Hallo everyone!
Just wanted to write a quick note to apologize for not updating lately. I’m in Berlin and exploring this great wonder of a city. I’m back in Cairo early next week so stay tuned.
Viele Gruesse,
deine OumPushkina
March 8, 2009
С международным женским днём!
(”Happy International Women’s Day!” )
I was in Russia long enough to know that 8 March is no ordinary day. So what kind of ‘mother of Pushkin’ would I be if I didn’t wish you a happy international women’s day!
Here’s a quote from Simone De Beauvoir:
Since I was 21, I have never been lonely. The opportunities granted to me at the beginning helped me not only to lead a happy life but to be happy in the life I led. I have been aware of my shortcomings and my limits, but I have made the best of them. When I was tormented by what was happening in the world, it was the world I wanted to change, not my place in it.
(from her work All Said and Done)
PS. If you believe there should be an international man’s day, petition here.
March 6, 2009
Have your haircut and smoke it too
In a city where thousands of women cover their hair, it should come as no surprise that there aren’t many well-known places for women to cut their hair. But when a Danish friend couldn’t stop talking about a fantastic and chic salon in Zamalek, I decided to save my hair from its one year I’ve been in Cairo too long split ends.
As I was being shampooed up by an Egyptian woman who was complimenting me so much I was starting to become nervous, my friend came and asked me to translate for her, “BLONDE. NO HIGHLIGHTS. NO HIGHLIGHTS. ALL BLONDE.”
Well, a half an hour later thanks to my lovely new Lebanese hair dresser–who, by the way, I was sure was gay until he asked me to marry him…. four times–I had a new haircut. When I went to check on my friend, she was split end to ear in very smelly bleach hair dye. Eeek.
She called, “Sasha, Sasha, my scalp is burning. Seriously. BURNING. Can you tell them that???”
Ughhh.. My Arabic didn’t stretch that far unfortunately and I was just left with a “Law sama7ti… Bussy, uhh, da mish kwayyis. Hatakhalas emta?”
The highlight of my week is the following moment: Only in Egypt could a Danish girl smoke her cigarettes while reclined and covered in hair dye while the Egyptian girl continues to lather the dye, the Lebanese stylist carefully overlooks the procedure and me? Drinking my 10 LE shai ben3n3 of course. Oh Cairo.
February 28, 2009
Reactions to the bomb in Khan El Khalili
News travels quickly in Egypt. Perhaps even quicker than it does in the US. Within a half an hour of the bomb blast at the Khan, I received a call from a close friend asking if I was ok. A half hour after that, friends from work who know I live downtown, my flatmate and others texted me or called me to make sure I was fine.
I came home about an hour later only to hear my bowab (who I’m fairly certain has never seen a computer up close) tell me about the foreigners who were rushed to a nearby hospital and the French teenager who was killed.
All of us expats in Cairo were pretty alarmed as Khan El Khalili is our weekly source of new shishas, presents for friends and new sheets. Although I’ve never sat at those cafes in the midaan where the blast took place, I was walking in that very square only a few days before the bomb.
Of course Egyptians are talking, and of course the government is doing positively nothing but randomly arresting three Egyptian men they’ve deemed “suspects.” Last night, on my very long taxi ride from West al Balad to Zamalek, my taxi driver mentioned the bomb. I quote,
“Yeah.. it’s haram. But I’ll you one thing. The one thing I’m sure of: It wasn’t an Egyptian who did this. Egyptians don’t do things like that.”
Me: “Oh really?… So who do you think it was?” (praying that he wouldn’t blame it on Palestinians)
Taxi driver: “Well, I don’t know. It could have been the Israelis… Or who knows? The Palestinians maybe. They’ve been pretty upset about the situation in Gaza.”
And again, Egyptian anti-Palestinian rears its ugly head.
But after yesterday’s attack, I’m starting to wonder if this is the beginning of a stronger anti-foreigner sentiment.
February 25, 2009
Cairo’s Conspiracy Theories
Conspiracy theories in Cairo… They’re told everywhere. From our bawabs to our taxi drivers to the lovely women who sell us vegetables in Souk Falaki.
And when you hear a conspiracy theory coming on, you can guess their blame is on the usual suspects: the Jews and the Israelis. Sure George Bush and the Chinese have their fair share of conspiracy as well.
Here are a few that come to my head that you might appreciate. Sure, everyone has heard one of their Egyptian friends muttering something about how Bush created 9/11… Hell, I’ve even heard one Egyptian blame 9/11 on the rising power of the Chinese as a way to set back the Arab world (… yeah.)
