malls. [If] I saw that my country doesn’t want me I would leave. We don’t want a loss of resources like buildings [he points to the burnt out NDP Headquarters]. Why did security forces withdraw? Prisoners have escaped, leaving old people afraid at night.

The former U.S. Ambassador was asked why the bombs [tear gas] which were made in the U.S. were sold to Mubarak and he said we sell them to anyone. Why? Why do they sell these to any government who wants to use them on the people?”

Why did they cut the communications? They thought the people wouldn’t be able to communicate, they could; to other cities: Suez, Alexandria.

The security used the big weapons and dealt with us with big force. The revolution must be continued! I don’t want cantaloupe, I just want main foods.” (English Teacher)

While getting the previous statement a man chimed in saying, “Children in schools have a low level of education,” a grievan.ce I have heard voiced in the media the past couple of days

There were also pamphlets handed out today calling for a general strike, as people were shouting about having a million people in the square tomorrow. The pamphlets said “Invitation for a general strike in all corners of Egypt.” It went on to call for “a guarantee of a free life, a stop to privatization and wages tied to prices, and rights of independent syndicated organizations.” As I left ,the crowd was getting dense. There were people bringing in boxes of food, sacks of fruit, and piles of blankets. The military searched the bundles, but not confiscating anything. They are in no way enforcing a curfew.

As I was sitting in a café near Tahrir Square, with a man and two youths I met on the square as the announcement of the new cabinet was broadcasted. Everyone just talked about how it is the same people as before, but just reshuffled. I’m sure it won’t prevent a million people from showing tomorrow.

Pictures

January 30, 2011

Today people were out and it was peaceful in Dokki. There were reports of looting, but for the most part neighbors have protected neighbors setting up barricades and neighborhood watches, armed with clubs and knives. Our bowab (doorman) was out all night holding a big scrap of mettle to use as a staff. This same type of collective responsibility and proactive measures can also be seen in the streets where the rally points are. This is a distinct break from the government propaganda papers here saying “There are protests and chaos in all corners of the state, steeling, and looting continue in the absence of security [forces].” (Al-Ahram) People were stocking up on food and phone cards in my neighborhood. The Metro Supermarket in Dokki was already out of fresh vegetables and bread by noon. Rations were put on products by the supermarket so there was a chance for more people to get food and supplies. Tonight there have been reports of queues of people waiting to buy bread and petrol.

Regular people were directing traffic in Gala’a square in Dokki, as I walked to the bridge to go Downtown. The army is now set up on the outskirts of the square, allowing people to enter in an orderly manner, instead of being in the square with protesters standing on top of the tanks, as yesterday. A helicopter was in the air circling the square, but the military was not stopping anyone from protesting.

On the streets there were families, and in rallies there was high morale. Children were often marching with their family in the front groups marching into the square. People from all walks of life could be seen in the streets. Tahrir square has become more diverse in the people taking place. While Friday night it was very youthful at the frontline against police, today there were many older people. More Islamists were out in the street (not trying to cause problems or make a power grab), as well as major opposition figures. Ibrahim Eissa, the editor of El-Dostor was leading chants and reports were coming in tonight showing that Mohammed El-Baradai has entered the square to speak. Every cluster of people standing and marching around the square was shouting slogans such as:

“Go away! Go away! Go away!”

And

“He will go, we won’t go”

And

“The People want the fall of the regime”

There were also placards denouncing the reshuffle of power as no real change and signs denouncing America’s money that has aided the police and Egyptian policy in general. Here are a few of the many signs around the square:

“Leave Mubarak”

“[the people want] the thugs fall”

“Wir Wollen Kein Mofizo”

“The people want a civilian government”

A group of Muslim Mu’alam spoke saying, “Muslims, Christians, and Jews are all one people. The Egyptian people are all one people in cooperation against this government… [the speaker was drowned out by crowd and my translator Amr couldn’t hear any more].

