Protest Through the Shutters

Since the major protests began throughout Egypt in June, the people have continued to express their views in ongoing rallies.  July and August were some of the most severe civil clashes that this country has ever faced in modern history.  John and I arrived on July 22 in the middle of it all.  We are not living in Cairo but rather another city in Upper Egypt (which is actually South…It has something to do with the current of the Nile).

In our location, the protests have been smaller, more subdued.  A few situations arose which caused the army to move in tanks to various key locations throughout the area and they still remain.  I had thought that things were beginning to normalize a bit.  More people were out on the streets shopping and visiting one another.  Yes, maybe just maybe life would stabilize.

Some friends of ours were visiting from Cairo and we were thrilled to spend some time with them during their trip here.  One day, they had been invited by a pastor and his wife for lunch. (There is a small percentage of Christians in Egypt.)  They asked us if we would like to also go since we lived here.  We were glad to be included.

It was a Friday so we thought it best to take a taxi to their home rather than walk.  Some of the most tense days are on Friday following mosque services.  We walked up a flight of stairs made of simple concrete and were greeted by a beaming woman in her early sixties.  She hugged each of us and gave us the four kiss Egyptian greeting (right cheek, left cheek, right cheek, left).  

Her husband also introduced himself and asked us to sit.  The small room had simple furnishings of a couch, love seat and chairs.  A picture of Jesus hung on one wall and a collage of family photos on the other.

In the background we heard Arabic music playing and she told us that it was a recording from a local church.  Pheobe* brought in a tray with glasses of juice and placed it on a small table in the middle.  We each began sipping and asking questions about their lives.  Philemon* told us stories as Pheobe ran in and out of the room checking on the dishes in the oven.

Around 2:00, we heard people talking outside the window.  Philemon looked out and said that there is a protest by the Muslim Brotherhood on the street below.  His wife apologized and said that normally they would open a window to let a breeze in, but it's best not to do it during these times.  We assured her that we understood.

We looked through the shutters and saw a group of people chanting while holding four fingers up and their thumbs in their palms.  This was a symbol devised to remember what had happened a few weeks back when so many Egyptians died during the clashes.

One young man took a can of spray paint and sprayed a message on a cream wall that said, "Egypt is Islam" and added a negative comment about the current leader of the army.

Wonderful People!

The pastor came back to his chair and said that he prays for peace for all of Egypt.  Phoebe called us for lunch and we sat down to a huge assortment of amazing food.  It was such a humbling moment. These kind, wonderful people opening their home during such difficult times and offering us an abundance of food when money was so limited.

John prayed a prayer of blessing and we laughed and talked.  Phoebe was very Egyptian in that she continually offered us more food until we thought we would need to be surgically removed from the table.

We helped clean up and then returned to the living room for a dessert of fresh bananas.  After a bit of letting our food digest, we took turns praying for Egypt and its people.  There is no simple answer.  Much of what I understand coming from an American paradigm is very different from what this pastor and his wife actually experience.  And even their filter of the world varies vastly from those who were protesting in the street below.

Around 5 pm, we said our goodbyes and assured Philemon and Phoebe that we would see them again soon.  We left the sanctuary of this sweet couple's home and walked back down to the street where the protests had just occurred.

So what's the answer?  Some would consider it a platitude when I say, "Jesus is."  But really only God can truly understand the heart of an angry man, the need of a protesting people and the plans for a country-wide resolution.  I choose to put my trust in Him and thank Him for the honor of meeting yet two more Egyptian souls.  

Shwya shwya ("Little by little") life continues...

*Not their real names

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