Deja Vu

Once again Egypt is fraught with political unrest and protest.  And not I am further away from Egypt and people who know any thing about Egypt than I have every been in my life.  Thanks goodness for the internet.  In less than a week the elected president of just one year was ousted after widespread protest (the biggest of all recorded human history), and what has been characterized as a military coup.  My friends are safe, and most of them are pretty happy.  Morsi (the former president) was not doing the most democratically minded things, but I am kept up at night by the fact that he was democratically elected.  This article sums up my concerns much better than I can, and illustrates why I have yet to celebrate with the majority of my friends.  Keep Egypt in your thoughts.

THE TROUBLE WITH A 'COUP FOR DEMOCRACY'

Graceful Fall from Grace

There was a time when this blog would get more than 40 hits a day, and now I don't even know if my mom reads this blog anymore.  What can you do?  I'll just have to repromote this baby next time I go to Egypt.  While my Egypt-themed Blog's fame my waver, by love for Egypt is steadfast.  I don't know if you've ever been distraught and moved to tears over a country to which you have no right, but let me tell you, it is a terrible and magnificent all at once.  My latest instance if this was in preparation for February 12th's "Global Protest Against Sexual Terrorism Practiced on Egyptian Female Protesters."  I just can't describe the sympathy I feel for these women who are trying to enact change.  I can't explain how frustrating it is that I can't express how wearing it is to be harassed even on the most superficial level.  So I can't even fathom the horror of violent sexual assault.  I am overwrought when others don't understand how important these issues are, and how truly and fundamentally all Egyptians deserve dignity.  So though I latest foray to Egypt may be over I wanted to take this protest as an opportunity to at least try to make a difference.  It isn't my place to protest in Egypt.  It is dangerous and mostly likely I would just cause issues with the opposing side saying I was proof of "foreign hands at the wheel."  It isn't my government's place to tell the Egyptian government what to do, because you know that's worked so well in the past (please note sarcasm).  I also think it is absurdly presumptuous to think that any US policy maker would know more about what the Egyptians want or need than anyone who's actually Egyptian.  So this protest, in my country, in my city, was the one place I thought it was appropriate for me to have a voice.  It was a small protest with a friendly family-oriented vibe.  I met some great people, and got some closure and a sense of accomplishment for myself.  There were a few media people there and several non-Egyptians who just thought it was good to show solidarity, so I like to think those people and cameras brought some attention to the issue.  Of course one always wishes that they could do more.  It is hard to acknowledge how little power you have, and it's even harder to acknowledge when something not your fight, or simply beyond you.

While it might not be my place to be the screaming activist on the Egyptian front lines, I can do my best to spread knowledge and understanding.  Women's History Month is coming up in March, and I am organizing a belly dancing lesson for students at my university.  I hope to use this lesson as a platform to discuss the vehicles of soft power and empowerment women of patriarchal societies can use in the private sphere.  I hope to use belly dancing as an example.  When in Egypt, I saw the most belly dancing, not in bars or in any seductress context, but in private gatherings of female friends.  It was a unique experience of sensuality and expression for one's self, instead of for the consumption of another.  I'll keep you updated as the event develops.

Worried?

Wow, I haven't posted in a while.  You guys must be worried!  I've heard from all my sources outside of Egypt that Egypt is blowing up right now.  To an extent that is true-ish.  There have definitely been protests.  Take for example these pictures taken from my balcony of Muslim Brotherhood supporters marching to Cairo University:

My roommate described the sound of these protests on Saturday like that of Orcs.  But everything was fine.  We were restricted to our apartment, but that would have happened anyway since we are all in the midst of intense final paper writing.  Yesterday, there were pretty violent classes at the Presidents Palace, but that is very far away from where I live.  It's actually amazing how easy it is to just keep trucking in the wake of whatever is happening right now, even when it is happening closer to me.  Life just keeps going.  Sometimes I'm allowed out of my neighborhood and sometimes not, but I always feel safe.  Final essays now.