So even though I wasn't going to write a post for a few more days, I've decided to because I continue to receive concerned emails from people. Thank you all for thinking of me, I appreciate your concern. Try not to worry too much, I'm totally fine. I'm a big believer in the phrase "no news is good news," so sometimes I forget that other people out there are wondering about me. Luckily, I have my sister to provide wisdom like, "when big things happen in the city where you live, you should problem mention to Mother that you're still alive."
What might be surprising to you (or not), is that none of the international students were really concerned until we all started receiving panicked messages from our respective homes. I live about 30 minutes from Tahrir on foot or 10 minutes in a cab, so I can't see or hear what's going on there. And the media coverage here in Egypt is definitely different. Like on Tuesday and Wednesday media here was like "oh hey, there are some protests in some cities about the US and Islam and a film," and the media in the USA was like "OMG THE WORLD IS GOING TO EXPLODE BECAUSE THERE ARE PROTESTS IN MUSLIM COUNTRIES AND THEY WANT TO DESTROY THE ENTIRE USA AND ALL AMERICANS!!!" (This is my interpretation of the press coverage, obviously.)
The thing is, there are protests here all the time. Usually they're on Fridays, but in general we don't think much about the protests. There's sort of a general agreement that Friday night isn't the best time to go to Tahrir, but protests are old news. Obviously this week was a bit different. Normally there's no tear gas, no flag burning, and no other countries jump on the bandwagon. And normally they're not explicitly anti-Western protests. So yes, we took extra precautions. But no, we didn't panic.
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were normal days for me. You know, school and stuff. In fact, on Tuesday I went to the Egyptian Museum, which is in Tahrir Square. No problema. The protests and riots were pretty isolated to Tahrir and the American Embassy, so the rest of the city continued on as it usually does.
On Friday my friend and I ventured out to Tahrir. Before you freak out, let me explain.
First of all, it is REALLY difficult to resist the urge to go to Tahrir. We're only a 30 minute walk from the spot that the rest of the world is watching, and we know it. Basically every international student I've spoken to here has said the same thing as me. We want to go, and it takes every bone in our bodies to be like "hold up, is that a good idea?" So, I walked to Tahrir with a friend. We gave in to our desire, but we weren't entirely stupid. We went on Friday morning/early afternoon with the hope that the crowd would be smaller because most people would still be at mosque.
So we're walking around Zamalek to get to the bridge and we see riot police all over the island. Normally I don't see any police anywhere on the island. But we keep walking and when we get to the bridge we start to get a bit weirded out. It was empty. Cairo is so overpopulated and has so much traffic that there are literally always people everywhere. If there are no people, it's time to be concerned. And this bridge that connects Zamalek to Tahrir Square normally has tons and tons of traffic. TONS. So it was definitely strange.
My friend and I proceeded to cross the bridge. Each time a person walked by us they would say something nasty in Arabic or English to us. And we saw a little kid holding his father's hand and carrying a black flag like the one they replaced the USA embassy flag with. The very few cars that passed would slown down to yell at us through the window. It was definitely more than the normal street harassment we get. And this time it wasn't because we're female, but because we're white. We walked to the Tahrir end of the bridge which is about one block from the square. We could see a large crowd, and tons of Egyptians were pointing at us, looking, saying things, etc. At that point we had both seen enough. We'd seen the crowd, seen the people, seen the gestures, and so we left. We turned around, crossed the bridge, and took a cab back home. And then we had lunch. By mid afternoon, the riot police had entirely blocked off the bridges in an attempt to contain protests to the square. Good thing we went early.
I'm actually really glad I went. It was definitely the most uncomfortable situation I've been in so far in Cairo. But at the same time, I'm glad I got to see what the square was like when there were protesters there. Even if I was a block away. Plus, I never felt like I was unsafe because it was still early and relatively quiet. I'm living in this country as they go through historical changes and events with the whole world watching. It's hard to balance the interest with the obvious dangers of going. But I think I've done okay so far.
I'm sorry I couldn't take more photos, but as a white, unveiled female I draw plenty of attention to myself even without a camera. I totally understand why all the international photographers for the NYTimes and Associated Press are male.
My friends and I stayed on the island for the rest of the weekend. It's just easier and safer and there's no reason to put ourselves in an unsafe position. And it was nice to have a relaxing glass of mango juice along the Nile. It seems like things have died down now, so that's good, though no one is convinced that this is over. Egyptians have a century's worth of anger built up, and it's certainly not surprising to me. Between other countries screwing them over and their own country screwing them over, of course they're angry. But I hope it's also clear that the vast majority of the country is not involved in the riots. Yes, many people agree with the anger over the film and anger toward the west in general, but most people wholeheartedly oppose the violence. And as I've mentioned before, many Egyptians are working hard to convince the West that they're not radicals or terrorists. They know that flag burning and rock throwing don't help.
