Emails from Egypt: The final days of a long-running regime

George McKale | Sonoma Valley Sun

Last October I visited Egypt for the first time.  The City of Sonoma has a sister-city partnership with Aswan, and I was one of four delegates reaching out to foster this relationship. I arrived in Cairo days before my fellow delegates to ease the pain of jet-lag and get a feel for the terrain. I made my way throughout much of the country, taking the train from Cairo to Alexandria and back, walking in the footsteps of the Pharaohs in Luxor, basking in the 113 degree heat in Aswan, and standing in awe at the feet of Ramses II in Abu Simbel.

I wasn’t sure how an American on crutches would be greeted.  While most of what I encountered could only be described with adjectives like chaotic and impoverished, throughout my journey I was greeted with warm hospitality.  As a guest, I exchanged warm smiles, accepted all offers for tea, and provided an open ear so that my hosts may share their feelings on life in Egypt.  It seemed all who spoke held nothing back. With almost every discussion, a quick synopsis of President Mubarak’s regime was provided.  Given the unabashed critique by the ‘common man’ regarding Mubarak’s long tenure, I was not surprised to hear of recent events in Egypt.

This time of year is extremely important to at least half of all Egyptians.  It is the tourist season, a time of year when people from abroad can tolerate the weather.  My visit in October was still too hot and Egyptians were gearing up for the hordes of tourists who would make their way to witness themselves, the mind-blowing antiquities scattered throughout the country.

On January 25, we first heard about peaceful demonstrations in Cairo. A week later the country is now completely devoid of tourists.  With change comes sacrifice.  I do wonder how many will survive without the tourist dollar. I have not been described as techno-savvy and did not know that a country could turn off the Internet.  Once it was turned back on, emails with attitude came pouring in.

The following comes from a woman who has lived in Aswan for 20 years.  She is married to an Egyptian and her thoughts are direct and frank.  Since communications were opened again on February 2, I have heard from others as well, however the following excerpt focuses on her comments, as they seem to reflect most of those who have emailed me personally, as well as the views of millions as reported by mainstream media. I am not including her name as some of her comments may indeed put her life in danger. As such, I have edited her string of emails, eliminating all references that may lead to her identity.

Morning – February 2: A revolt is an excellent way to stop me from using the Internet! I’ve lost track of the days since Internet access and cell phones were shut down here. We managed to get voice mobile back a few days ago, but no SMS texting is allowed.  All means of getting out of Aswan have largely been cut off – no planes, no trains, and no buses in an attempt to prevent people from getting into Cairo and Alexandria.

I have been waiting for over 20 years for Egyptians to revolt.  They are a passive lot and don’t ask for much out of life. A person born in Canada cannot relate to how difficult life is here for the average or poor person.  Egypt is a democracy in name only.  In fact it is a dictatorship where only a few benefit.  Finally the high cost of food, the low wages, the lack of freedom of speech, the lack of democracy was finally too much for them.

Afternoon – February 2: Things have deteriorated since I emailed earlier today.  Pro-Mubarak supporters have come out on the streets even in Aswan.  This was my biggest concern – that people would start going after one another. I have no idea why the Egyptian army did not stop the pro-Mubarak people entering Tahrir Square today or search them, or try to stop the violence.

I talked to two friends today and asked them were they not bitter that the majority of people here are not allowed to leave Egypt (even if they had the money) to visit another country, because non-Arab countries don’t want them because they think they will seek asylum.  I also asked if they were not pissed off that so many people lived on gov’t bread, a bit of cheese, tomatoes and cucumber day after day because they can’t afford more.  Their answer was,” We are a simple people and don’t need very much.”

Afternoon – February 3: I’ve always considered Egypt the ultimate mind control experiment.  Imagine 80 million rats put into a cage where you constantly give them electrical shocks, depriving them of any form of human dignity.  As you increase the voltage levels you expect them to start to revolt but they take and take the abuse, internally rationalizing that they don’t really need liberty, freedom of speech or movement, a decent place to live, a proper income, housing, education, health, etc. – just give me some subsidized bread and a cucumber to gnaw on and I’ll keep quiet…. after all this life doesn’t count for much as once I die I will be in a better place. (I have heard several Egyptians on TV these days say they are nothing but slaves to the elite.)

