New Trip to Siwa Tomorrow.

Tomorrow,  February 26th, I will be taking a three day trip that has been organized by Fulbright.  We will be going to Siwa, Egypt.  Siwa is an oasis town located in the western Sahara, near the border of Libya.  The people and culture are ethnically Berber, rather than Arab, and consequently it is a rather different place than one could otherwise find elsewhere within Egypt. Mallory went there about a month ago and considers it to be her favorite place within all of Egypt, so I have quite a bit to look forward to.  I will leave Cairo around 6:30 in the morning, and will return Saturday night. 

For more information on Siwa, click here.

Everything Is Cool even if Cairo is Not

I just heard that there were some explosions in a tourist bazaar in Cairo.  I just wanted to mention that I'm doing all right and will soon be in touch with those who concerned.  At the time I was in the neighborhood of Hailasher, working with some guys to start a new hip hop program. 

New Music Video

Check out Usa Una Day by the Unigunz.  It was filmed by David Osit.  If it is not visible on the blog, you can see it directly on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XDH-SwVzxo

Looking in a different direction.

Two weeks of school have reached completion.  The coursework is not begining to mount, and so are my plans for the next few months.  The Unigunz came over my house tonight to discuss organizing a show here in central Cairo, while I also asked them about other oppurtunties to work with refugee communities within urban cairo.  The simple truth is that while I love spending time with these guys, I am also begining to long for work that is more concerned with urban planning and community development.  In many ways, I'm having second thoughts about getting reimurssed within the ongoing project regarding hiphip and the local gangs.  Certainly there is a satisfaction to be found, yet really it isn't all encompassing, and this is very much the reason I had moved from fine arts to economic planning to begin with.  The more I look at job adds in other countries, the more I continue reading about development initiatives, and as I continue to stumble about my thesis, the more relevant this concern.  I'm not really sure where to look at the moment, but perhaps I can first inquire into St. Andrews, where Mallory works in the legal aid department for the resettlement of Iraqi refugees.  I'm also wondering if Fulbright can help me talk to the USAID office at the American Embassy down the street.  I'm not sure if there is really anything they can do, but I'm sure they can get me much further through the door than I could do by myself. 

Philip is Released

Philip is now safely home with his family.  I would imagine that this in part a result of all the organized demonstrations for his release within Chicago, New York, Cairo, and elsewhere.   Hopefully this is the end of this situation for him, but of course we will have to wait and see.

Otherwise I only have minor things to report on.  I've been speaking to some of my professors and are making some arrangements with them so that my coursework is more personally relevant.   I also received news from Fulbright that they will be sending me to Jordan in May for a few days as part of a regional cross cultural seminar. So that's exciting right?  Oh yeah, and Fulbright will also be taking me on a trip with the other grantees to Siwa, Egypt sometime in March.  I'm really excited about that one as it contains all sorts of crazy stuff like the 'great sand sea,' not to mention that the region is really different from the rest of Egypt.  The people are more Berber than Arab, and therefore so is the language, clothing, culture etc.  It will definitely be something new!

AUC Student being illegally detained by police.

The other morning I learned that a graduate student from my university, The American University in Cairo, was illegally taken into captivity by police.  Philip Rizk, a 26-year-old freelance Journalist and Masters student in the Middle Eastern Studies department was seized by police at a peaceful protest, in an effort to raise awareness of the atrocities facing the 1.2 million people living within Gaza.  He was with 15 other individuals, yet all others were released. Philip was contained, removed from the site, and his whereabouts remain unknown.

The story was recently picked up by the Associated Press.  The only way to determine his whereabouts and to place pressure upon the Egyptian Government to release him - let alone acknowledge their holding of him - is by means of garnering  international pressure.

Please keep Philip in your thoughts and prayers, and more importantly, please continue to spread the word.  

News Headlines
Egypt Police Detain Egyptian-German Activist
German Activist Held In Secret Location
Christian Blogger Held By Security in Egypt

Egypt Police Detain Pro-Palestinian Blogger

This is Philip's blog http://tabulagaza.blogspot.com/

An Interview with Philip from January
Philp Rizk to Egyptian Officials: Open Rafah Crossing
Previous Articles about Philip
Activists begin "March to Gaza "
We will stay on our land