Adam in Cairo

Life back in Spain isn’t very exciting and thus I haven’t been updating this blog. However, Mr. A is in Cairo and unfortunately that is quite a thrilling story to follow. I just wish he was out of there already. He is safe and in the airport trying to get out, which I guess is good enough at this point.

It all started a week ago when Egypt was celebrating a national holiday: Police Day. I remember a couple days before the holiday Mr. A was telling me that he found such a holiday quite absurd and even annoying in a country with a dictatorship. A country where policemen are most often corrupted, and usually feared rather than respected. Mr. A even made a joke stating that instead of being a holiday that policemen can enjoy it always ends up being the day they work the hardest to control protests all over the country.

Protests were thus expected but no one anticipated what was about to happen. Suddenly the whole country realized that kicking out a bad leader can be easy: you “just” need thousands of people protesting in the streets, like Tunisians did a few weeks ago.

After 30 years of oppression, Egyptians have finally understood that they all have a voice. One voice might not be heard, but put together thousands, hundreds of thousands, and the message will be clear and loud. And the message is that they want Mubarak out. They do not want a change in the government; they want him out, his son out, his ministers out. They want a new country. They want to be able to choose their future, even their present.

The protests have been quite peaceful. Protesters in general do not have weapons, they are not attacking the police or the army, they are being loud, and that is all. I have received a translated copy of a booklet that is circulating all over Egypt on how to behave in the protests and one of the main ideas is to not use violence. Also they want to get the Police involved and the army, and they suggest shouting slogans such as “The Police and the People stand together!!”. They encourage citizens to invite their neighbors and coworkers to join the protests always using positive persuasion.

I must admit at first Mr. A seemed to be happy to be witnessing such a moment. He was part of History, even if he was living it all from his balcony. Him and 4 friends/coworkers had all taken refuge in their apartment, in Zamalek, a small island full of embassies, hotels, and wealthy people. A rich neighborhood just a few blocks from Tahrir Square (the square is outside the island, on the other side of the Nile).

No one saw this coming in Egypt because we all have the idea that Egypt is a stable country. And it is, Mr. A has lived there twice and he loves the country, he enjoys Cairo, but he will tell you it is a poor country. It is a country full of unhappy people, oppressed people, poor people. It is said that over 50% of the population lives with less than 2$ a day, that makes over 40 million people.

The problem with Egypt is that it has had the support of Europe and the US for a very long time. Egypt has a strategic location, between Africa and the Middle East, in the Mediterranean and next to the Gulf, thus the stability of Egypt is key in order to maintain stability all over the region. Also, the peace treaty they signed with Israel years ago has somehow maintained “peace” between other Arab countries and Israel. Egypt has without any doubt the most powerful army in the region and Israel needs to have a good relationship with them. But if Israel looses that, there will be trouble. That is also why Israel has remained quiet until today, but finally they have decided to officially support Mubarak. I don’t think Egyptians and other Arabs in the region will appreciate that support.

Anyways, going back to the streets of Cairo, Adam tells me that it is amazing to see the amount of empty cans of tear gas in the street. He says there are thousands; anywhere you look you find them. However the streets of Zamalek have been kind of calm the last few days because protests are downtown and not in their island.

They have been able to leave the house a few times without being at risk. They had to buy food and water, also some alcohol as he admits after 5 days without internet, without phone, and trapped at home, you start getting very bored. ATM machines have no money, thus there is no access to cash. Nevertheless, most shops are closed.

At night everything is different and dangerous. They have not left the apartment at all after the curfew. Lets put it this way, the protests are peaceful but there are people taking advantage of it. Since there is no police in the streets there are people robbing houses, hotels, shops etc at night. Neighbors are organizing themselves in groups to protect their private property in whatever way they can. There are gunshots at night and it is terribly scary, especially in a rich neighborhood as Zamalek.

Mr. A tells me that mosques instead of calling to prayer they are sending safety messages, asking people walking in the streets at night to be sure to identify themselves so that their neighbors don't take them for burglars. 

Mr. A also tells me that at night, well, as soon as the curfew starts (today 3pm Cairo time) he can see people in the streets with knifes, sticks and even samurai swords!! These people are the ones protecting their private properties.

It is a fact that Egyptians are being kind and not aggressive. This is not against tourists, not at all. Actually people are not at risk because of the protesters, the risk comes from those vandals that are robbing houses and shops and taking advantage of the chaos.

Please note that it asks for protesters to carry a flower to show they are protesting peacefully.

Things are out of control now and thus our office decided yesterday that Mr. A and the whole team should be evacuated. The US government, no disrespect, isn’t doing much. They might be saying on TV that they are, but as far as we are concerned they are being useless. It is true that it is a complicated situation, but I can tell you things aren’t being taken care of properly. For instance, when Mr. A called the embassy a couple days ago he was told to call Washington DC to deal with it. Keep in mind phones were working on and off, and of course an international call is a very expensive one. Other people called the embassy and got an answering machine advising them to visit the embassy’s website for more info. Keep in mind Internet has been down for almost a week now!

So our office decided they should all leave the country together and booked them tickets for today. They left their apartment as soon as the curfew was off this morning since they knew getting to the airport would be difficult. What they didn’t expect was that the toughest would actually be getting inside the airport.

Thousands of people are trying to access the terminal, many of them don’t even have a ticket but they are so desperate they are trying everything they can think of to get on a plane.

After a couple hours they made it inside the terminal, checked their bags and went to their boarding gate. This sounds easy, but it was a lengthy and tiring process. They were told there was no guarantee they would take off. And indeed their flight got canceled.

