Je suis arrive!
After a long flight to England and at then a four-hour trip from London, I made it to Cairo, Egypt! The flight was was uneventful which makes for good overseas napping. When I arrived I was greeted at the airport by a driver holding a sign with my name. Believe it or not, that was a new thing to arrive to a busy airport in North Africa, and to see the throng of people--Africans, Arabs, people returning from journeys far away (Europe) or many who looked like they had returned from a pilgrimage (the Hajj) in Saudi Arabia--many of them dressed in white, and women and men covered in lots of cloth long flowing clothes (jabalya?). After such a long trip, I was grateful to be greeted by the driver Mohammad, who spoke a little English and helped me navigate the busy airport terminal. We found the car right away and headed down the highway through what clearly was the night desert. The highway was busy, and yes, a little scary. I had heard about driving here, but it was a combination of impatient, hurried drivers and a less clearly marked lane system. Drivers seem to drive too fast and encroach on each other's space. Mohammad complained of how bad Cairo drivers were--how they didn't signal, how fast they drove, and how pushy they are, and shortly thereafter one driver clipped the front right side of his Toyota highlander with his small little BMW going at least 90 kilometers an hour. Mohammad had to flag the driver down and made him pullover. The man driving the other car, seemed young and hip, could have easily been from Berkeley, and the two men began yelling in Arabic. There was never any insurance information exchanged, but rather, a little verbal sparring. The driver of the other car apologized to me in his perfect English, and then the two shook hands and left each other smiling. Mohammad then said to me, "see how these people drive, they drive crazy." When we approached the Cairo neighborhood of my friends, Maa'di, I noticed how much crazier drive in the streets; people are rushed and honk their horns regularly (taxis honk to see if you want a cab too!) and pedestrians seem to dodge cars to get across. There are no crosswalks, and few lights to dictate the flow of traffic. It's a bit of a free for all!
Once we resumed the driving, Mohammad began chatting to me about the "revolution." He said, "you know, January 25, 2011? You know what happened here?" I am assured him that I had, and that I, and many Americans were inspired by the energy, resilience, and tenacity of the Egyptian people. Clearly he was very proud. It's not hard to see how this could be. The newspapers I read in the airplane, The Egypt Daily News, was full of stories about how this was a new opportunity for Egypt, and for the Americans. The landing card we were given was part of a new little tourist booklet, that stated, "Welcome to Post-Revolution Egypt!" It also had photos from the revolution, including one of demonstration in the early days of the uprising that shows Egyptians standing under a banner that said, "Strike like an Egyptian!" The booklet also had a quote from Obama which stated, "American youth have a lot to learn from Egyptian young people." Clearly, the new Egypt is being marketed for a new tourism. I suppose I'm one of those tourists eager to see what has or will change (not that I was ever here before).
As we drove down the long highway from the Cairo airport, he told me he was one of the many people who gathered at Tahrir Square to call for the end of Mubarak's regime. He gave me a quick update of the people now in custody--Mubarak's wife, Suzanne, being the latest among them, and like her husband hospitalized. I guess that is what happens to old dictators, they all seem to end up in hospitals where they are protected from the reality of their crimes--it happened to the Shah, to Pinochet, and surely will be the case with the Mubarak's; never quite forced to face the crimes they committed. While there still seems to be optimism, there is also the stark reality setting in that real change, real regime, and political change, and ultimately, economic change can't happen fast enough. The friends with whom I'm staying, professors at the American University in Cairo, who stayed to witness the entire uprising in Tahrir Square seem cautiously optimistic. They report that the initial optimism which accompanied the days after which Mubarak formally resigned have waned---the economy is still bad, and they say, there are many others beside the handfull of those Mubarak lackeys who are responsible for corruption, for the systemic corruption that has governed this country for decades. Amy tells me that the in the early days of the revolution, young people were out in the street, cleaning up garbage, painting the curbs, generally caring for a "new Egypt." While the feeling is still quite positive, my distinct impression (and yes, how much of an impression can you have in one day of speaking with folks, and walking around a city?) is that there is so much to sort out. The sectarian violence that occurred in the Imbaba neighborhood of Cairo last week (Muslim and Christian violence) led to people dying, churches being burned, but that ultimately, it is those who wish to sow division in the country who stand to benefit the most. One billboard