If “tension” was the word of the of the day yesterday,
“waiting” is the word for today. All day we have been waiting for news, for
action, for noise, for anything. As sunset fell we started hearing horns and
voices on the street again, but for most of the day Ma’adi remained quiet.
The news at dinner tonight is that 2 million people are
protesting across Cairo and that protests are being held in each of Egypt’s 26
governorates and in cities and villages across the country. What this means is
the discontent with the current government is widespread which is what we’ve
been hearing since our arrival 3 weeks ago. So far protests have remained
peaceful and non-violent. As I write this I can hear a flurry of horns not far
from here. The fifth call to prayer has also begun and so Cairo sounds more
like itself at this moment.
Students predict that the protests will continue tomorrow,
but that is just a guess for now. We’ll have to see what tomorrow brings. I’m
grateful that we’ll return to our weekday routine tomorrow. It will be good for
us and for the students to have the distraction of class.
Waiting today involved catching up on work, reading books, Facetime
with Hans, an afternoon nap and a movie with my colleagues. Abuna Bishoi is
working hard to keep us all happy with food! He brought us an assortment of
beverages today and tonight at dinner he had ice cream for us and another sweet
Egyptian treat that means “knit together” in English.
We continue to watch, to wait and most of all to pray for
the peace and security of Egypt.
I remember being in India in 1998 when our city was the site of a huge student protests over government allotment of seats in universities. Tens of thousands of students descended on the city, pissed and ready for action.
ReplyDeleteWhen I could hear them, their shouts and slogans, it was somewhat reassuring. When things were quiet, like late into the evening, it was unsettling.
I hope all is well with you, that your nerves are intact, and that all around you peaceful demonstration is occurring.
Love you so much and thinking about you.
Nate
Praying with you! Thank you for the updates.
ReplyDeleteMy nerves are intact. The hardest thing for us is that we're unable to leave the seminary grounds. To be sure that's the best and safest option for us right now, but it's hard to not have the freedom to go for a walk, to get out and grab a cup of coffee, to see for ourselves what life is like on the streets around us. We're making the best of the situation and eagerly reading the news. Thank goodness for BBC and Al Jazeera English.
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