But let’s get to the juicy ones. The Jews and their weather control technology. This is pretty well known in Cairo and by far the most famous, but just incase you’ve never heard, you might it quite amusing. It has become quite common to attribute the 2004 Tsunami in Indonesia to the Jews and their extraordinary ability to control the weather… Yes, you did actually just read that.
Why Indonesia, you ask? Simple! They hate Muslims, so of course they would attack the largest living Muslim population in the world.
I say: If Indonesia really is so treasured as the largest Muslim population in the world, then why are there so many runaway Indonesian maids in the Gulf?
There are also conspiracy theories that kind of make you think. After the latest war in Gaza, a new conspiracy theory connected major internet service breakdowns in Egypt with Israeli attacks in Gaza. There was a massive internet outage in late December, just days before the attacks in Gaza began. There was also a outage in Egypt during February 2008 coincidentally when strong Israeli military aggression was taken by Israeli in response to Hamas rockets, resulting the deaths of over 100 Gaza residents. You have to admit, it’s a pretty funny coincidence.
Then, there are the conspiracy theories clearly invented by Egyptian men to excuse their shortcomings (interpret ’shortcomings’ as you will 
).
I recently heard a conspiracy that an Israeli company was exporting belts (regular belts to fasten pants) which magically made it so that Egyptian men could not fuck their wives. These magical belts induced a chemical reaction to Egyptian male private parts which made it difficult (and certainly not ‘hard’) for men to get it up.
If you’ve heard of anymore, please feel free to add them in comments. Happy conspiracy theorizing, everyone!
February 18, 2009
Philip Rizk and “This Palestinian Life” Screening Downtown
Tonight I attended the screening of Philip Rizk’s documentary film called “This Palestinian Life,” also known as the social event of the season. Lots of random recognizables from different Cairo walks of life. I have never seen AUC’s Jamal Center screening room that crowded. Not only did chairs run out quickly–floor space as well. It’s no wonder that the screening drew much attention as his four day arrest and interrogation by Egyptian authorities gained a great deal of media coverage.
I have to admit, I didn’t really want to go tonight. The “Palestinian bandwagon” and activists are two social circles that I tend to avoid when possible. Don’t get me wrong- it’s not that I’m not interested in Palestine or social activism, I just can’t stand the mind-numbing amount of group think and selfish political masturbation that usually hovers around these groups. I too lived in Jerusalem for a summer where I was surrounded by several ignorant but ardent ISM activists.
Well, try as I might not to like the bloke, I was overall impressed by Philip’s character and presentation. The documentary was a small window into the lives of select Palestinian farmers and rural residents both in Gaza and the West Bank. Nothing immediately ground-breaking, especially if one has travelled/ lived or taken significant interest in contemporary Palestinian society. His approach to the documentary however- to show the lives of everyday people rather than politicians, journalists and activists was a breath of fresh air.
As any major event downtown, you can guess that I was sitting at Al Hurraya not long after the screening, which quickly turned into Philip Rizk fan club’s first official meeting. One of my girlfriend’s : “He’s been abducted. He’s sexy…. Oh, and he has manly facial hair!”
I’m not sure how sexy abduction is, but what I enjoyed about Philip and his documentary was that it didn’t seem like another student rambling off text book resistance methods and filming a couple of shots of Palestinians while releasing his own political angst. On the contrary, Philip and his documentary demonstrated a keen, sincere and conscious interest in the individual lives of people. Well done, Philip.
February 15, 2009
Turns out, there actually is a reason why women wear four inches of eyeliner in the ME
When my best friend came from New York to visit last December, she couldn’t help but comment on how many women in Cairo wear eyeliner. Indeed, most of us (including expats) do. But I only recently discovered why.
With my infinite desire to modernise bedouin aesthetic, I’ve grown quite accustomed to putting on eyeliner -if only eyeliner- on in the morning. However, recently, with our increasingly spring weather and strong sun, I made the mistake last week of not wearing eyeliner and I could barely open my eyes in the middle of the afternoon. The black around your eyes, believe it or not, really makes a difference.
So, ladies, there you go. I’ve given you an excuse now. If you’re like me and always seem to lose sunglasses, eyeline yourself up. It’s now not only orientalise yourself, it’s practical!… Just don’t overdo it. It is still daylight and it’s not Halloween.
