We have talked to many of our friends in Cairo over these past days, and most of them have left Egypt by now on the US government chartered evacuation flights. Most of them did not directly fear for their personal safety, however lack of cash, internet, and the inability to work made staying in Cairo inconvenient for the time being. Some friends are thus currently in Istanbul, some in Athens, and others in Germany; a few continued all the way to the US, and have safely arrived. Our Canadian friends are being flown by their government to Paris. The cost of the tickets is to be reimbursed, and the price is $400, one way. Had we been in Cairo, it would have cost our family $2000 to get out, and then we would still have to get tickets to Sweden or the US, and back to Cairo. Adding that to the fact that Maadi really doesn’t seem very affected at all right now, I can see why some families choose to stay, or at least not all go. The grocery stores are open, delivering as usual, people are going out to eat and for walks around the neighborhood, and as far as I’ve heard, the CAC facilities has been opened so that people can use the track and playground. The future is uncertain of course, but I guess you could say that about anywhere, and worrying about it – I have learned – does not help. It is good to have a plan, of course, but in the meantime I prefer to live the way the Lebanese do: take one day at a time, and enjoy life as much as you can, because you never know what might happen tomorrow.
On that note, I will now go pick up Prof. Husband’s new glasses - replacing his old ones, which he accidentally stepped on last night and bust into pieces, along with some things for Abraham’s birthday party on Saturday.
No comments:
Post a Comment