Monday 31st January
8.15am and Flossie has received a phonecall on the school phone tree that school is now closed until 20th February. This puts a new perspective on things – it means that school thinks we’re in for the long haul. Also suggests that they know there is no point in rushing to re-open and better to play it safe. We’re due to have a half term mid-Feb, so actually this closure is only a week and a half longer than we though. Good part of it is that it gives some closure for people – they can actually go away and know when to come back (rather than book a one-way ticket and wait on tenter hooks to find out when you should come back).
Makes us all stop and think for a bit. Stay or go? Stay or go where? Doesn’t have to be back to the UK. Caz is thinking of bringing her Dubai holiday forward. We could bring our Dahab holiday forward, but two and a half weeks is a long time in Dahab! I know for some people the decision to get out of the country will be an easy one – up and off, but for us it’s harder. Our stuff and our lives are here and we’re comfortable here. At the moment we don not feel in a rush to leave.
9am and we head to our place to pick a few things up for the day and grab a few more essentials. We hide our instruments as we're not going to carry them around Maadi, but would feel a little mor comfortable knowing that a few thousands pounds worth of easily carrybale stuff is out of sight. Maybe we're getting a bit domestic but we also put some washing on!
11am and we walk back to Delga with some food from our place to add to the supplies there. We don't know what the shops are going to be like. This is a good move as it turns out as we pop into both SaveWay (near us) and Adam Market (near theirs) and both still have supplies but very little fresh food or pasta left. We opt for a huge pallet of eggs (30!) and bread sticks.
5pm Rumour mill, as opposed to the phone tree, is in operation now.
We hear that the head of our section is on a flight out of Cairo and that no message has been received from the school owner since she landed earlier today. Things aren’t looking too good if this is the case. If school leaders are out, then we are fools to stay.
We decide to call Nicki and find out what is happening. Flossie makes the call as she works most closely with her. It turns out the rumour is true. She’s off. The flight was booked for her to go to a conference, so she hasn’t made any special plans. On the other hand though she does have a baby son to think of. Overall though we debate whether she has to justify her decision – everyone in the school is free to do what they want to do now we have 3 weeks off. Should this be different for senior managers?
Rumour mill goes on and we’re lead to believe that other senior managers are off too.
Phone tree in action is asking for non-Egypt contact numbers for people leaving. Are more leaving than staying? We don’t know. Should it matter what other people do? Surely the decision is ours to make. But somehow it feels that these things are influencing us. If others don’t feel safe, are we fooling ourselves?
We’re hearing of more people leaving. Are they leaving because they feel unsafe and want to get out of here, or leaving because they are taking advantage of a longer holiday? Does it matter? Sort of.
We go to bed feeling a little isolated and concerned about the next day. Maybe we are making a mistake in staying. Maybe we are too confident that we can stay here and not be too affected in Maadi. It’s quiet outside. A crack of gun fire into the air a few times, a few cars slowing as they approach the road block on the corner, but otherwise quiet. Surely this is fine to stay here? We aren’t in Tahir Square. We’re in Maadi. We’ve always said its an expat bubble and it remains so. We feel safe – bowab army / neighbourhood watch is out, we have food and water. We don’t feel we need to leave.
Tuesday 1st February
8am we wake up and turn the TV on.
We are all really taken aback by the number of people that are already in Tahir Square for today’s Million Man march. Normally things don’t kick off until the afternoon, but there are lots of people there already – more than on some afternoons it seems.
We reconsider our decision about going in to school today, as we worry that if we go in to school we might not get back into Maadi again today. If the march really does kick off, even though it isn’t really going near school or the ring road, things could be locked down. Also we don’t really think there is a pressing need to go in – apart from to see people. So today is going to be a “stay indoors” day it seems!
9am We head to our place and pick up the papers on the way. They are all in Arabic, but the pictures that fill them still give us a record of what is happening. We pootle a bit at ours and I do some tidying while Scott sorts out another back up. We’re leaving his computer here, but taking back-ups with us for the moment.
10.30am and we get a call that the BCA is going to open at 11am and there seems to be a gravitational move towards it. We head down and spend 2 ½ hours there with everyone having a few beers (the bar is open, but not the kitchens). It’s really great to be with people. Just so great to see everyone and know that they are OK and swap stories.
1.30pm we pop back quickly to our place from the BCA as Scotty has passed round a piece of paper to collect everyone in Maadi’s number and whether they are planning to stay, or leave (and if so when they are planning to leave). This is more for creating a support network for the stay-ers than a list for school. We see that over a dozen are planning to stay. This reassures us and Flossie that we aren’t being crazy by deciding to stay. We offer the spare rooms in the apartment to anyone who is staying but lives further out of Maadi. Everyone resolves to use the BCA as a focal point so that we all get out of the house during the day, rather than being cooped up, and see people. Good times.
2.45pm and we get back just before curfew to find that Flossie has defrosted some chicken curry. We need it to soak up the beers – we haven’t been midday drinking on quite a while! There are so many people in Tahir Square surely something has to happen today.
