High Hopes

A lot has happened. My internship definitely took a turn for the better. We have been going to art galleries, we had workshops on photography and video making and perhaps even more interesting we attended a presentation about the Revolution by the co-founder of the April 6 Movement; the youth movement that was responsible for organizing the Revolution. Next week we’ll go out in the field to take pictures of beautiful sites in Egypt, starting off with a hike in the Sinai region. I can’t wait. That’s just the internship part. I’ve paid a visit to the Swedish Embassy to follow a seminar on anti-corruption. I met the minister of finance of Egypt and enjoyed other benefits of this networking experience; we’re invited to come by the independent Egyptian tv channel 25, got the business card of an Egyptian working at UNODP and besides, it was nice to enjoy some luxury drinks and snacks of course. Yesterday night I visited the US embassy, had a cigar and some Heinekens with the marines. Afterwards I paid a small visit to Tahrir Square which was peaceful, but we were advised to leave because of possible violence further that night. I’ve been in a car accident and I was in the stadium during the biggest football match in Egypt covering my Ahly outfit, because we ended up at the Zamalek side. And even more importantly, I was hit on by a beautiful Egyptian girl in the supermarket, but I looked away because I got a bit afraid. I guess you just lose it after a month in the region.

After two weeks in Cairo I think I’m able to make a preliminary assessment of how this society functions. There seems to be some kind of vacuum. The duality that was present in Kurdistan also seems to be applicable to how some aspects of how life functions over here.  I came to belief that this can be captured through describing the role that taxi drivers fulfill. Taxi drivers here have the reputation of never stop talking and be annoying, but there are good and bad taxi drivers. This accounts for their driving as well as their character, but all of them will try to get more money out of you if they can. In my previous story I already told you about the taxi driver who tried to raise the price up by putting on the radio, airco and pulling a sad face. Well that’s one category. Some drive a different direction, some try to give back less change and some do a trick with the meter. But there’s far more to say about taxi drivers than just mentioning their hustling capabilities.

Next week Jurgen and I are going to drink a cup of coffee with a taxi driver. The conversation got off because Jurgen had memorized this sentence in Arabic: “Sorry can we go back, I forgot my underwear in the metro.” It turned out the guy spoke fluent English and we had a long a conversation about life and all the things that come with it. I asked if I could interview him about the Revolution and he agreed if we would pay him a cup of coffee. He even called Jurgen a few days ago to ask if we hadn’t forgotten. During the presentation about the Revolution I found out about another role taxi drivers play in Egyptian society. It seems they were the one who spread the word. When I asked the question how it was possible get so many people at Tahrir, it turned out the role of facebook was only a minor one. The organizers took strategic places in the city to talk to taxi drivers and spread the word. Mouth to mouth communication is by far the most effective strategy in Cairo to inform people and taxi driver are like the glue that binds all of the people together. By the way, another reason why the protests got so big, was the fact that Mubarak shut off the internet and telephone providers. Parents couldn’t reach their children anymore and got worried, so decided to go to Tahrir their selves to see where their kids were. Never thought of it in this way.

So what does this all say? It’s of course impossible to hang up a whole society on the functioning of taxi drivers. However the duality that is also present in this society can be exemplified through them. My laundry story in the previous story shows people will try to hustle you, but also shows the commitment of others to help you and undo the bad act of the other.  People are proud of the Revolution, but on the other hand are very uncertain about the future and the current regime. They’re talking about improving the environment, but don’t throw their garbage in a bin. Girls flirt, but can’t follow up. Taxi drivers talk a lot and might be annoying at times, but were one of the main reasons that the Revolution succeeded. Taxi drivers will try to hustle you, but are also so kind to tell their life story and even make time to drink a cup of coffee and talk about the Revolution. It’s because of these reason that I got the idea of making a documentary about taxi drivers. I think it will be fascinating to follow a specific taxi driver for one day and see what a typical day involves. I’m also convinced that this will give a great insight in the functioning of daily life in Cairo.

In the beginning I mentioned the vacuum. The current protests show this. After the success of the Revolution it has proven very hard to move on. A lot of people say there’s no way they’re going to go back to how things were before, but it seems that there are some mechanisms working in that direction. After a month in the Middle East I therefore think it’s now appropriate to mention Pink Floyd:

Looking beyond the embers of bridges glowing behind us
To a glimpse of how green it was on the other side
Steps taken forwards but sleepwalking back again
Dragged by the force of some sleeping tide

…

Encumbered forever by desire and ambition
There's a hunger still unsatisfied