February 7, 2009
Jointet
Someone should commission a study on vernacular language usage in downtown Cairo. Combinations like “Hallo du, 3mla eah?” (hey you- German, what’s up girl?- Arabic)… or “Ahlan ahlan! Ca va?” (”Hey hey- Arabic, how’s it going?- French) have become commonplace in a small plot of land where Egyptians, Europeans and Americans gather under one very small, tight nit roof.
the tower has babel has fallen. greetings from cairo.
Although English is the primary language spoken amongst expats and between expats and Egyptians, French is also widely used. In fact, there’s not one day that I don’t speak some French at work/ ahwas/ home. German is also growing in usage thanks in large part to the phenomenon of relationships between German women and Egyptian men in Cairo.
Both of my flatmates (Danish and English, although both native Arabic speakers) are starting Spanish lessons soon. And last week, I began a German-English language exchange. Oh oh only in Cairo.
And then there’s Englishized Arabic. Last night, an Egyptian friend said, “Aizeen nershteri beera? We’la mumkin n3mal jointet,” which means “You guys wanna buy some beer? Or could could roll some joints.”
Jointet, coming from the English word “joint” adding the “et” ending (Arabic’s plural feminine form).
Tu vois? Masr. Oum El Dounia.
February 1, 2009
Cross-dressing and mascara in the UAE: You go girl (to prison)
Lest we forget the terrible crimes committed last week in Mecca, the UAE has bigger fish to fry. A 45 year old Indian expat has been charged with ‘cross-dressing and using mascara at Mall of the Emirates.’ The Dubai Court of Misdeamers gave the man a six-month suspected jail term and fined him Dh 10,000 (approx. 2700 USD).
So there you have it. The UAE can buy out all the Western institutions they want, but they’ll never have our style.
Wait, speaking of moral corruption and dressing in drag, didn’t the UAE sign a contract with NYU to create a campus in Abu Dhabi?… Probably should’ve thought about that one a bit more, Mr. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahya.
January 28, 2009
Obama and selective democratic advancement in the ME
It has been one week since Barack Obama took office. His presidency has given many a hope that times can change and that his administration will forge a new relationship between America and the international community based on mutual interest and dignity.
A hope. This hope, however, easily falls into doubt upon reflecting what many have witnessed as years of Bush’s administration proclaiming democracy and conviction in the rights and lives of free people while supporting dictatorships with special relationships with the US and initiating a pre-emptive war in Iraq, that has led to the greatest refugee and IDP crises in the region, not to mention civilian casualties and an uncertain political future.
Rather, selective democratic advancement has characterized American policy. The belief that only those who we wish to speak will speak- free or not free. Voices have been silenced, and it seems as though only some have the right to organize themselves and express their narratives, political views and ambitions.
To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
As a young American living in Egypt (a strong American ‘ally’ in the region.. as well as a recipient of much American money), I wonder how Obama’s words will translate to the interests of Egyptians, who have long rallied for change but have been jailed, tortured and punished for organizing and petitioning for their rights as citizens. And as everyone well knows, the reason why America does not critique Egypt’s embarrassing mockery of a democracy is no little matter. Egypt’s recognition of Israel’s right to exist has compromised America’s eagerness to support the free will of the people of Egypt… and beyond.
In my excitement to congratulate Obama on his vision, his charisma to lead and his strong work ethic, I cannot forget his response to the recent tragedy in Gaza. His public statements on Gaza make me suspect that he too will engage in “selective advancement” and the compromising of values that he says he promotes.
Obama’s simple recognition of suffering in Gaza is not enough. His comments on Israel’s right to defend itself bear no relevance to the enormously intolerable war that has committed several international war crimes. If his recognition of Israel’s right to defend itself were at least coupled with Gaza also having a right to defend itself, I might find that at least balanced (at best).
Instead, I find that his comments suggest the belief that the people of Gaza do not have a right to exist–nor do they have a right to life or to pursue their own happiness. The lives that were taken and destroyed were not the lives of fundamentalist terrorists- but of people with histories, narratives, ambitions, dreams. A people who have suffered much for decades and deserve even more than the dignity that they are not even receiving.
Even in my awe of Obama and though I believe that he will do good by the United States, this hypocrisy is unacceptable. Obama should either admit that the United States believes that rights of people only exist for those who we call our friends or –even better- not say anything at all. If he really believes that the imagination and active will of free people has the power to transform history, I don’t understand how he could brush off a war that will continue to affect the people of Gaza for generations. The era of hypocritical American foreign policy is destroying the very essence that Obama wishes to defend.
