Those were the first two words that came out of my mouth last Tuesday, the 2nd of February, when a co-worker told me that the internet connection was back. As we usually say it here "El Hamdullah."Thank God!
After almost 2 weeks of social unrest and political instability, things are finally starting to move here in Egypt after the Jan. 25 Tahrir Square protests to oust the 30-year regime of Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak. As seen on BBC and CNN, thousands of Egyptians went to the streets of downtown Cairo calling for drastic reforms in government policy, even his immediate resignation from office. Instead, Mr. Mubarak showed a calm and decisive demeanor not only to his supporters and detractors but also to the rest of the world and vowed to remain in control of the country until the September, 2011 elections only.
As expected, news of this fiasco reverberated to Manila and, as always, everyone overreacted. After watching an interview with a local TV network in the Philippines, my mother immediately called asking about my current whereabouts and if the reports were true. Yes, to some extent they were factual. But the bombing statement, the lack of food, water and other basic commodities, not to mention the utterly nonsensical thing about bystanders getting shot head-on was clearly pointless and ignorant. Come on!
From where I'm typing this blog post, the 6th of October City in Giza, I can perfectly say that I feel safe. Yes, I did hear a couple of gun shots here and there during the first few days of the protests but they were, in my opinion, expected from any form of public demonstrations in order to "control" the crowd. Besides, I haven't heard of any rumors of a Filipino ganged by Egyptian protesters anywhere in Egypt.
We are entitled to our own opinion, of course. Freedom of speech as we all call it, but I certainly think that with this liberty to say whatever, whenever and wherever we want comes with great maturity. In other words, think before we speak. People are easily swayed with words that are largely untrue, especially on national or international television. And with the help of the internet, these things tend to be replayed over and over again. Seriously!
Anyways, I do hope that things would get better in the coming days. I'm getting quite bored and my bed's tired of my ass. Plus, my photography skills are getting really rusty. Hahaha. :-D
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Please, do everyone a favor and keep your mouth shut. Its irritating. If you want attention, go buy yourself some in the slums.
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Coffee, anyone?
