In retrospect it’s easier to see when things began to change. I’m not a political analyst but I think it really began weeks before the Tunisia revolt. I think the seeds of “enough” burst into life on New Year’s Eve.
I claim to be NO expert on Egypt; its politics; or its people. I am just someone who was somewhat of a wayfaring stranger just another khwaga living among them. But I watched and observed from afar and for me there was a difference after the bombing in the Coptic church in Alexandria. From what I observed it symbolized the fatigue, fear and frustration that had been building up for decades. It symbolized the government’s failure to meet all its promises to protect the Christians and in particular the Coptics from extremists who wanted them out; gone; destroyed.
No doubt those sentiments were there but most Egyptians who are Islamic living there didn’t share those radical and bigoted views. Of course, they could not fully understand the fear the Coptics daily live with on how they were discriminated against. That’s a very difficult thing for any majority group to understand. And because our understanding of the world around us it’s almost guaranteed someone from the majority group will be dismissive of things that signal to the minority of how they are not being treated fairly. We all know it’s very hard to get “out of your skin.”
But everyone Coptic, other Christians and Islamics alike where shocked at what happened and dismayed–horrified it had not been prevented. There was a massive outpouring of sympathy mixed with outrage that once again the government had failed to protect their people. Indeed, the murders of Coptics that had happened over the past year were revisited and anger swelled that once again there was no response to find those at fault or to blame it on outsiders hoping to foster unrest and destabilize the country. People were tired of the empty promises and failed obligations. Then came the attack on the innocent Coptic family traveling on the train from Minia. The outrage that a police officer could do such a thing further fueled the fires of discontent and the growing awareness something had to change. Indeed in an effort to prevent another disaster many young Islamics (my dear Rana included) created a human chain around Coptic churches as a shield on Coptic Christmas eve the week following the New Year’s Eve blast. It was a compassionate action that signaled their fear was turning to anger.
Two situations stand out in bold relief for me of the psyche of the nation and demonstrate the state of mind of its people. A car accident on the street in front of the hotel where our project staff where working in a conference room during a project retreat was very telling. Everyone ran to the windows overlooking the street fearful of another bomb blast. Their relief was audible. My own son who was visiting me there shared with me later that even he thought it was a bomb. It was the feeling in the air—it was the expectation at the time. A bomb going off seemed more reasonable than something as common and ordinary as a car accident.
About two weeks after the massacre of the Coptic family on the train one of my advisors who regularly visited his family living in Minia on the weekends returned to the office. When I saw him slowly climbing the stairs I could see that this normally jovial, gentle, kind-hearted man was visibly shaken. His face was pale and dazed. When I asked him, “Sherif what is wrong? Are you okay?” His reply and our reaction shocked us all.
“There was another incident on the train from Minia with a police officer” he continued. Our initial shock of horror there had been another massacre of Cops turned to one of amusement when he continued, “He was angry the train engineer was slowing down at the stations and stopping at some and attacked him to prevent him from stopping.”
When I later contemplated how unsympathetic we were to what clearly was a terrifying situation for Sherif, most of the people on that train and certainly for the poor engineer who had been attacked I realized it was prompted by our relief that it wasn’t another incident like the previous one. It was prompted by the climate of fear we were experiencing. We expected the worse and were tremendously relieved it was an ordinary, a normal kind of outrage and found amusement in the bizarre no matter how unacceptable the behavior was
Egyptians are a good people; they are a long-suffering people. An image that symbolizes for me the way they live came during the Friday demonstration when the aggression was heating up between the protesters and the police. Late in the afternoon the call to prayer rang out from the mosques all around the city. Everything came to an immediate stop. The protesters immediately fell silent. Large numbers dropped to their knees, bowed their heads to the street and began to pray in unison. Police quietly watched and waited for them to complete their prayers before again taking up an aggressive stand against the protesters. Prayers completed the protesters jumped to their feet, picked up their sticks and began chanting the slogans that have come to symbolize their fight for freedom and to hurl a rock or two at the police who in contrast symbolized for the protesters the decades of human abuse and a government’s failure to protect their rights.
Was Tunisia a factor? No doubt it was. It was a catalyst for something that was going to burst apart sooner rather than later. Egyptians had come to a point where they had enough. They could no longer stand aside as the plight of the disenfranchised or minority was ignored. Some say they got their dignity back. From the perspective of this Khwaga I think they always acted with dignity. I think they finally found their voice.
Beautifully written and very insightful. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Diane,
I have really enjoyed reading your blog about your experiences! I’m so glad to see that you are safe. I have been thinking a lot about you and your Egyptian friends!
Take care!
-Carrie
Thank you. It help me to understand the terrible conditions when freedom is not allowed.
Hey there! sorry to give you all a scare. this whole situation is actually one thing i wish i didn’t have to talk or write about. i am so afraid for my egyptian friends.
Thanks for your unique perspective, Diane. Glad you’re safe. Praying for your friends and colleagues still in Cairo.
-Larry
PS: You may not know me but I grew up in Oshawa in the 60-70s and went to school with Will Prouty, or as I knew him them, Bill…!
oh yes i totally know who you are. heard of you many many times over the years. thanks for leaving a comment.
Dear Diane-
You say: “But everyone Coptic, other Christians and Islamics alike where shocked at what happened and dismayed–horrified it had not been prevented. There was a massive outpouring of sympathy mixed with outrage that once again the government had failed to protect their people.”
Which begs the question we should all ask,
“How does a government protect it’s people from suicide bombings?”
The reality is, it can do nothing.
I mean, sure, we can make more metal detectors, spend much more on intelligence, etc. But in the end, there’s no stopping it…except with…
Good-will.
The whole time we’re investing in all these security gadgets, we’re letting Israel continue it’s illegal settlements and abusing the people whose land they stole. Addressing THAT issue will make the world a much safer place.
Thanks for sharing your experiences!
-paul
i think what outraged folks was the fact there had been no effort to punish the murderers of coptics the previous year–despite guarantees they would be tried and punished the govt did nothing. you are correct it’s hard to protect against suicide bombers–but when you don’t try and punish individuals who have been caught doing stuff it sends a strong message to the populace it’s okay to do this kind of thing and it’s okay to target coptics. that’s my take on it anyway.
Hi Diane. I’ve been reading your blog since your “escape”. I find it very enlightening. Thanks for taking the time and sharing your viewpoint. It never hurts to know more. I have and will continue to pray for the friends you had to leave behind.
Sharon
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