Even tear gas cannot blind us.

In the absence of helicopters, gunfire, and breaking glass my mind is starting to flashback to the first days, when the internet was blocked and I could not share what I was seeing happen around me. So before I force myself to sleep, in the strangely quiet Cairo night, I leave you with one more thought... 

All the people were with this movement before the government's propaganda machine caught up. I know this because even with eyes blinded by tear gas I could see the bottled water being dropped from apartment windows to the protesters fighting for their right to demonstrate for a free Egypt on the streets below.

The most beautiful apple I have ever seen.

On one day early on in Tahrir I was frustrated with my inability to DO anything to help... I am not Egyptian so I resist yelling the chants because it's not my place. I saw some young people had organized to begin collecting trash and so I got a trash bag from them and joined. My friends and I moved through the crowd looking for trash on the ground. The response was overwhelming, people were looking for something to throw away, they were moved to see this white blond girl collecting their trash. Their smiles could have broken their faces. There was one man who wanted to take over for me, "This is our job they said, it is our country we should clean it up", but I insisted and they relented seeing my true desire to DO something.

A man came up to me, falling over himself to give me an apple, he dropped it and embarrassed he picked it up rubbing the dirt off of it with his shirt sleeves... it was the most perfect red delicious, the most beautiful apple I have ever seen, an apple of love between human beings, an apple representing the mutual respect that can exist if we can only stop our fear. I accepted it, reassuring him, "mish mushkela", no problem, "Shukran", and putting my hand over my heart in profound gratitude for this precious moment.

A return to normal?... I don't think so.

Movement on the streets is becoming easy again and shops are mostly reopened, the attitude of most towards us foreigners who remain is curiosity and welcome. Yet there have been mounting reports of suspicion, detention, and abuse of foreigners, including non-journalists. The situation inside Tahrir is safe unless you are actively aiding the protesters (food, blankets) and are spotted by the plethora of intelligence operatives there. However, I am still uneasy about approaching Tahrir from my neighborhood as there are informants for various groups among the neighbors and this has resulted in problems for other foreigners and Egyptians alike. Armed plain clothes police with uniformed police have been visiting foreigners in their homes (Euro-American) to ask why they are still here and even examine their computers.

I went to the square today after staying away for two days for my own protection and that of those around me. Again I reiterate, it is not about the safety of being there in the demonstrations but of being associated with them when one is on the outside. Returning to the demonstration was like putting salve on a wound. The square resembles a mini-city. They have organized everything, in the organic way that Egyptians do best. The festive atmosphere has been added to by Mad Hatter hats in red, white and black, popcorn vendors, elaborate displays of protest signs, and shrines to those who have been so unfortunately lost.

We seem now to be in limbo, waiting to see in which direction the state apparatus moves regarding security measures. One worry is that they are using this time while ninety percent are out of the country to crackdown on those who "suspiciously" remain here, to keep us afraid and inside our homes or get us to leave. The curfew which has become effectively moot for Egyptians is still being randomly enforced for foreigners and used as a reason for detention. With intelligence and informants for various parties infiltrating every building and present on every street it is hard to know from what angle the next threat may come. While many seem to think that we are steadily sliding back towards normalcy here in Cairo, I feel that life is anything but normal and will continue to reveal many surprises as the situation develops. Keeping my head about me, monitoring and trying to be prepared for whatever turn things may take.

Rachel Maddow- The whole world is watching Egypt

This is a must watch. She is a little intense but it is the most direct analysis and clear assessment of the government's actions over the past days that I have heard in the Western media.

Rachel Maddow- The whole world is watching Egypt

Breaking Silence in Egypt: A West African Perspective

The following article was written by my neighbor in Cairo. Please feel free to forward it to anyone you feel would be interested. He is documenting and writing about the situation facing the refugee community now and the work that we, the few foreigners from the NGO community continuing to function here in Egypt, are doing. 

Breaking Silence in Egypt: A West African Perspective

By Mouctar Diallo.

Written on Thursday February 3^rd 2011, at 05:15 am.

