The mirage and the oasis

Writing in Cairo

One moment I was tense about what would unfold after the military issued 48-hour ultimatum would come to an end and the next moment I find myself absorbing the words being spoken by General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the defence minister. Yes, he had just fired Morsy from his job and somehow I still couldn’t believe what had just happened. Then there were fireworks and rejoicing.

I was in a middle of a Farsi lesson, but my student and I could not resist our temptation and made our way to Tahrir. On the way we were met with celebrations by very happy Egyptians. There was immense joy in their cheers for people could be seen sitting over cars and popping out of the windows of their vehicles and everywhere imaginable with the Egyptian flag soaring high. They were truly happy, truly relieved.

I joined in and jumped out of the taxi with the Egyptian flag in one hand and my Nikon in the other. One girl didn’t want any trace of Morsy as she tore to bits posters that contained his picture and that read “Arhal- Leave”.

I was living through a chapter our children will read in their history textbooks. But for Egyptians it is more than symbolic.

Continue reading here at Mariam Abuhaideri’s blog from where it happens. There you will also see her photos from the events.

Duke University Durham, North Carolina Sanford School of Public Policy May 2013. Master of International Development Policy. Rotary World Peace Fellow Johns Hopkins University Bologna, Italy School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) September 2010-February 2011 Middle Eastern Studies & International Economics. Selected Course Work: Political Islam and Change in the Mediterranean Area; Introduction to Development; Theory and Practice of International Peacekeeping; Microeconomics; Arabic Class of 1983 Lead Fellowship Recipient The University of West Georgia (Honors College) Carrollton GA, USA Bachelor of Arts, Mass Communication and Global Studies August 2009. Concentrations: Journalism and International Relations Selected Course Work: International Organizations; Media Law (Honors); International Relations; Politics of the Developing World; Politics of Oil and Global Warming; The Modern State System; Principles of Microeconomics Northumbria University, Newcastle, England (2007) West Georgia and Georgia Press Educational Foundation Scholarship Recipient GPA 3.74; Dean’s List; Graduated Cum Laude; Editor and Producer, Global Pathways to Peace

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