ABQJOURNAL OPINION/GUEST_COLUMNS: Internet Brings Egypt Home

Monday, February 07, 2011

Internet Brings Egypt Home

By Terry And Pam Rogers
Albuquerque residents
          The world in which we live in 2011 is so much smaller than it was 10 or 20 years ago. We have the capacity to connect with virtually every person on the planet and, if we so choose, we can become an observer of every world event thanks to the Internet.
        But, when we know people and have been places or have family or close friends who are on the scene and directly affected, we now become a part of the drama that is being played out in every form of media.
        Our daughter, her husband and our three grandchildren have been living on an ex-patriot basis in Cairo, as my daughter worked on assignment for a major petrochemical company. We have made four trips to Egypt over the last five years and have spent time with the Egyptian people and moved freely about their land. Overall we have found them to be a friendly and hospitable people not unlike folks we have met in our travels about the U.S., U.K., Europe or Peru.
        The recent events are historic for Egypt and the Middle East in terms of how fast the tremors of political change can sweep throughout a region.
        We first contacted our daughter on Jan. 25 via e-mail to see what effects the first gathering of protesters in downtown Cairo were having on her community in Ma'adi, a suburb in the southern part of Cairo. Business was being conducted as usual during the day, and no visible change was noted in daily life in Ma'adi.
        Two days later, as events escalated and the police began to back away from the overwhelming crowds, life changed dramatically. In a phone call with my daughter on Jan. 27, she remarked about the disappearance of the police from the local street corners, the appearance of the military with tanks rolling through neighborhood streets. Local neighborhood groups now patrolled the streets with clubs and knives to protect property from looters; but it was difficult to differentiate between the vigilantes and the looters.
        The Grand Mall, a popular shopping mall located less than two miles from their home, had been looted and burned. And as we spoke with our daughter, reports of gunfire were heard in the background. The violence and anarchy were moving into their neighborhood. The company had made arrangements for them to leave Egypt on Jan 29, but they had to get through this night first. Not until that moment did the reality of the situation hit home. They were in the midst of a country in turmoil and here we sat in Albuquerque not knowing how to help.
        Mubarak then did the unthinkable; he shut down the Internet and cellular phone service in Egypt. We did not hear from our daughter for the next day and a half. We watched every newscast, monitored the Internet day and night, and our imaginations ran wild as law and order in Egypt spun out of control.
        Then, late on the 29th we heard from other family members that the Saturday departure did not take place and that departure had been rescheduled for Sunday, Jan. 30. That evening, Cairo time, we received a call from our daughter; they were in the Cairo airport. They had been transferred there on buses under military escort. Even so, it took them over two hours to make a trip that normally takes 45 minutes. Their chartered flight was scheduled to leave at 7:40 p.m.
        Their flight was one of nine to leave Cairo that day. They arrived in London at midnight and were escorted to a warm and safe harbor.
        Lessons learned:
        • Peace and stability are universally fragile states of being that can change with a moment's notice and should never be taken for granted.
        • We have grossly underestimated our dependence on communications technology as the means to manage our affairs. Without these tools, we have limited information to make the right decisions, whether they turn on the well-being of a family member or an organized assembly exercising free speech.
        • While significant praise is to be given to my daughter's company in meeting the needs of its employees and doing everything possible for their safe extraction from the turmoil of Egypt, the power of prayer cannot be ignored. We had hundreds of people all over the world praying for their safe escape from the crisis. Those prayers have been answered; they have been delivered out of Egypt.
        And now, we pray for a quick resolution to the crisis in Egypt, peace and stability in the government of Egypt and liberty for its people, peace and stability in the Middle East that recognizes and upholds the human rights endowed by our Creator.

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