It is four in the morning. I reside about two blocks from Tahrir square. I cannot sleep with the sporadic gunshots ringing around me. I have Al Jazeera on and surfing the Internet to have some sense of freedom. I have a lot of activist and blogger friends experiencing a siege as I write. People I have  known for the last four years. All of them, part of the amazing organic community who is putting pressure on the Egyptian government.

The fall of the Berlin Wall is a great comparison in terms of the potential magnitude of the ramifications of the current events on the region. The difference: the reunification of Europe was simple, predictable in terms of the direction the old continent took.

In the Middle East, things are extremely more complex.

The future seems obscure. Egypt, the center of Arab and Islamic culture a few decades ago, with its population representing a quarter of the Arab demography, is going to set the tone for the region. At the moment that leading role is pointing at more chaos, more radicalization and more violence to come.

Here, there is no leading figure capable of effectively maintaining the socio-political fabric. Political fragmentation is occurring at an incredible speed. This is especially true with the government strategy to create a "pro-Mubarak" movement to give the police forces the capacity to continue their repressive work with the assistance of thugs recruited in the slums around Cairo, a city of 18 million people. Consequently, gangs and vigilantes are controlling the streets; some to practice all kind of pillage, others to protect their properties. Thus far, they are using knifes, wood, steel, chains and many other types of medieval weapons.

What will happen when the use of the barrels of firearms expands beyond the security forces and the army as Al Jazeera is currently showing? There are too many unknowns for now and probably still after the uprising becomes successful. For, undoubtedly, it will be successful.

The Black Africans, in this disorder of things, are the silenced community. Of the four years I have spent in Egypt, racism has been a constant companion, at all levels of the Egyptian social structure. This constancy of racial prejudice during times of peace cannot be imaginable during the current period of violence and suspicion. This is not to say that the racist behavior has to be generalized to all Egyptians, but the facts are the facts. See for yourself.

There is a considerable sub-Saharan African community in Cairo: refugees, students, migrant workers, international bureaucrats and government or political officials and their families. I spent about half of yesterday at the airport. I saw those with the financial means attempting to leave the country.

 But there are other members of this robust community. Cairo is home to a significant refugee community from various countries. The bulk of them are from sub-Saharan Africa mainly Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea. Their whereabouts and welfare should be of public concern in these difficult moments. Their injuries and deaths (if any) should not be devaluated when considering the growing number of victims of the Egyptian State’s repression. Racism is as virulent in the Middle East as in the U.S. in the 1960s.

I was told, by a friend working at AMIRA, an organization involved in the relocation process of the refugees, that some Sudanese and Eritreans have been arrested and chased from their apartments. She also mentioned how it has been more difficult for them to feed themselves since the protests started. With some friends, she was working on getting some groceries to some Somali refugees.  Prior to his departure for Turkey, another acquaintance and employee of the American University in Cairo, shared with me how he had to financially assist the Sudanese refugees he had befriended. Unable to work, deprived of any assistance in this time of chaos, their survival capacities have been substantively undermined. Abdul Kader, one of the leaders of the Somali refugee community in Cairo told me that their vulnerable financial situation has now been aggravated by pressures put on them by landlords, who themselves are strapped in an economy that has come to a halt. Even still, the landlords are pressuring the refugees to vacate their living quarters.

It does not stop there. Two Somali refugee women have been sexually abused in their home at El Ashra two days ago in the heat of the uprising. The Somali community leader, Ali Dahiradin, received the report this afternoon. The women have been beaten and sexually abused by a gang of young and armed Egyptians. Dahiradin was vexed, relaying to me that the women are complaining that there is no justice and that they cannot go to the police.

Even as I have ventured out, dedicated to my passion of documenting society, to capture these ongoing events, I have to deal with some remarks from some of the protesters. At the moment, it will not be fair and ethical for me to further comment on the faith of the sub-Saharan Africans, not knowing all the details. So far, I know that many are exiting the country and I am now thinking about it myself.

As everyone, I hope things will get better. But the reality is actually worse than what is shown on TV. Once again, the Media is exposing its weaknesses to manipulations through different political agendas defending different political and economic interests. Many have been hurt; many are unaccounted for; people are being killed. My utmost consideration and respect to the Egyptian people braving the state and its rigid structures of oppression and exploitation.

Egypt and the region will never be the same. The multitude are already on the move in Algeria, Jordan, Sudan and Yemen, whatever their specific differences.

