Egypt On My Mind

One of the benefits of living in Germany is that I have established friendships with a more diverse mix of foreigners than I have in the Philippines.

These recent riots in Egypt have been given a personal face by my friend Azza (not her real name), who is worried sick for her family in Cairo. She and her husband had lived in Egypt, and moved back here. The journalist part of myself is pumped, saying damnedfuckwhyamInotinCairo? As a Filipino, I see many parallels between what is happening in Egypt now and what happened in the Philippines in 1986. Yes, I am old enough to remember the end of Marcos rule and the shaky first Aquino administration. As an expat, I understand her worry.

She has said that she has an agreement with her parents that they have to miss call her phone every two hours as a sign that they're fine. She tries to call them back, but because the mobile signal comes and goes in waves, she hasn't always been successful. Government has all but cut off internet, and one sole provider, who services 8 percent of the country, still has its servers open. People are digging out their old modems and go dial up to at least have some form of connection on-line.

But her parents are not telling her the whole truth. Her sister, in a rage, called her because mom and dad were not picking up the phone. Her Sister told her everything that her parents have kept from her. That she (the sister) tried to go to work but police blocked all roads. She went out of her car to see what was going on and the police clubbed her head for daring to ask a question. She was able to go to work but is now trapped at the office. That was a week ago. Looters have been taking advantage of the absence of the menfolk and have been stealing from homes while holding the female residents at gunpoint. Because of this, grassroots-level neighborhood watches have been organized, since they can't trust the police to help them. And her brother has gone to the streets, which is even more dangerous.

She also says that rioting is starting to spread nationwide, which is a surprise to me since normally, revolutions mainly take place in the capital. Although I imagine that the more remote parts of Egypt have been spared from the breakdown of order.

I've been watching Al Jazeera "the only network that doesn't get its news from the hotel balcony," she says, and I am just gripped by what has been happening over there. I'm also worried for Egypt's economy. I know that the income gap is huge in Egypt, and I understand why Egypt's prosperity is not yet trickling down to the poorest of the poor, but I would feel so frustrated if I were Egyptian, since they are the largest economy in North Africa. I also personally feel heartbroken for Egypt's archeologists. Azza told me that the human shield protecting the museums, formed by people who care for Egypt's heritage, has been broken apart by violence. Who knows what's going on in there now. Apparently, the military is guarding the museum now .

Have you been riveted by what's happening in Egypt as I have been? I guess once a news junkie...