So, in Egypt, they say there is a revolution going on.
Sitting in a West Bank newsroom watching the start of that revolution, I don't know about anyone else, but when Mubarak stepped down, I was as much excited for Egypt as I was frustrated for Palestinians. I mean, its not like everyone in Palestine hasn't already taken to the streets en masse to demand their own change. Did Egypt have some secret? Some magic formula? Would they send it on over?
A year and a half after, at least from news reports, the Egyptian revolution started to take on a more familiar tone. It would be a long process of change, with nothing easy, and a tough road ahead where a lot of people would have to make a lot of decisions about what they wanted their community to look like.
So, heading on down to Cairo from Jerusalem, I was curious to see what it all looked like, felt like, smelled like. The one thing that was obvious, was that compared to the grim West Bank where rising cost of living, anger over feeling hamstrung between an occupation, an impotent government, and world system looking the other way was like an anvil being carried around by the sky, there was a certain exuberance in Egypt. (The soundtrack of the car ride down was just the beginning)
The best, best part, was the art. The walls on Muhammad Mahmoud street, had turned into a political forum. So I'll save the words and let the images do the talking.
Day two: Police presence still strong post protests near the American Embassy, and at some point the night before the walls that had been covered with murals and graffiti were whitewashed.
Even with the police around, some intrepid painters had already gotten at the fresh canvas.... and dared the police to paint over the walls again.