It is now five fifteen. The call to prayer is being interrupted by the gunshots killing the children of Egypt in a place supposedly incarnating freedom, Tahrir Square. Their spilled blood will certainly give it back its symbolic grandeur as a space dedicated to liberty. As I am about to put my forehead to the ground, let us all pray to the all Mighty for the souls of those that fell today to the bullets of the wicked.

--
Mouctar Diallo
MA Candidate
Department of Political Science
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
The American University in Cairo
mouctar@aucegypt.edu

Mubarak Thugs Target Cairo Scholars Listserv

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Contact: Samer Ali

Date: February 5, 2011

Telephone: 512-731-9700

Email: <saali@mail.utexas.edu>

Mubarak Thugs Target Cairo Scholars Listserv

If you are an American student or scholar working in Egypt, you likely heard about Cairo Scholars by word of mouth or google search before your arrival . It’s often dubbed the “Craigslist of Cairo” and upon landing you might have consulted this listserv to find an apartment, roommate, daycare, or Arabic lessons in your adoptive city.

On Wednesday, February 2, pro-Mubarak thugs came out to the streets of Cairo, but also took to the internet to intimidate foreign students and scholars on Cairo Scholars accusing them of being “f’n traitors” and “agents of the Americans” who “want to set the whole country on fire.” One pro-Mubarak loyalist threatened: “u have been reported.”

Since Wednesday, Cairo Scholars members have reported dozens of incidents of foreigners being arrested or detained for questioning by pro-Mubarak police and state security. This harassment is state-sponsored and constitutes a direct assault on cultural diplomacy and academic exchange with the people of Egypt. This pattern of intimidation includes that of journalists, whose prime offense is connecting Egypt to the outside world.
  

Unlike Craigslist though, Cairo Scholars’ express purpose is to support specifically students and scholars abroad doing the work of cultural exchange and person-to-person diplomacy. For that reasons, the list has a closed membership in order to promote a sense of community and relative trust among students and scholars abroad, who need to depend on each other for daily needs.

These threats come at a time of crisis, when information flow is essential for students and scholars abroad to make informed decisions about where to get food and provisions, how to cope and whether to stay in Egypt or uproot themselves.

For more information about Cairo Scholars and the state of its members, please contact Prof. Samer Ali, Middle Eastern Studies, University of Texas at Austin, email: <saali@mail.utexas.edu>.

Crackdown?

There is considerable risk that if Mubarak stays in power or even in the country there could be a covert crackdown on those involved in the demonstrations. The process of building the new government could then be co-opted with political life in Egypt returning to business as usual: intimidation, oppression, and corruption. The turn of events including the violence of the last few days was orchestrated. The spin from state media and the politicians' statements make it apparent that the government is still up to its old tricks. It is clear that the regime has not changed its behavior in the least and is simply playing a political game to get out of this situation and indeed to turn it in its favor. Trusting dictators is foolhardy... you know what they say fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.

The following list is of some of the pieces which do not add up.

1. Journalists attacked/arrested damaging cameras
2. Ramses Hilton looted/raided targeting cameras
3. Restriction on leaving house at any time with out ID
4. Covert collaboration between thugs and army (it's curious that whenever violence breaks out between thugs and protesters the army is no where to be found, while on other nights they have taken over the checkpoints from the neighborhood watch and there is a base right around the corner)
5. Intimidation of neighborhood watch groups (passive reaction to thugs, allowing passage to and from fighting protesters)
6. Intimidation of foreigners to keep us in homes even outside of curfew.
7. Intermittent problems with mobile connections and website access, including inability to upload media to youtube/BBC and disruption of specific numbers and international calls
8. Infiltration of demonstrations by pro-Mubarak people taking photos
9. State media portrayal of the demonstrations as foreign instigated and supported and accrediting it to the Muslim Brotherhood thereby discrediting the popular movement and claiming that demonstrators are divided.
10. Military police arresting sub-Saharan Africans in home and girls food shopping, not accepting UNHCR blue cards as ID.
11. Attack on pipeline by "a big terrorist operation", according to state media, is too convenient (opportunity created to show that country is insecure and at risk because of the demonstrations).