Visiting Egypt several years ago was one of the most impacting experiences of my life. Though we did this as part of a structured, group tour--something we try to avoid when traveling--it was perhaps the best way to experience this particular culture, because in doing so, we were able to see what wasn't shown, and infer what wasn't ever said.
That was three years ago. While some of the discussion during our trip centered around the regime of President Hosni Mubarak--the three decades and counting leader of that country--much of the growing rage was still carefully under wraps.
Our tour guide was a man of privilege and was carefully and artfully politically correct. I never got a good read on his politics because he was tactful in his response to my questions about the lack of separation between church and state, a dearth of women's rights, sketchy child labor laws and the staggering rate of poverty. The Egypt presented to us apparently didn't seem to take issue with any of that. Rather it was a benign and gentle one.
What was riding under the surface has erupted in the last week and helps explain a lot of what wasn't said to us by our guide. We were somewhat aware of this during our time in Cairo, when a former student of mine took us to dinner and spent time filling us in on the rest of the story, much of which is playing out on the news and in the newspapers as I write this.
I emailed her yesterday, fearful for her safety and that of her family. I read that the Internet connection has been blocked. so I have yet to hear back from her. I will continue to email her until I do so.
What is happening in Cairo is not unique or isolated. While it's easy to turn the page or the channel, I believe it is our collective duty as informed citizens of a democracy to keep informed. Only then do we really have a right to our opinions.
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