Amr also told me that the “tear gas was expired and lasted in the air longer than normal, two days rather than one hour. ” I have heard no reports on this. He also said, “I like Hillary Clinton.” He talked about how her message was correct. This is obviously her latest message he is referring to. This message has changed many times in the last week, from, “The government is stable,” to, “we have told him [that his style of rule is not conducive to democracy or prosperity] for 30 years. What a farcical memory of history. Those tear gas canisters may have been expired, but they were not 30 years old.

I also had many people tell me similar messages to another thing Amr said: “Al-Jazeera and the American media are lying. They aren’t in the streets. They are focusing on the other buildings, not where the people are.”

People in the square were looking out for each other. Individuals were handing out food. I witnessed a man with a trash bag of water bottles and another bag full of kosheri, which he was handing out to people. There was also a duk-duk full of bags of nuts being handed out. People seem fully prepared to stay and defy curfew for another night. Many people were camping in tents and hanging out in the muddy grass of the square.

One man came up to me and said, “We want the military to come in temporarily and set up a democratic process.” This is definitely not the opinion of everyone. Many are skeptical of the final outcome of the military, which is undeniably popular and by many seen as heroes for coming into the streets and allowing the protests, as the police fled. Some people wrote “No Mubarak” on the ground and people stood over it and waved as the helicopter flew over. As this happened, F-16 fighter jets started buzzing the square, one time so low you could see the red of the flames coming out as it flew by. Every fly over made the chants more sever and focused. During these flyovers, one man told me “Tell Obama to stop this. These are all made in the USA. I will say this in every language I know: go away!” (This very passionate man continued saying “go away” in many languages.) A few men came up and told me to make sure this was “published on-line for America to hear.” They are deeply disturbed by Obama being one step ahead but two (or more) steps behind in every speech

There is no telling at the moment what the military’s role is going to be in the end, but at the moment they have certainly remained peaceful and have refused to fire on protesters. I hope continue on this path. Sitting at home now, I am worried by the reports coming in that that the police will be back tomorrow. Hopefully the military doesn’t leave. They have been much better than the police. I fear they will pull out and there will be further violence. Tonight there are reports of more leaflets being handed out asking people not to squander the deaths of those who have died, and to not give a pretext for a crackdown. It listed 14 legitimate parties. The NDP is certainly not included.

Pictures

January 28 & 29 2011

Friday morning was tense. The Internet and phone services were completely off. The police were blocking many streets to prevent a mass transportation of people. Beth and I walked across Kobri el-Gama’a, which was open to only pedestrian traffic. There was a lot of security personnel and their vehicles on the way to Qasr el-Aini st. On Qasr el-Aini there was a group of protesters rallying and skirmishing with the Security Personnel. The protesters were pushed down an intersecting street with tear gas and awater cannon, but regrouped and continued their rally. Egyptians in apartments above the street dropped down supplies of water, Cola, and vinegar to combat the effects of the tear gas. After a bit, tear gas started being shot with greater intensity and the group started running, needing to run through the salvo of canisters landing in front of the retreat. As people reached Saad Zughlul Square, those who were hit with tear gas had Pepsi thrown on their face, and vinegar put on their hand to breath in, then they would continue running with the group. Later I would be told by man I met named Mohammed that, “our friends in Tunisia told us to use Pepsi to combat tear gas.” Each canister of gas just seemed to make the Egyptians more determined to regroup and fight on.

We then headed to Falaki Sq. to the protests going on there. There Beth and I saw women calling people back to the police line after each temporary retreat from the gas and rubber bullets. On a few occasions there were retreats into the meat and vegetable market. There I had one man tell me “I am Michael, I am Coptic Christian, and I am here,” as he showed me his wounds. The church said earlier this week that it would not take part in the rallies, but make no mistake; this was a rally of all the sectors of Egyptian society regardless of religious affiliation. People also kept telling us that the tear gas was made in the US and given to Mubarak to use on the people. Quickly, however, people went back into the streets, where the Asr prayer was held in the streets.

