We're still waiting so see what will happen this afternoon when the army's ultimatum for Morsi expires. Last night, we heard reports of gun battles on our side of the river, though not in our neighborhood, so we stayed in. Apparently 20 people were killed, mostly in the area around Cairo University where the Muslim Brotherhood was rallying its forces.
This morning, with daylight on my side, I went out to scope out the situation. There is a definite mutedness to today, though the streets are not empty. Many stores are still open and people are going about their business. I walked up to Galaa Square, where an army personal carrier was parked at the entrance to the bridge. It wasn't a huge one, and the soldiers were hanging out in the back, not particularly at attention or anything. Still, one cannot mistake a military presence when a tank rolls into your neighborhood. (Apparently they're all over the place now.) I rode the microbus down the Corniche, and people were less boisterous than usual. No one really felt like chatting or shouting.
There is an abundance of giant flags around -- stretched out on the Corniche, hanging from apartment buildings, etc. Zamalek, though, was pretty much business as usual.
Now we're back inside watching OnTV, one of the new private satellite channels formed after the revolution. The camera is trained on Tahrir, with massive crowds waiting the military's statement... while it, in turn, has said it might not issue it on time. There seems to be a sense among Egyptian friends that something will happen, under the guidance of the military, that is not strictly speaking a military coup (i.e. the military knows it can't solve all the problems facing Egypt and doesn't want that responsibility?) I don't know what this would actually mean.
This morning, with daylight on my side, I went out to scope out the situation. There is a definite mutedness to today, though the streets are not empty. Many stores are still open and people are going about their business. I walked up to Galaa Square, where an army personal carrier was parked at the entrance to the bridge. It wasn't a huge one, and the soldiers were hanging out in the back, not particularly at attention or anything. Still, one cannot mistake a military presence when a tank rolls into your neighborhood. (Apparently they're all over the place now.) I rode the microbus down the Corniche, and people were less boisterous than usual. No one really felt like chatting or shouting.
There is an abundance of giant flags around -- stretched out on the Corniche, hanging from apartment buildings, etc. Zamalek, though, was pretty much business as usual.
Now we're back inside watching OnTV, one of the new private satellite channels formed after the revolution. The camera is trained on Tahrir, with massive crowds waiting the military's statement... while it, in turn, has said it might not issue it on time. There seems to be a sense among Egyptian friends that something will happen, under the guidance of the military, that is not strictly speaking a military coup (i.e. the military knows it can't solve all the problems facing Egypt and doesn't want that responsibility?) I don't know what this would actually mean.
What are we rooting for? Certainly I (and my fellow American friends here) have no sympathy with Morsi's bullheaded incompetence, and sympathize with the values of our liberal friends. Morsi has clearly blown it -- he didn't bring a coalition together, didn't listen or talk to anyone except his own MB folks, didn't really know how to solve any of Egypt's problems. The economy probably couldn't be helped much anyway, at least not quickly. But it's really hard to feel comfortable with the idea of a military takeover… it's true that Morsi was elected, even if the final choice between him and Ahmed Shafik was highly distasteful. Some tweet I read yesterday spoke of the "democracy of the streets" being greater than the "democracy of the ballot box." While feeling empowered to effect change is great, I can't help but feeling uneasy about the chaotic implications of that kind of mentality.
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