May 27 in Tahrir Square

A large demonstration is planned for this coming Friday in Tahrir Square.  Driven by impatience, those who are unhappy with progress will gather along with those who are adamant that the Mubaraks do not get off without a trial.  The army has warned against this demonstration–primarily against “foreign agitators” (US and Israelis)–but are unclear about consequences.

As we leave Cairo, we are again aware of the press of people, smog, and conflicting demands and are not sure that we understand the revolution, although we do realize that media portrayals of its struggles and causes are far from the truth. Misinformation, rumors, paranoia, and assumptions swim among the people who want unity and change.  Whatever the long-term resolution may turn out to be, our many well informed advisers seem to be pretty confident that the country will make significant progress and is moving in the right direction.  Religious conflict and fundamental are less than described. And we can confirm that the Cairo we experienced was peaceful and relatively calm.

We are back in Beirut now, having walked the city today.  Downtown Beirut is like Paris, parts of Rome, Reggio Emilia, Ferrara, Italy.  Elegant historic buildings dotted with Rodeo Drive-like shops.  Orderly traffic.  A pearl of the east. The waterfront has been extensively rebuilt into grand hotels and shops.  By the time we leave on June 1, we hope to understand why such a modern city does not have a government in session.  Today is a holiday–the celebration of the anniversary of the Hezbollah-Israeli war of 2006.  No issue is more dominant anywhere than Israel and on the surface, things are not going well.

As we enter the weekend, our focus will be on Middle East education and the school-based reform initiatives to be shared by 12 countries attending the conference.

Linda and Morgan

 

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 25th, 2011 at 7:15 am and is filed under Education, Leadership, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.