What Happens to People Who Love Egypt Today!!

Well, it’s really sad and ugly that after the revolution of 25^th Jan people can’t live in Egypt peacefully and can’t enjoy freedom of thought or get a decent living, thanks to the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (i.e. SCAF), who are basically sucking the life out of anybody who loves and cares about this country and protects the corrupt ex-president and his family and friends!!!

Sign in Tahrir Sq. on 18 Nov asking to Free Alaa Abd El-Fattah;
 young Egyptian Activist who has been falsely put in Military Prison 

Anyway, I’m not going to go into criticizing the SCAF and its continuously failing ways in managing the country and responding to the demands of the revolution for a decent living, freedom, and democracy, because a lot of people have already wrote about that and continually writing about that from all around the world. I’m going to highlight something different, based on my personal experience. So, here it goes.

After 25 Jan Americans in Egypt with a Tourism Visa had to renew their visa every month. A few Americans I know who were working here in Cairo and couldn’t get a work permit (As a lot of employers here hire foreigners illegally and don’t give them a work permit, even some governmental organization does that !!), left Egypt because it’s a burden to keep going every month to Tahrir Compound (AKA: Mogama’a Tahrir) to renew their Tourism Visa.

An American friend wanted to go to renew her Visa at Tahrir and after the recent events there and the killing of revolutionists at Mohamed Mahmoud Street by police forces, the place wasn’t safe for foreigners or even Egyptians with a foreign nationality.  A lot of Egyptians with foreign nationality who loves Egypt and came back to see and document what’s happening in Egypt has been captured and sometimes even tortured; like the Columnist and public speaker Mona Eltahawy; who had been beaten and both her hands broken by the police forces just because she was at Tahrir taking photos with her camera !! There were three young foreign AUC students who were captured and accused of Spying, just because they heard about what’s going on in Tahrir and wanted to witness history in the making!!!  So, I offered to go with her to avoid any trouble that could possibly happen.

Thursday 1^st of December

American Embassy at Garden City Cairo

At the street leading to the Embassy a Military solider asked “Where are you going?” I answered “I’m taking her to the American Embassy” motioning towards my friend. He was very friendly; he let us in and gave us directions to the Embassy.

In front of the Embassy was a huge crowd of hundreds of people and I thought it was a protest or something, but my friend told me that was the usual crowd and those are Egyptians applying for Green cards or Visas. As we came close I found that they were standing in a very very long line! I wondered; did they completely lose faith in Egypt becoming a better country and decided to go to the US?! Did they lose the faith in positive change?! Or was it a plan B incase the country fails to rise up after all this corruption before and after 25 Jan?! Or were they just going there to the US to get an MD or a PhD and return?!  Or was just a short Vacation?! Maybe it was all that, and maybe not.

It took my friend less than 15 minutes and she returned with her new passport. Then we walked towards the Tahrir Complex (AKA: Mogama’a Tahrir) to get her Visa renewed.

Tahrir Complex at Tahrir Square

On entering the Tahrir Square there was a line of young people checking the IDs of people entering Tahrir Square to assure the safety of protestors and prevent armed people or intruders from entering. I told them I’m entering the Mogama’a with my friend and they let us in. The Mohammed Mahmoud Street violence has stopped a few days ago so, the situation at Tahrir Square was calm, with a few protestors camping there and in front of the Ministry Council Building (Magles El Wozar’a) and a few Street Hawkers; selling foods and drinks to people at Tahrir.

Inside the Mogama’a, the place seemed less crowded than usual. It was relatively empty compared to its usual state; may be because not everybody knows that it’s still working despite the revolution and recent events at Mohamed Mahmoud Street.

We kept searching for the place to get the Visa and finally we got there. My friend filled an application and there was a sign saying Non-Arabian Countries above a glass window; and when we approached I noticed the lady behind it spoke to foreign people in Egyptian!! She actually didn’t speak a word in English, and she motioned with her hand to a guy standing in the hallway who spoke English! When people went to that guy he told them what to do. Anyway, we spoke to the guy and he wrote on my friend’s application paper asking the lady to grant my friend a one month Visa; which is the maximum time for a Tourism Visa these days in Egypt after the revolution! The lady behind the window kept saying in Egyptian “Why does she want to stay here in Egypt?!” I told her “She’s a Teacher and she’s working here”. She said she needs to get a work permit “I told her not all schools or organizations in Egypt provide people with a work permit”. “That’s not my problem” she answered. She was too aggressive and refused even to listen to me and she said “No, I’ll not give her a Visa! Why is she here?”

Well, at the end we didn’t get the Visa for my friend that day. Why? Because some smart person decided that all foreign people who loves this country or try to visit it and stay for more than one month may be suspects of spying or plotting to destroy the safety of the country ?! Then we wonder what happened to tourism in this country!! And why on earth put a person who doesn’t peak English at the Non-Arab countries window, to deal with foreigners who wants to get a Visa?!

My friend suggested that may be because it’s hard for Egyptians to get the American Visa, the Egyptians are trying to make it hard on Americans to stay in Egypt. I told her I don’t believe so! I like to believe that Egypt has been always a country that welcomes all people from all around the world.

So, why is my American friend here in Egypt? Well, she’s been living here in Egypt for the last 7 years and she loves Egypt. She thinks that people here are very helpful and friendly. She’s a simple person who plays a musical instrument (The bassoon), she used to be working at for a consulting company in Mohandiseen, and currently she is working as an English Teacher. My friend once said; a few months after the 25 Jan revolution, “I still think Egypt is safe now....there is still more violence in the US than in Egypt”. She loves it here in Egypt and that’s why she was living here for the last 7 years.

They wander what happened to the Economy and what happens to Tourism and they blame it on the protestors and revolutionists at Tahrir!!

"Once upon a time we will tell our children
 about our Glory"...

There are lots of people who truly care about this country. A lot of them Dream of a better Egypt. A lot of them doesn’t like what the current government led by the SCAF is doing to it. A lot of them got in Military Jails like Alaa Abd El-Fattah, and Maikel Nabil and some of them have been killed like Khalid Saeed and Mina Daniel or lost their eyes, like lots of young people who were shot at recent violence at Mohamed Mahmoud Street caused by the corrupt police forces!! And some of them are being attacked and accused of spying!!

So, basically that’s what happens to people who care about and love Egypt today!

While the people who were and still are destroying Egypt are left alone without punishment or even a just trial?!

That’s Why The Revolution Still Continues…