I generally don't blog about current events. I do keenly follow what happens in the news though. In fact, without my weekday fix of the BBC Global News podcast, I cannot function. I've been fortunate enough to saunter across a great deal of our globe, so perhaps world events mean more to me than those not as fortunate. Nowadays, due to the changes brought about by the Internet, it is much easier to 'be one's own editor' of events in the world. For example, I can easily pull up the major newspapers from Dubai although I've not set foot there for 15 years.
Despite my years in the Arab world, I have not spent any time in Egypt. I only recall seeing the inside of the Cairo airport on a return flight to the Gulf through the city. (Actually, a future trip to the country and Nile cruise are important entries on my personal bucket list.) Still, my experience has involved meeting many Egyptians, both in the Gulf and when teaching in Seattle, WA. I am inspired by the events occurring in the country and the possibilities for beneficial change.
Importantly, the resignation of Mubarak today seems a little like one completed cycle of my life. You see, I first arrived in Kuwait in the autumn of 1981. One of the very first places I visited, with the other new teachers, was a dinner hosted by Egyptian school staff. Everyone was glued to the television due to the previous leader, Anwar El Sadat's assassination. Three decades ago, I watched scenes from streets in Egypt when first eating food, such as stuffed grape leaves. I continued working in various places in the Gulf for an additional fifteen years.
Mubarak's 30-year autocratic regime surely cannot be considered to have been benevolent. I look forward to the process by which the citizens of Egypt, and the greater Arab world, step into increased democracy. By giving the average citizen a say, I strongly believe that this revolution will lead to a more pragmatic and peaceful Middle East. The way to diffuse potential trouble is to let people express contrasting views in a free and fair way. Unfortunately those processes have been an anomaly for a great deal of the citizens of the region.
