Just a few things political

I generally do not like to talk politics but here are two things that I would like to share.

 

President Obama

I walk around a lot and shop and greet the shop keepers and sometimes have conversations with them if they seem interested. What I've learned from talking with people is that Egyptians believe--with a passion as they are passionate people--that President Obama supports the Muslim Brotherhood (MB). The MB is deeply unpopular in Egypt; I was told that MB men shave their beards now to keep from being identified as MB. The average Egyptian's belief that Obama supports the MB is in large part because of comments made by Anne Patterson, the U.S. Ambassador in Cairo in June before the ouster of Morsi. Here's a link to an article about Anne Patterson's comments.  http://swampland.time.com/2013/07/18/anne-pattersons-plight/

The good news is although I had one shopkeeper give me a dirty look when he asked where I was from, everyone else has been very friendly. I appreciate this attitude so much because I am very sensitive about being a citizen in a foreign country. I was told by a lovely shopkeeper named Ibrahim that we all “have the same hands” and that there’s very little we can do about our government’s decisions. I am so thankful that we can see each other’s humanity. Egyptians appreciate foreigners coming here to live as it helps the economy; Canadians and Australians are especially well liked.

 

An Egyptian journalist's perspective

Here's a link to an interesting article by Yasmine El Rashidi, a young female Egyptian journalist who graduated from Columbia University in New York. I hope you read it because it will give you an Egyptian's experience and perspective of recent events. It was printed in the New York Review of Books on September 26, 2013.

Egypt: The Misunderstood Agony

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2013/sep/26/egypt-misunderstood-agony/?pagination=false&printpage=true