Not sure how much you have seen of the TV footage from the state TV.  Their reports are very different than from the international TV stations. They show peaceful streets, report there are only about 1500 anti-government protestors, downplay the number of deaths and injuries.  It really is a spectacle to watch.

In case you haven’t heard the numbers, in a country of 80 million-plus people, there are around 500,000 military, 350,000 police, and 30,000 presidential elite guards. The U.S. gives Egypt $1.5 billion per year for military use. (In addition 50 percent of the food in Egypt comes from the U.S.) Over the years as Achmed [name changed] and I have driven around the country, I have commented to him, “gee this is a nice hospital, apartment building, store, private club, etc.”  His response is it is for the senior military – which are many. There are more police in Cairo than any city in the world.  The traffic police have the lowest testosterone levels in the world due to all the gas fumes they suck in.

There seem to be undeniable reports that the pro-Mubarak protestors that went to Tahrir Square yesterday were very well orchestrated. Many of them have been caught with their ID showing they belong to the ruling political party (NDP), non-uniformed police, and many have confessed they were to be paid $1000 each if they managed to take over the square.

Everyone asks why there is no one really leading the opposition protestors.  Well Mubarak made sure over the past 30 years that he had no opposition.  As I have mentioned before opposition parties have been outlawed and leaders put in jail, leaving a huge void, which now makes things worse.

It’s obvious that the largest protests would be in Cairo, by far the largest city in Egypt (and Africa and the Middle East), with over 18 million people.  Alexandria is about 250km north and has a very different look, feel and mentality. The people have more of a Mediterranean mentality and there is a larger Christian population.  In years past many of the most successful people in Egypt lived in Alex and were Greeks and Jews, until President Nasser took all their property away from them in the 50’s under his nationalization policy.  What I don’t understand yet is the Muslim Brotherhood, the organization the Mubarak government and other governments around the world fear most, as they want an Islamic state in Egypt.  They were formed years ago in Alexandria.

I didn’t understand why there is so much violence and protesting in Suez until Achmed explained it to me.  There are three cities along the Suez Canal – Port Said in the north end, Ismailia in the middle and Suez in the south end.  All took the brunt of the wars with Israel and have never been properly rebuilt or compensated; this is in spite of all the money that comes in from the ships going through the canal.  While Port Said and Ismailia are lovely French colonial architecture small cities, Suez is a creepy cesspool.  I was shocked when we spent an afternoon there.

Mubarak had said last year that he planned to remain as president until he took his last breath, and planned to die on Egyptian soil. Even in his speech last week he swore he would die on Egyptian soil and would not be pushed out of the country.  The interesting thing about him is that since he became president 30 years ago, he has had to live like a prisoner in his own country for security purposes.  Yes he has a home on the Red Sea, and is said to have visited Aswan every year and has a home on the hotel property where I swim (one of his sons owns this and several other hotels).  But even when he goes to these places he’s not free to roam around or leave his compound.  What kind of life is this?

I have my own ‘final solution’ for him considering he wants to die on Egyptian soil.  He and his wife Suzanne can be given several acres of barren land on the North African coast, west of Alexandria and east of Mersa Matruh.  There are still millions of land mines there, leftover from WWII that Egypt and the west have never done anything about.  Hundreds of Egyptians are maimed or killed each year because of the land minds.

I recall roaming the pyramids at Giza.  There, one unseen blanket seemed to warm all who visited including Egyptians both Muslim and Christian, men and women, Jews, Saudis, Europeans and Americans, all standing in awe beside some of the greatest monuments the world has ever seen. The battle in Egypt is just beginning and I do hope to once again see soon, the smiling faces and earnest hospitality I witnessed throughout the country last October.

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