A trip to Egypt after the Egyptian Revolution by Jasmine Salama

Born and raised Egyptian, Egypt’s history and events have always been important to me. Living there as a young teen and waking up to the perfect view of the Mediterranean sea is a memory that will always be imprinted in my brain; so it’s no wonder that when the Egyptian revolution hit,I was very concerned. It wasn’t until last spring that I was able to go back to my beautiful second home to be able to see the rest of my family.

Being years after its revolution, Egypt will never return to the way it use to be. Starting in 2011, Egyptians all around Egypt celebrated the reign of long term president Hosni Mubarak. Egypt then sparked a widespread movement that influenced other countries to fight for freedom. As protests in Egypt continued, president Mubarak resigned. As 2012 came by, new president Morsi was getting attacked for not being qualified enough. As these allegations continued, so did the deadly protests. At this point of the revolution, my parents no longer made family trips to Masr (Egypt in Arabic). I was utterly devastated that I didn't know when the next time I would see the rest of my family was. Not only was I confused as to what exactly was going on, I was scared that something terrible would happen to one of my cousins while they participated in these revolts. The worst part was seeing the look on my parents faces when they also realized that they weren't sure when the next time they would see their siblings was.

One of the most horrific events that happened during the Arab spring that made me realize that Masr would never be the same as when I was younger, was when Morsy advocates were killed in Cairo by the Egyptian forces. Seeing this all happen on the tv and knowing that I had family that I loved so dearly there that were in danger, made me sick to stomach. All I wondered was as to why all of this happening and why did no one want to live in peace. My family was sending as much money as possible to our relatives in Egypt since the price of food increased dramatically and unemployment decreased just as much.

As the third summer came around of not being able to visit Egypt, the “Sisi” had taken control of Egypt. Around the same time, protests broke out when a judge found former president Hosni not guilty of the demoralization that had taken place during his reign. I remember constant phone calls being made throughout my household to my relatives and hearing how aggravated they were that Mubarak was found not guilty. It wasn’t soon until he was sentenced to 20 years of prison and potentially a death sentence for undercover work.

News headlines presented in bold the beheading of a hostage by ISIS in Cairo. Once this hit, I could almost hear the screams and cries of Egypt that ISIL had done this. As time went on, more and more news hit about Egypt but this time with more of a time gap with each event. As of now, Egypt’s current state remains stable but shaky. After 5 years, I was finally able to go back and enjoy my time in Egypt. In March I was able to rekindle with all of my family in Alexandria and Cairo. During this time I was able to hear all of their thoughts on Egypt’s revolution and I realized before me that I half of my family was on Sisi’s side while an equal amount was on Morsi’s side. I had 6 year old cousins running around and telling me “Sisi yes, sisi yes, morsi no”. I was appalled that I had young cousins that were just regurgitating what their parents were telling them. Although my experience in Egypt this past March was more than nostalgic, I was/am still appalled about how divided the country still is. Even until today the events that occur still are confusing to me. Below are pictures that I took over spring break while being in Alexandria and Cairo.