I passed yesterday which the driver translated for me was, "one country, one blood, Egypt together." There is also a clear recognition that the country's future election, which will be held in September, will inevitably include religious parties, including the Muslim Brotherhood, which have historically been suppressed, banned, and regularly imprisoned. Mohamad El Baradei, the chairman of the former IEAE (I think that's right acronym) is not happy with this, and thus has been pushing for the constitution to be rewritten before the election. Others feel that the constitution should be written only after the elections. Either way, what I see is the process by which democracy is practiced doesn't take place with the ouster of one major act---throwing out a dictator--- but is a long process of learning how to "become democratic" through a series of mistakes, trials, and hopefully, avoiding the repressive tactics that characterized previous regimes. As an American, I'm always struck by which how much we fail to grasp the nuances of what it means to be democratic--particularly for countries where there is little tradition, little institutional memory and guarantees. So, what I see here, is just the idea of having accomplished a major act of social change with minimal bloodshed. That, in itself, seems to have empowered the people. Today, I got up late and waited til Amy and Lennart were through with their Arabic tutor. Amy and I walked around their neighborhood. It's a beautiful neighborhood with lots of beautiful trees, and many of the embassies and ambassadorial homes are here. So clearly, I'm seeing only one part of Cairo. There were lots of Egyptian flags painted everywhere, and some graffiti, but clearly this was further from the hubaloo of Tahrir Square. Amy says that many of the residents who live in this area are quite well-off (some Egyptian and some ex pats from America and Europe). The most noticeable change, she indicated to me was the change in the attitude toward the police, who before the revolution were perceived as abusive, and defenders of Mubarak's interest, and his interest in suppressing people. Amy says they're not as present, and people don't seem to have the same fear of them as before. To that extent, I am getting that there is still a sense of people's empowerment here, which may have lessened in the reality of the economic difficulties, but nonetheless an important shift.The latest news I heard was that an Egyptian court has ordered the erasure of many of the squares, and public icons that have been dedicated to Mubarak and his wife. This erasure of the Mubarak regime might prove one step in closing this chapter in history, but some people seem to be saying a total systemic shift still needs to take place(here is an interesting op-ed piece about the public erasure of Mubarak in today's NY Times: http://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch?date_select=full&query=erasing+mubarak&type=nyt&x=7&y=4).
My friends have said that there are many divisions which have emerged (not the least of them the continuous demonstrations and some sectarian divisions which are being sown by either pro-Mubarak, or the Salafis (an ideologically fundamentalist Islamic group) which may be taking this new opportunity of freedom in the streets to exercise their own agenda. The lead-up to the September election may prove more painful when the real grab for power will take place. My hosts said that the Muslim Brotherhood has a solid place in the new government, in part because they are pragmatists, and have a good deal of experience organizing. They've been organizing for decades under a brutal, repressive regime, so in a sense, they know how to be pragmatic. My sense is that we in the West should not fear any government that has Islamic parties in it; but should understand the way that these parties have operated and functioned in certain way to serve the poor, to serve the interests of a population that has been neglected and denied in the face of corruption. It is foolish to think otherwise. This is a strongly Muslim country and it plays a role in people's lives. I know it will have reprecussions for the relations Egypt has with other countries, not the least of which is with Israel. Yesterday, there was apparently some talk of opening the border with Gaza (at Rafah) and apparently, allowing the movement of goods and people across the border in Gaza (something that was highly restricted under Mubarak). I'm following the news about what happened yesterday there as apparently there was shooting at the border and some 52 Palestinians were wounded. The "Nakba" what is known to Palestinians as the "catastrophe" (the founding of the State of Israel in which led to hundreds of thousands of refugees and exiles from Palestine; see today's NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/16/world/middleeast/16mideast.html?hp).I'm going to Israel/Palestine next, so let's hope things calm down by next week. It's hard not to see the events in North Africa of the last three months not having an effect on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Hoping for no more loss of life and honoring the resilience of the Egyptian people, I humbly sign off for today.
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