In the market I met Mohammed who is going to be studying for an MBA at AUC in the Fall. He told me about the problems with trying to finance going to school in Egypt. He also talked about how there has been no sexual harassment during the rallies and that women were taking leading roles. He also said that Central Security has was skipping their protocols and going straight to live rounds. This would be confirmed later in the night with bullets and shells that protesters held up. From the square we could see the tear gas on the other side of Tahrir Square where protesters were attempting to enter from the bridges that go across the Nile. This would be the second time in recent history that the Egyptian people were able to break through the police barricades blocking the square during protests (Tuesday was the first). Mohammed told me the security forces were told to hold it at all costs. These costs would be apparent by the end of the night.

There was a momentary calm in Falaki as prayer was performed. Everyone quieted down and allowed it to take place. Afterwards there more skirmishes the crowd left the square. We walked with Mohammed to the nearest Metro station. He wanted to go take a nap and go back on the street later. As he said as he left, “It’s going to be a long day.” On our way there, he pointed out a group of police sitting on the street, completely exhausted. Beth and I sat on the curb and watched people getting food from the few shops that were open. People we joking around on the street and it seemed like everyone was taking a break. Soon, however, the Security Personnel suited up again and moved out. We walked up to the Middle East News Agency. There, there were protesters trying to move up to Tala’at Harb Square. In the streets, like elsewhere, there was a diverse crowd. I saw parents out with their children watching the skirmishes. Like with the other groups, there were large amounts of tear gas shot along with live ammunition. After one retreat into the alleyways I was grabbed by the arm and rushed into a building where a killed man was moved to. There, next to the crowd that surrounded the dead man, I was told to photograph a man who was shot in the head with what appeared to be a rubber bullet or gas canister.

Tala’at Harb Square was soon taken by the protesters. There were tires set on fire and police blocking 4 out of 5 of the streets coming in. Huge plumes of black smoke were rising from behind one of the buildings, emanating from tire fires further down one of the adjoining streets. The Evening Prayer was said in the street, with the same quieting down of the fellow protesters on the square, as the one on Falaki. Soon after the prayer, Beth and I left and tried to get back across the river to our apartment in Dokki, through the Sayyeda Zeinab, in an attempt to get to a bridge that was open. This would not be successful. As we walked through alleyways in the fading sunlight to try to avoid the barricades, we say police chasing Egyptians at gun point. I witnessed one man retreating, with a tear gas cannon pointed at his head.

It was soon apparent that he choice to go through Sayyeda Zeinab was the wrong choice. We ended up at a dead end of barricades. We had Egyptian Youths stopping us and telling us to go back Downtown and check into a hotel. Two of the youths, Tareq and Mahmoud, took us through the neighborhood; at one point talking to Security Personnel, who had the red eyes of people who had been gassed all day. They were blocking off the street and Tareq asked them if it was possible to get to Dokki. It was only possible to go back to the Downtown area. Tareq and Mahmoud refused to leave us, as we walked through residual teargas, until we were at a hostel. Their generosity was beyond any thanks I could ever give.

By the time we got to the hostel, the protesters had taken Tahrir. I headed to the square with a few of the hostel staff members. There we found burning security force vehicles. National Democratic Party headquarters behind the Egyptian Museum was burning. At this time people had heard reports of looting at the museum so they made a human chain to prevent more theft and vandalism. At one point, a light armored tank drove around the square causing some people to retreat, only to return to the square a few seconds later. Soon, however, the only police attempting to enter the square were from Qasr el-Aini st. I saw youths on motorbikes riding up to the police line and throwing Molotov cocktails at the police and in front of the Mugama’a office building next to them. Behind the police were vehicles that had been set on fire.

I talked to people who had stolen helmets and other items from vehicles, personnel, and buildings. A personal asked me if the police in the US kill people during protests. This was because just 5 minutes earlier a man was killed as he left a mosque near AUC. People in the square were rallied to go and push back the police. I left once the police started advancing again and people started moving back slowly. Gas was once again entering the square with greater frequency.