A bit later they were told they could perhaps take a different flight which was supposed to take off many hours earlier but it had been delayed. They didn’t make it to that flight either.

As of right now they seem to have tickets in a plane that could take off in 30 minutes. No one knows where their bags are, but that is just the last of their concerns.

So cross your fingers and lets all hope they will be out of Egypt tonight.

As for the Egyptian people, courage!!

* Hopefully Mr. A will be here tomorrow and we can add some of the pictures he has taken in Cairo.
 

Salamat Cory

 The Filipino democracy was orphaned last August 1st, 2009, with the death of former President and National Hero Cory Aquino, the first woman president of any country in Asia and a worldwide icon of Democracy.

Hundreds of thousands of Filipinos of all age came out to the streets of Manila to say goodbye to their beloved and admired Cory, with tears in their eyes, likewise they had run to the streets of Manila in the early 80s to mourn her husband Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr., and again in 1986 during the People Power Revolution to peacefully install her as President. The country united and appeared as a one big family mourning its mother.

Born to a wealthy family in Tarlac, Maria Corazon “Cory” Sumulong Cojuangco Aquino was raised in religious schools in Manila and later sent to the US where she studied Liberal Arts. At the age of 20 she graduated with a Bachelor of Art in French, and a minor in Mathematics and she returned to Manila to pursue her studies in Law, which she abandoned a year later when she married Benigno Servillano "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr.

This probably became the first turning point in Cory’s life. Aquino was a well educated and wise young man, who became mayor at 22, and eventually governor. At 34 he was the youngest member of the Filipino Senate ever.

Meanwhile, she self-proclaimed herself a “plain housewife” and she took care of their 5 children. Despite being one of the most trusted advisors of Ninoy, she would only do so in private while in public she preferred to stay out of the stage, quietly in the background.

Ninoy Aquino soon became a lead critic of then president Ferdinand Marcos, and was regarded as a clear and serious opponent in the upcoming presidential election of 1973. However, the election never took place because Marcos declared martial law in September 1972 and then abolished the Constitution, which allowed him to remain in office. Ninoy Aquino was arrested along with other critics and opponents of the Government. He was imprisoned and sentenced to death. He spent seven years in prison until a key intervention from then US President Jimmy Carter led to Marcos authorizing Ninoy Aquino to leave for exile to the US.

This was clearly turning point number two for Cory, who often defined the next 3 years of her life as “the happiest”. She lived in peace, close to her husband and kids. What more could she have asked for? However it was a life Ninoy felt he needed to abandon to come back to the Philippines and fight for his people. He often said that “the Filipino is worth dying for”, like a prophecy of his own destiny, of his fate.

He returned without his family, who was to follow later, only to be murdered in the Manila airport.

As Cory saw yet again her life drastically change, she led the funerals for her husband with the support of millions of fellow Filipinos. Cory showed an incredible emotional and physical strength, and fought to keep your family together. For the next couple years she was never abandoned by the people, who mourned Ninoy by her side. The anger towards the Marcos regime became so intense that people lost their fear and started going out into the streets in such massive number that they couldn’t be stopped any longer. Ninoy had become a National Hero and she was the only hope for the Filipinos to regain freedom.

Late November 1985 Marcos announced a snap presidential election to be held just three months later, in February’86. Right then business tycoon Joaquin “Chino” Roces realized Cory would be the only person with a real chance to unite the different branches of the opposition against Marcos. Knowing Cory wouldn’t easily accept such a responsibility, he initiated the Cory Aquino for President Movement to gather one million signatures in one week for Aquino to run as president.

As expected Cory was reluctant at first, after all she was not a politician, and never meant to be one. But after locking herself in a convent for a ten-hour session of meditation, she accepted the immense challenge. Cory felt it was a continuation of Ninoy’s dream, and this gave her the strength and the courage to keep fighting.

The following months became tense and difficult, with an aggressive campaign from the Marcos side. The election was rigged and Marcos was soon proclaimed the winner. Violence broke out in the streets and Aquino called for a general strike, while the Catholic Church as well as the US Senate condemned the election.

 Hundreds of thousands of Filipinos jumped to the streets of Manila once again and they peacefully claimed Cory’s victory and demanded Marcos’ resignation, in a movement internationally known as the People Power Revolution. Worldwide known pictures of nuns on their knees praying in front of military tanks illustrate what the Revolution was. Eventually Marcos did indeed realize his fate and conceded the Presidency to Cory.

The success of the People Power Revolution was so unique that Cory Aquino was immediately recognized and acclaimed worldwide as an icon of democracy. It was then said that the Americans taught the Filipinos democracy but through the Revolution the Filipinos taught the world.

In three years Cory went from being a housewife and mother to a worldwide icon. She was suddenly on front covers of magazines and newspapers all over the world, and she knew she couldn’t have done it without the Filipino people, same as they couldn’t have done it without her. And that is how they all became one big family.

As President she faced many difficulties, such as an extremely weak and damaged economy, several coups d’état, and natural disasters. When her term came to an end Cory retired to private life, making a few come backs to the limelight when she felt her people and her country needed her most.

Overall Cory will be remembered as the person who fought and stood up for Democracy, the one who re-established a Constitution with important legal and land reforms, and guaranteed the social and human rights of her people. And above all, Cory will be remembered as the Mother of the modern Filipino Nation and an example of integrity, decency and selflessness.

Today Filipinos can only say Kindi ka nagiisa, Cory. Salamat. You are not alone, Cory. Thank you.