In the future, when someone asks me where I was when I heard the news that Mubarak had finally stepped down, I will have to be honest and say this: I was putting away our shopping. That’s the way life goes – after 18 days when our world consisted of either going to Tahrir or … Continue reading »
Monthly Archives: February 2011
Defiant till the end: Egypt’s deaf dictator
Mubarak remains and we are still in shock. For nearly six hours last night, we watched, we waited and we dared to hope. Twitter was exploding, and for good reason. Every source out there, from the CIA to CNN (including the NDP’s own secretary general, Hossam Badrawi) told us Mubarak was finally standing down. The rumour … Continue reading »
10 reasons why this foreigner (still) loves Egypt…
We had dinner with a couple of Egyptian friends tonight and conversation turned inevitably to the anti-foreigner comments we’ve heard so much about lately. One of my friends, from Sweden, asked just why Egyptians might think that foreigners would want to harm the country. The answer was interesting. “I think some of them just don’t … Continue reading »
O Revolution, where art thou?
Cairo has returned to normal – almost. From my flat, up high in Zamalek, I can hear the familiar sounds of the city once again – the steady honk of horns, the hum of traffic, the buzz of street chatter – all sounds that had disappeared over the last few days. Most of my friends … Continue reading »
The day of no departure
The ‘day of departure’ may not have gone to plan but the ‘revolution’ seems to be back on track. Unbelievably, despite the bloodshed and bitterness of the last two days, thousands and thousands of people made their way once more to Tahrir yesterday (which must surely be re-named Jan 25 Square soon, to accompany 6 … Continue reading »
Egypt’s day of shame
Another terrible day of fear and uncertainty. The festive atmosphere of Tuesday, when history seemed to be within the country’s grasp, feels like a lifetime ago now. If the first day of this protest was Egypt’s day of rage, yesterday should be remembered as Egypt’s day of shame. We didn’t make it to Tahrir today. … Continue reading »
Carnage in Cairo
Cairo is on fire once again. I am at home now and watching the footage live on Al Jazeera and it is horrifying, infinitely depressing. There is carnage in Tahrir today, and it is worse than Friday. There is gunfire, reports of petrol bombs, knives and sticks, 500 wounded, buildings on fire again – including, reportedly, the … Continue reading »
Notes on a revolt – part 2
The eyes of the world are on Egypt, but few of us can communicate with the outside world. Today is day four of the internet blackout so I have asked a friend in England to post this for me. Our mobile phone service was resumed on Saturday but we can’t send or receive text messages. … Continue reading »