I returned to the hostel and talked with staff members and people staying there for a short while, until Mubarak spoke about firing his government. Maybe for dramatic sensation he saved his announcement of firing the government until the end, but preferred talking about how he feels the pain of the people and how he has been with the people in the streets all along. As I went back into the streets, people were on tanks celebrating with the troops. The police force was nowhere to be seen. Among the burnt out vehicles there was a tank like the one that had scared people on the street earlier. As I took a picture of it and was told it was part of the Central Security, not the military, and that “these men [military] are the real Egyptians.” Soon after this, people rushed to the mosque on the square because a fire had sparked up and they were rushing to extinguish it before it spread. People came up and showed us wounds and the remnants of the ammunition that caused them. Other people on the square ran up to us with a box of used canisters and ammunition and told us that this stuff comes from the USA, as they should us the label. While talking to these people a barrage of tear gas landed near us and we ran with the crowd around the Mugama’a, which had flames coming out of a ground floor window. Beth and I ran, partially blind and having trouble breathing, to the bridge to get out of the fray. The bridge was empty so we walked home, passing the smoldering shells of security trucks.

Jan 29

There were no police out today and still no internet. The day was peaceful for the most part. The main opposition paper El-Masry El-Yom was sold out everywhere. Tahrir Square was peaceful except for a fire set near AUC and tear gas fired at those setting the fires. 99% of the scene was peaceful. It was part celebration and part continuation of the protests. It was obvious that the new government is not enough.

As we approached 6^th of October overpass the NDP Headquarters was still having sporadic fires flaring up. People were on the bridge watching the rally below. People had written slogans on the tanks like “The Egyptian people want the collapse of the regime.” A march headed to the TV and radio station. There, people where chanting on tanks. Soon though, a man was killed there and was taken to the street for a prayer and a procession down the street. During the prayer, a young man told me that he wanted me to “tell the truth of what is happening because so many Americans come here and say they love Egypt and then go home and talk about all of the bad things here. They called it the third world and the news tells lies about the people. They call us animals. Tell the truth. Allah.” As for that promise I want to make these points.

1. The people are 99% peaceful. Government thugs in plain clothes, but armed, are the reason for escalation. The same goes for the use of tear gas, water cannons, clubs, rubber bullets, and live ammunition. The people have worked to save the antiquities in the Egyptian Museum. Pamphlets put out by activists have called to protected shops, banks, and homes. Currently (Saturday night) people are defending their friends and family, their neighborhoods, from looting and thugs while there is a lack of police and military in the cities. This violence is due to the lack of rights allowed by the government and its failing to provide for and listen to its citizens.

2. The American government needs to change its priorities. It must stop providing the tools of repression and put it support behind the people. It cannot just support a dictator because he has peace with Israel and is tough on Islamist. Most importantly, the U.S. must allow the Egyptian people decide its path forward from this historical time.

3. This is a popular uprising from all sectors of Egyptian society because of poverty, lack of education, a lack of job opportunities, government corruption, and government brutality. It is not an Islamic revolution. It is not wonton acts of vagary. It is a popular uprising for a brighter future.

4. Because this is a popular revolution, there is a plethora of ideas about the future. No one story is the story of the protest. No one person speaks for them.

5. Mubarak must leave. This is what everyone on the streets is saying. As I stood in front of a burnt out patty wagon with “This is the end of the regime,” a man told me, “they have stolen everything from us.”

I am happy for every person I know in Egypt and met in the streets and I hope for a peaceful end to the regime in the immediate future.

Pictures:
Qasr El-Aini St.
Falaki Square
Middle East News Agency
Tala'at Harb Square
Tahrir Square
Tahrir after the army arrives

January 25 & 26, 2011

This is the first post in a while, and for good reason. The events of the past two days and now going onto a third seem to be the beginning of something long overdue in Egypt. While I cannot speak for the Egyptian people (they are doing a good job of that already), I want to spread the word about what is going on based on what I’ve seen and send the messages of the people I have talked to in the street. This is what I have been writing the past week since the internet was shut off.

