Witnessing Egypt 2011

Witnessing Egypt 2011 is remarkable. I know most of us have been following the events on the streets of Cairo for the past few weeks. Obviously social media has allowed us to have 24 hour access to the events. Today, 02/11/2011, will now be a date that we will call to mind for ever so many years. On January 28, 2011, my friend, Allison Boyer, who owns After Graduation and also writes for Blog World, wrote this post Social Media's Role in the Egyptian Protests.

Alli Boyer

It caught my attention. I hope you will read it. It occurred to me that Alli's perspective as a young woman (she is younger than Mubarak's regime) was interesting and hopeful. It made me recall my feelings from some 32 years ago when I was Alli's age and the news about Egypt also brought hope.

Here is my OP-ED...
January 29, 2011

Hi Alli,
I just want you to know that I appreciate you writing about this world event as it unfolds or doesn’t unfold (due to a black-out) in the social media. As you say we can “listen”. And maybe by listening we will take the time to read and learn about the most recent history that has brought Egypt to this point. 

I remember distinctly watching as the Camp David Accord was signed by Carter, Sadat and Begin…one week before my wedding in September 1978. While we watched on television, this was before the days that you would run to your phone and call your friends long-distance. Afterall…long distance calling was still a luxury. But we did write letters and I remember receiving one letter from a good friend marveling at the miracle of the Camp David Accord. The actual Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty took affect March 26, 1979, the day stays in my mind as my father passed away the next day.

Thinking back over the past 30 years…Sadat was assassinated by fundamentalists in October 1981, shortly after Mubarak took office and he has remained ever since. Begin’s life history is one that is most interesting. Leaving office in 1983…well time goes on.

I guess what I am trying to say is this: For half of my life, the Camp David Accord and the subsequent treaty helped to keep things just a bit calmer. But it seems that what passed for calm to those of us so far away and wrapped up in our own worlds was not really calm, but simmering, and now we all need to take the lid off of the pot and dare to look inside!

So much to learn…listening is a good beginning.
Judy

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It would be great to hear your thoughts about Egypt now and even then....

Related articles

• Foreign Policy: Why You Should Care About Egypt (npr.org)
• Cairo: Finding the city behind the headlines (cnn.com)