Spend the afternoon watching the TV, eating and reading a little bit (I manage to finish my trashy American crime novel) before deciding to get a bit of kip.
5pm I don’t want to sleep too much in case I cannot sleep tonight and so I get up to watch some TV and read for a bit.
6pm I go to wake Scotty up and he rolls over saying he doesn’t want to be woken up. Fair enough – it’s good to grab some kip when you can as although we aren’t under any physical strain emotionally it is very tiring at the moment.
Caz has been on the phone to the UK and we turn the news on to see that Britain is sending a charter flight to Egypt to get people out. I’m in turmoil again – stay or go? We watch the news for updates and manage to get to the bottom of this; the advice about leaving / staying in Egypt has not changed (leave by commercial means if it is safe to do so), but this flight is just to add some capacity. We reason that they can’t be too concerned about us as the flight will only have 200 seats on it and they are still going to charge us £300 for the pleasure. Once seats are free, then we’ll make a move!
7pm Caz and I play cards for a while and watch trashy TV as a distraction. We flip over to Al Jazeera every now and then and see that the protestors are still holding strong in the square. Will Mubarak respond? How will he respnd? Surely he must say something tonight.
8pm and Scotty is up now. We head with Flossie over to D & P’s place to watch some TV and have a drink before the two of them fly to Oman tomorrow. We’re breaking curfew, but they live on the same cul-de-sac so it’s OK. We watch a bit of Peep Show and chat away, but tune in to the news to see that Mubarak will make an announcement soon. Another episode later and then the news conference is starting.
11pm Well Mubarak seems to have made a semi-sensible announcement. Some bits of it are quite off – references to religious / political groups taking advantage of the protests? References to youths with weapons on the street don’t take into account that this is infact a positive aspect showing people want to protect their possessions and place. By not standing down immediately we hear that the speech was greeted by jeers in Tahir Square as this is not what they are chanting for, but if he did stand down there would undoubtedly be a power vacuum. For someone who has been in power for 30 years he makes a fair number of concessions including changes required to the constitution. Hmm, Let’s see how this goes.
Wednesday 2nd February
8am we wake up and turn the TV on.
Crowd reaction in Tahir Square seems to be that they are determined to stay until Mubarak leaves.
All is quiet on the streets outside.
8.30am We head towards the Grand Mall with Caz (as she is going to T’s for breakfast). On our way there I take a photo of a sign that has been written on one of the roadblocks along our road. We also notice a crate of Molotov cocktails that I photograph. I’ll pick up the papers on my way back.
As we get to our place we see that there is an army truck with soldiers on the corner. But all seems quiet. We say goodbye to Caz and head upstairs. About 5 minutes later (after getting the coffee made and water on to boil for a brew) I head downstairs again to go to Saveway. The army truck has gone, but there is still an army presence along the road with a couple of soldiers sitting on the sidewalk. Saveway isn’t open yet (I thought it was wishful thinking) but there is a Police truck outside it and the police are cleaning away one of the impromptu roadblocks at the back of the mall.
10am I pick up the papers on the way back to D & P’s. I’m getting a lift with Sayed when they go to the airport so that I can pop into school for our suitcase.
11am it took the normal 30 minutes to drive to the airport as the road is mega-clear, but once in the airport the huge amount of traffic means it’s very slow and takes another 30 minutes to get to the terminal. Loads of cars going to departures and the car parks are also full. The street outside the airport is rammed full of people and cases. There is a line of Asian tourists that snakes its way through the car park. D & P jump out of the car and grab their case. I’m glad I’m not them having to negotiate these masses, but at least they are on their way to somewhere they’d rather be!
12 noon and I get to school. I’m greeted by Ghada who is pleased to see me. We update each other and she is pleased to know that people in Maadi feel safe. First thing I want to know from someone who has their finger on the pulse in Egypt is the response to the speech last night – can the crowds continue to demand resignation? I’m told that the feelers show that people are actually having a positive response to it and things should return to normal in a few days. This is good news. I know though that their contacts are good ones, but are different people from the people who are actually on the ground in Tahir Square. I ask her if there is any progress on the internet and they think that it will be turned on tomorrow, or maybe tonight. In terms of a money update they think the banks are starting to be re-opened and this is what we have seen in Maadi already. They remind me that everyone is very welcome to come up to school and they’ll look after us in terms of food and water and security, but they seem happy that we are happy and that supplies are getting in for food and water in Maadi. One question that comes up is whether I have heard from our friend who was recently interviewed for a job at our school (!) I say no I haven’t. There is no question that this will have an affect on recruitment for next year and potentially will affect who turns up for work once we’re back on 20th.