Tuesday January 25, was the first day of protests, and the events are something truly historic. Never in my time in Egypt have I seen such large crowds move through Cairo. Activists from every ideology have always held protests, but never has a rally gained so much momentum and seen so much participation from average citizens. Early in the day, the square was completely locked down by rows of police, which would be smashed though as the marchers reached the square and remaining through the night.

Last night (Jan 26) I walked into the Down Town area to see what was going on. It became apparent pretty quickly that the government was shaken. As I walked along the cornice to the bridge to get to the center of town, there were over 20 Central Security patty wagons parked on alert. There was a brigade of Central Security officers, sticks and shields in hand, standing in formation on the bridge. Traffic was very light on the bridge for that time at night. As I approached Tahrir Sq. I could see that the government was making sure that no protesters would get into the square like the day before. Pedestrians were allowed to cross the square, but not in large groups. I stood at a bus stop for a bit so I could watch the police movements. For the next 30 minutes I watched Tala’at Harb Street blockaded: 3 brigades march down the street, along with Central Security vehicles.

After being told to move along by an officer, I moved along the side streets of Downtown, Cairo. I attempted to walk down Tala’at Harb, but was turned back so I walked down Champolion st. until I heard what I thought was a rally in front of Abu Tareq Koshery, one street over. The rally quickly turned into a skirmish between plain clothed police officers and the protesters, with police antagonizing them with clubs and rocks. The protesters retreated but quickly the officers were pushed back. As a took pictures of the protests getting ready for the riot police to storm the street many Egyptians would run up to me and anyone with a camera who might be a reporter and saying things like “All of the Watani party are thieves.”

The Central Security agency and the protesters had a back and forth skirmish with protesters charging forward after each retreat from the rubber bullets fired into the crowd. After 20 more minutes of this, the government charged and the group dispersed down the 2 open streets, with the police running after one group.

I followed protesters who ran to Ramsis street. On Ramsis St. there was another group of protesters who blocked the exit ramp from the 6th of October overpass. They blocked traffic and taunted a police tow truck but were peaceful and started marching down the street. One person told me that the military was on the streets of Suez. This rally was quickly broken up by 6 security personnel. The city started to quiet down. This would be a tense calm until Friday noon prayer.

Images

Sudan St.

