Post-Revolutionary Egypt and the Difficulties of Becoming a New Nation?

It's only my third day in Cairo, but already I have a pretty good idea of how remarkably resilient the Egyptian  people are. For nearly thirty (plus) years Hosni Mubarak has governed this country with an iron hand, and evidence of his people self-serving rule seems to be in so many ways. I don't know what life for Egyptians was like, but what people tell me is how much the police abused their power, and how fearful they made people. There are still plenty of police around where I've been--in their summer white uniforms, but apparently, few are carrying guns anymore. I get the sense of what a pyschological lift that is---to feel a kind of freedom that was not present before. But there is also a palpable sense of anticipation about what will happen next. Although Egypt will hold elections in September, and after that a new constitution will be drafted, in the interim there is a real anxiety about the economics of everyday life--the very thing that drove many to protest day after day in those fateful days in January and February--and yet, that is the thing that has yet to be addressed. I've spent the last two days doing typically touristic things: going to Giza to visit the Great Pyrmids of Pharonic Egypt (and, of course, the Sphinx) and then today going to the Coptic neighborhood of Cairo where all the historic churches and the Coptic Museum are. In both cases, I could see that I was among only a handful of tourists in both places. And that is bad for Egyptians in the current moment--since their economic conditions were already bad before January 25th--and now they're in many cases worse. It's a bit of an irony that the very thing that gave Egyptians hope and a sense of taking back power--Tahrir Square and the sense of unity that gripped the nation in those days an weeks that led to the resignation of Mubarak--- is now the thing that has driven tourism to an all-time low. Tourism is a big source of Egypt's economy and without it, Egyptians are feeling the sting. I coulds see how much more aggressive some of the sellers, merchants (what seems to be called "touts" in the guidebooks) were out by the Pyramids. It was difficult to turn them down when they wanted to sell me stuff, and yet, after a while I resented some of their pushiness when I just wanted to have the experience of the Pyramids in peace.

It was really nice to ride the camel up to the Pyramid, but it probably wasn't something I would have chosen to do on my own. It was the cab driver Emad who took me out there who suggested it. I think he was trying to help his buddies out---to get a customer because things have been so incredibly scant when it comes to tourism. I hope you'll all consider coming. It's been great for me so far, and Egyptians are warm and welcoming, and I can see there is a bit of anxiety for them about the future. The same camel stables were used on one of the days after the revolution started to try to disperse the crowds at Tahrir Square. Mubarak or one of his lackies problably enlisted these horse and camel stable owners who operate right around the Pyramids to come and disrupt the demonstrations at Tahrir Square. I remember seeing them on TV and wondering who are these guys? Now, I know. Amy says they were upset about the events of Tahrir Square since it helped shut down tourism temporarily and so, someone paid these guys to ride into Tahrir Square for a bag of groceries or a hundred Egyptian pounds and create a little chaos. THis is how politics goes---it pits people against each other who have the most in common'; it divides people's immediate interests with their long-term interests, or the long-term interests of a much bigger group. So, when I was out at the Pyramids yesterday, I could see how hard they were working to get my Egyptian pounds. Offering me things to drink, doing a show of the ancient aromatherapy perfume shop at the place where I started my tour, or finally walking me through the Papyrus museum and trying to get me to buy a painting or two. I admit it, I was suckered. I felt a kind of deep empathy for these people. I wanted them to know that I was here to honor them, to honor Tahrir Square, and also that I wasn't afraid to come here, amidst the tumult. I enjoyed seeing the Giza Pyramids, all nine of them, and loved seeing the Sphinx, even though there was a part of me that felt a kind of sadness at seeing how something some ancient and enduring has been a little bit of a casaulty of Mubarak's policies. It's hard not to be a bit put off by the large quantity of garbage and pollution that surorunds these incredible monuments, and also to continually tie it back to the idea that there was a way in which Egyptians have had to struggle to survive and that their government has abused them, stolen from them, and everything seems a casualty of this kind of self-interest rather than a more collective sense in which resources could be dedicated to the whole of Egypt---. But even with my frustration with the touts, the aggressive need of men and small boys to sell souvenirs, to get tourists to ride their camels and horses, I felt a kind of appreciation for what they were doing. I enjoyed it, even while it exhausted me to so much poverty.

Today, I felt the tension in another way. I went to the Coptic neighborhood where the Coptic Museum was. There was a heavy police presence there because of the sectarian violence that took place here about ten days ago. According to accounts I read in the paper, the incident was started by a rumor of a Christian woman who wanted to convert but was being held in a Coptic Church. NOw, I want to emphasize rumor, because so far, I haven't seen any evidence of anything other than that. But even without knowing all the circumstances, I can tell you this is an incident that was designed to sow division--and that's what Mubarak and his thugs have the most to gain from: division. It's hard not to think of the rumors that were spread after American reconstruction and which were used to incite violence against Black people by white people. Whenver there is change, whenever there is power to lose or power to be gained, people use a strategy of sowing division and violence in order to destroy a moment of real transformation. I'm glad the cops were surrounding the Coptic Museum, because the Museum houses this marvelous collection of artifacts, textiles, archeaological ruins from the early Coptic Churches of Egyptian from the 3, 4, and 5th centuries, and it's opened my eyes to the marvels of the ancient world again. I'm struck by how much people were able to live together and how much different religions and communities influenced each other. The churches are beautiful and old--with glorious artwork, arches, and the endlessly repeating patterns you see in mosques and the architectural wonders of the Middle East. The Coptic Museum contained many beautiful relics from the early Christian monasteries that dotted the Nile--Bawit, St. Catherine's, St. Jeremiah's. All these places were places of early Christian devotion and many of the gnostics lived and worshipped here. I saw many beautiful stone carvings from the cornices of buildings, wood carvings, and early wall paintings with marvelous patterns. I couldn't take pictures, so mostly I tried to take it all in and I took pictures of the building itself. It's a beautiful museum and newly renovated, so well worth visiting. The Coptic Church that Amy and I visited was also beautiful and contained many features of early mosques--lots of arches, a marble "pulpit" in the center of the church, and the pews made of beautiful wood. I lit a candle for Kyle there and dropped one of the notes I'd saved from him in the donation box ("God lives in the connection between us"). I sat for a few minutes with Amy before we left to explore the area around the church. Unfortunately, by the time we got to the synagogue it was closed, but hopefully we'll return tomorrow.