After elections and all the hassle and bustle, Egypt has finally got itself a new president! Hooray, no not really....Well for a start, he is from the Muslim brotherhood. One may wonder right away if this whole revolution was just another cunning plan to spread chaos, get the old president out of the way and pave the way for a buffoon to sit on the seat of power. The bizarre thing and perhaps lucky for the Egyptian people today is that he has no powers YET as the constitution is "under construction" which- according to the lovely Egyptian reputation of getting a job done- may take forever and ever. It is easy to think of this election like someone deciding to write a book but then decided that it would be easier to just hire a ghost writer instead, why exert the effort? why even lift a finger. That is exactly what happened.
The Egyptian revolution of 25th of January 2011 is sadly a joke and no one in Egypt could actually say otherwise at the current circumstances. (Dr.) Morsi- apparently a doctor of construction- has won over his rivals and has been giving "embarrassing" speeches that sounded to me, on Egyptian television, like speeches that could have only been written by an idiot over a cup of tea or a smoke of shisha- half awake and totally oblivious of what is at stake. The streets of Egypt are packed today with the poorest citizens who are sadly uneducated, impoverished and uncertain of the future. Morsi promises food and shelter! could they even be promises ? The most basic of all human rights- food and shelter- are now factors that should be addressed and promised to be resolved. Shockingly, the educated groups are not in any better position either, a few only are apparent on the scene shaking their heads and rolling eyes when they are asked about their opinion.
My mother said today to me in the car, "You will not find any people like the Egyptian people" I quickly replied "Well thank God they ARE in Egypt and not anywhere else or the world would have came to an end!" She giggled at my sarcasm. Honestly now, myself, my husband and my child have only been in Cairo for the last 6 days and are already wondering when will we go back to Liverpool. The speed of life- if I could call it so- is insane. It is almost like seeing your life fade away right in front of your eyes that you have not got a minute to catch your breathe or enjoy a single thing.
Bizarrely my husbands complaints of the heat, the dust, the dirt, the people, the noise pollution, the food, the attitude, the services, the quality, the standards and the list goes on cannot fall on deaf ears. I sympathise with him when he say he is out of his comfort zone. I wish I could of course make Egypt better and lovely for him and everyone visiting it, but the future looks worse than before and I cannot help my pessimism. I see Egypt going backwards and people thinking backwards. No development, no progress, just stupidity, wasting time, attacking ANY kind of thinking for no valid reason and my god, being so stubborn and not to mention- temper temper!
Will Egypt ever be rescued? That is a question that remains a mystery to date...
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http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/17/12270842-military-guards-egypt-power-as-islamists-claim-victory?lite
Odd, as I’m sure it sounds, I can identify the situation in Greece with what you described. We recently had elections and, although we had the chance to change the situation, fear and stupidity prevailed. The streets are full with homeless people, mainly educated (!), that can’t find the means to even feed themselves. And yes, it’s unthinkable, that basic human rights are debatable... My mother, the other day, murmured that in a way is a good thing we haven’t visit cause we would have been greatly disappointed by the spectacle of a country that used to be happy and shiny once. But, the worse is the feeling of pessimism. How can one fight that, especially when the future looks so …unpromising?
ReplyDeletePs. Try to make to most of your visit, at least with your family. I know you miss them when you are here. Enjoy xxx