12.30pm and I’m back at our place in Maadi. Scotty is at the BCA and getting an update from people about what is going on in their areas. Now I’ve got the suitcase I put a load of washing on so that our running kit is ready for tomorrow and I start to boil more water for brewing. Scott calls and he is on his way back but has heard a rumour that the internet might be back on. Slow and some sites shut-down, but on. I turn the computer on quickly and yes the internet is back. Good. Facebook is working. Good. News websites and UKN are working. Good. Scott is back now and we both log on and get to reading messages and updating people with how we are doing. It feels really great to be back online and in touch with people. Really good to see what is going on and get the great messages of support and concern from friends and family. I message a few people in Cairo and we agree that we’ve made a good decision to stay and that now we have the internet back things won’t be so bad. We, and everyone still here, is feeling really positive now. Things are looking up and we feel the most positive we have done for days.
2pm we hear cheers and beeping from the street below. We both go outside and film / photograph a demonstration of about 100 people going along Road 206 towards the Grand Mall. They gather outside the mall on the round about for a while and then move one. We cannot hear what they are chanting or read their signs.
2.30pm now that internet is back we can follow news a bit better at home. A news flash comes on to say that Pro-Mubarak protests are now taking place around Cairo. These are far larger than they were yesterday and are of the same size as the Anti-Mubarak groups were yesterday it seems. Not good. Worse is that somehow the Pro- have managed to get through army blockades and into Tahir Square so there seems to be a stand-off. Not good. One commentator says it almost looks orchestrated. Not good. Coincidence that the internet is now back on to show this?
3pm realise that the protest going past our window was Pro-Mubarak and they are now coming back up from the Corniche towards the Grand Mall along Road 80. We decide that maybe this is time to get back to our friend’s place in Degla and hole up for the evening – curfew has been changed today and will only start at 5pm, but with these clashes we want to be indoors. We rush around and grab the few things we want to take with us and try to move as quickly as possible to our refuge for the night.
3.30pm and we’re safe indoors now with Sky / BBC / Al Jazeera news alternating on the TV rather than the local news in Egyptian which we get at ours. As we're watching though things start to turn ugly. Really ugly. The pro- and the anti- groups which would normally be kept separate are being allowed to converge and suddenly there are huge, terrible clashes. We've seen stories over the last few days showing that the protestors in Tahrir Square have been organising their own check points on the roads leading into the square. These check points allow them to search people for weapons and ID to ensure that the protest remains safe and peaceful. Add to this fact that the army have said they will not actively stand in the way of the protestors and we suddenly see these two things collide with utterly horrible consequences. The army don't intervene when the armed pro- protestors start to attack the unarmed anti- groups in the square. The scene unfolding is truely horrific with violence increasing from all angles. Molotov cocktails are thrown. Bricks and rubble are thrown. Somehow people are now on the roof tops throwing onto the crowds below. A horse and a camel appear and charge. What is happening? The scenes on TV show the peaceful protest descend into chaos. It's utterly horrible to watch. How terrible.
This is a real low for us, especially after such as high of having the internet back. The internet is a buzz with what is going on, but everyone is powerless to do anything. Have we made a mistake by staying? If things are turning this way then maybe we have and maybe we should get out of here.
We sit and watch what is unfolding. We also call home and speak to our families for a bit. At 7pm we have arranged a call from our friend Chimp who is broadcatsing a chat with us to friends on UKN. Although we cannot see the response in the chat room it feels really good to be talking to Chimp and to reflect on everything that has happened to us so far here.
One things is for sure. Today has been a day of highs and lows.
Thursday 3rd February
With the internet back on this morning Scotty gets a call from work as we are doing our morning TV catch up. They want him to come in to look at how we can get online learning in place. Caz has headed to Dubai this morning and with DP having gone to Oman yesterday we decide the three of us left will go in.
In school we get a coffee and biscuits (could we stomach chocolate liquors again?) and do a bit of brainstorming. A wander around shows that only a few people remain at school in terms of staff who have chosen to stay here for their safety. It seems most people have chosen to leave the country.
We make a few calls home and feel a real pang this morning. Speaking to family we see that they are concerned for us. Other people here are saying the same, that it is the concern of family that is meaning they want to get out rather than their own concern about safety. It's a tough morning for us and we raelly don't know what to do.
Later in the day we have a chance to speak to home again and both make calls. We all feel a little better now about things. We're in agreement that the reason we are staying is because we feel safe. The moment that changes, then we know we can get a flight within 24 hours. We are also staying because our family are happy with our safety. The moment that changes then we know we can get a flight within 24 hours. Their feelings about the situation are as important as our own we realise because it's not fair to put them through this. Our families have been great though and they both say that they trust our decision to stay - they know we are sensible people. They say that they do feel sometimes uneasy about it when they hear stuff on the news, but know that we wouldn't be staying if we weren't sure. One thing that has reassured them (and the family of many friends out here too) is our video in the last post about what life is really like around Maadi. This is good for us as we wante the video to go out there and show what Maadi is compared to Tahrir Square. Also on our mind is that we have a holiday coming up that we are looking forward to. Although Dahab is still in Egypt the travel advice is that Sinai is a different kettle of fish and so we know it is safe to go there. We will be able to have a full break from this all there and can enjoy ourselves - well deserved we think.
It's been a really emotional few days. Up and down. But at this point we feel better knowing what we are doing and knowing how our families feel and knowing the options that we have.
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