Please, feel free to email me or Facebook me or whatever if you get worried about my well-being. But please also keep in mind that Western news media blows this stuff way out of proportion. At least the violence part. I was reading CNN and it sounded like the entire city was dealing with rocks and tear gas and that this was Armageddon. So yeah, something about a grain of salt. Cairo is a huge city, and it is quite easy to avoid Tahrir. Everyone here who I've spoken to, both Egyptians and international students, is far more concerned about what this means for diplomacy and the future than they are for their personal safety in their day to day life. Things are quieter now, but I'll definitely keep you all updated if things change.
Oh, and Shana Tova! Don't worry, I won't be saying that to anyone else this week.
What might be surprising to you (or not), is that none of the international students were really concerned until we all started receiving panicked messages from our respective homes. I live about 30 minutes from Tahrir on foot or 10 minutes in a cab, so I can't see or hear what's going on there. And the media coverage here in Egypt is definitely different. Like on Tuesday and Wednesday media here was like "oh hey, there are some protests in some cities about the US and Islam and a film," and the media in the USA was like "OMG THE WORLD IS GOING TO EXPLODE BECAUSE THERE ARE PROTESTS IN MUSLIM COUNTRIES AND THEY WANT TO DESTROY THE ENTIRE USA AND ALL AMERICANS!!!" (This is my interpretation of the press coverage, obviously.)
The thing is, there are protests here all the time. Usually they're on Fridays, but in general we don't think much about the protests. There's sort of a general agreement that Friday night isn't the best time to go to Tahrir, but protests are old news. Obviously this week was a bit different. Normally there's no tear gas, no flag burning, and no other countries jump on the bandwagon. And normally they're not explicitly anti-Western protests. So yes, we took extra precautions. But no, we didn't panic.
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were normal days for me. You know, school and stuff. In fact, on Tuesday I went to the Egyptian Museum, which is in Tahrir Square. No problema. The protests and riots were pretty isolated to Tahrir and the American Embassy, so the rest of the city continued on as it usually does.
On Friday my friend and I ventured out to Tahrir. Before you freak out, let me explain.
First of all, it is REALLY difficult to resist the urge to go to Tahrir. We're only a 30 minute walk from the spot that the rest of the world is watching, and we know it. Basically every international student I've spoken to here has said the same thing as me. We want to go, and it takes every bone in our bodies to be like "hold up, is that a good idea?" So, I walked to Tahrir with a friend. We gave in to our desire, but we weren't entirely stupid. We went on Friday morning/early afternoon with the hope that the crowd would be smaller because most people would still be at mosque.
So we're walking around Zamalek to get to the bridge and we see riot police all over the island. Normally I don't see any police anywhere on the island. But we keep walking and when we get to the bridge we start to get a bit weirded out. It was empty. Cairo is so overpopulated and has so much traffic that there are literally always people everywhere. If there are no people, it's time to be concerned. And this bridge that connects Zamalek to Tahrir Square normally has tons and tons of traffic. TONS. So it was definitely strange.
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| The empty Qasr el Nile Bridge (the famous revolution bridge with lions) |
I'm actually really glad I went. It was definitely the most uncomfortable situation I've been in so far in Cairo. But at the same time, I'm glad I got to see what the square was like when there were protesters there. Even if I was a block away. Plus, I never felt like I was unsafe because it was still early and relatively quiet. I'm living in this country as they go through historical changes and events with the whole world watching. It's hard to balance the interest with the obvious dangers of going. But I think I've done okay so far.
I'm sorry I couldn't take more photos, but as a white, unveiled female I draw plenty of attention to myself even without a camera. I totally understand why all the international photographers for the NYTimes and Associated Press are male.
My friends and I stayed on the island for the rest of the weekend. It's just easier and safer and there's no reason to put ourselves in an unsafe position. And it was nice to have a relaxing glass of mango juice along the Nile. It seems like things have died down now, so that's good, though no one is convinced that this is over. Egyptians have a century's worth of anger built up, and it's certainly not surprising to me. Between other countries screwing them over and their own country screwing them over, of course they're angry. But I hope it's also clear that the vast majority of the country is not involved in the riots. Yes, many people agree with the anger over the film and anger toward the west in general, but most people wholeheartedly oppose the violence. And as I've mentioned before, many Egyptians are working hard to convince the West that they're not radicals or terrorists. They know that flag burning and rock throwing don't help.
Please, feel free to email me or Facebook me or whatever if you get worried about my well-being. But please also keep in mind that Western news media blows this stuff way out of proportion. At least the violence part. I was reading CNN and it sounded like the entire city was dealing with rocks and tear gas and that this was Armageddon. So yeah, something about a grain of salt. Cairo is a huge city, and it is quite easy to avoid Tahrir. Everyone here who I've spoken to, both Egyptians and international students, is far more concerned about what this means for diplomacy and the future than they are for their personal safety in their day to day life. Things are quieter now, but I'll definitely keep you all updated if things change.
Oh, and Shana Tova! Don't worry, I won't be saying that to anyone else this week.
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