Two Fridays ago began for me later than I had wished. I had planned on making the hour long walk to Souq Goma’ (the Friday market), but did not wake up until 1 and could not coax myself into walking through the midday sun to get there. Angry at myself for doing this again—this is the second time I slept in instead of going to the market, I decided to walk downtown and sit in an air conditioned cafe, get some coffee, and study Arabic. As I walked downtown I was hassled twice by “tourist bazaar” owners. I guess I brought it on myself, I was walking with headphones on, my camera bag that had my notebooks in it, and was wearing a light T-shirt like all tourists wear. One of them said to me in English “You look Egyptian. Are you Egyptian?” So I replied in English, “If you think I’m Egyptian, why don’t you ask me in Arabic?” and then continued walking. It’s not that I am not use to hearing lines like this when I’m Downtown, the main areas that tourists tend to be, it is just that I had spent that week thinking about how I am going live here as I plan to some day and live with the daily hassling I face from people like the ones that live off of the tourist industry. This guy just happened to get my wrath because of how his use of language and identity rubbed me the wrong way.
After this I arrived at Costas and sat down to study and have some coffee. I stayed there for a bit and continued dwelling on not getting out and using the language enough. I also had been quite bored that week. Besides going to see a group that performs Zar music, which I highly recommend, I hadn’t done much besides going to my Arabic lessons. As I sat there looking at my chart of verbs, I decided I was going to take a walk to Mohandessin and see if I street vender who sold magnets with Gaddafi on them was still there. I use to pass this guy when I was going to As-Salaam Hospital for some minor surgery last time I was in Egypt. So once again I threw on my headphones and started walking.
I walked across Kobri Sitta October, then cut up Zamalak, and then across Kobri Saba wa Ashrin Youlyoo. Now that I had completed a walk that I had done so many times before, I decided I was going to abandon my headphones. My habbit of listening to music when I walk has in many ways deprived me of listening to Arabic. I guess I could listen to my Pimsler Arabic Mp3s, but they just don’t do it for me when I’m walking. As I walked down The Street of the Arab League I listened in on conversations. It’s funny how I can understand what people are saying to me when they aren’t talking to me. I guess I just clench up a bit when I have to speak because my accent sucks, and I dislike the language barrier. It was an enjoyable walk to get to where the magnet man use to be, but when I arrived I found out that he was no longer there. I decided to sit down for a break.
Once I reached Sudan St. I heard a woman walking with two young kids say something to me. I almost ignored her thinking that it was someone asking for money. Then I heard “Losamaht, shar’a Shehaab fein?” (excuse me, where is Shehaab St. I pointed down the road I had just come down and said “a’la tool”(straight ahead). She then went on her way walking her children in the direction I had pointed and I started heading south on Sudan St. As I continued walking I felt really good with what had just happened. When I leave the Downtown area I often get asked directions, but I normally cannot help out. I am sure this woman knew I was not Egyptian, especially after the first syllable came out of my mouth, but it was the fact that she made no discernable reaction to the fact made me feel good. It is a relief to get away from a place that can’t let you forget that you are a foreigner or make the assumption you have disposable income because of your passport.
As I walked along the mural that runs along part of Sudan St. I thought about this. Sudan st. is an interesting place to walk because it splits and you are left walking on a narrow side walk with a mural on one side of you and a yellow sheet metal divider on the other, and almost no people walking down it. From over the yellow divider you can see a complex being built by the Ministry of Tourism. From the sign that was above it, it looked as though they are building a super-resort right next to this busy road. If ever completed (it looked like construction had halted) it will also overlook a poor neighborhood. All and all it doesn’t seem like a place that tourists would pay good money to see.
I exited Sudan St. as it turned into an overpass. As I stood under it and another over pass I noticed a lone fares wheel next to a mosque. I was separated from it by a wall that separated this part of town from the nicer part of town. Earlier I had noticed how that part of town was separated by the metro tracks. This made me think about how this was definitely a place that would be considered the “wrong side of the tracks.” What’s wrong about that side of town? Is it an eye sore? Is that why the construction of that resort looks like it was halted? Are the people dangerous? I don’t believe so. I have walked through neighborhoods like that before and have met plenty of nice people. Last Friday, when I finally made it to Souq Goma’, as I walked to the City of the Dead to go to get to the market the people were much more interested in talking to me when I asked for directions then any one Downtown would be. What a horrible term we use to describe these places cut off by tracks and highways and then walls to hide both the people and the vehicles we force to place next to them.
I think the reason I really like walking through these areas is that I never see any other foreigners in these areas. I get satisfaction from being able to have interacting at a day to day level with people. Satisfaction that as soon as I was done taking pictures of the fares wheel, a second person asked me for directions and I was able to give it to them. Yet this lack of foreigners is a double edge sword. It gives this false impression that everyone in Egypt is trying to rip you off, or if someone has never been here, they think about the dangerous, terror ridden middle east. Few people ever see the complexity of Egyptian society. It is something I am only beginning to figure out; something that goes way beyond pyramids, papyrus, and taxi rides. It is something that takes immersion, thought, and re-immersion to begin to grasp. It also takes the knowledge that just like there is more than on United States there exists more than one Egypt. The flower seller on the side of the road is not the same as the tourist bazaar clerk, and both are not the kid who sits in Costa’s Coffee studying every day. That is what makes Egypt of today so interesting. While history tends to paint themes on era’s and dynasties, it is much easier today to take notice of the complexities of the time we live in, if you just take a long walk.