“POTUS” is the alias of Obama used in the security preparation of his visit to Cairo, “POTUS” mens simply the President of the United States.
Robert Fisk wrote a wonderful piece about Obama’s visit , mainly about the security and the people of Cairo he did not meet.
I love that part which Fisk ends his essay with :
The POTUS wasn't being protected from danger, I was sure. He was being protected from the words these Egyptians might utter, from their views of the Arab world, of Egypt, from their views, perhaps, on the nature of democracy amid all these cops and security lads. They might have spoken of corruption and nepotism and violence. But the POTUS never saw them. Anyway, he had too tight a schedule: there were words to utter across town, about human rights and justice in what he called "the timeless city of Cairo". Timeless yes. And its people silent.
Seriously the security measures which I believe were imposed from the Egyptian side were too much. Honestly many people were charmed by his speech regardless of what we think of it , I know that there would have been a reception for him even bigger than the reception Nixon received after the speech!!
When Obama went to Paris with his wife to dine in some restaurant , Paris was not paralyzed nor it was emptied from the Parisians like in Cairo and in Giza.
Can Barak and Michelle Obama have a nice meal in Al-Hussein among the rest of Egyptians !!??
Again we did not want to harm him , we are kind people who welcome the stranger who come in peace to our country , we are generous people. Many people from whom I met after the speech believe that these extreme security measurements imposed by the Egyptians on the 4th of June 2009 were the recommendations of the Egyptian regime because this what happens when Mubarak goes and visits some place in Egypt , they just close the area and empty it from its people , from the Egyptians !!
Barak and Michelle Obama can't have a nice meal in Al-Hussein among the rest of Egyptians cuz egyptian are well known they don't respect privacy.
ReplyDeleteI assume that you claim you are Egyptian too right !!
ReplyDeleteI believe the Egyptians will respect their privacy if they do not come in security circus with lots of noise
I was in Paris when Barack was here. They did close the streets in the locations he had been but not for humans, only for cars.
ReplyDeleteAccording to a french friend who is working in downtown, they got problems for only 2 or 3 hours. No more.
I completly agree with Fisk words. They are not afraid of security.. they are afraid of the truth.
Keep the good work Zeinobia. I really depend in your blog for news :).
There's a weird sort of politeness here for heads of state in that they are treated like our own head of state...ie, isolated. After all, when was the last time that either of the Mubaraks saw a non-sanitized street for a visit. I recall when Madame was visiting a literacy center out in Abu Sir a few years ago, people came out and planted trees, poured sand over the sides of the canals so that the layers of trash and so on wouldn't be visible (considering the fact that there is no garbage collection out here, no running water, inadequate electricity and not enough telephone landlines, the amount of garbage is actually quite small), and as a final welcome, all the residents were warned to stay indoors all day the day of the visit. I guess they like to give as much as they get.
ReplyDelete@Ahmed Tarek,but at least they did not scare the people in Paris and empty it from its people and visitors like what had happened on that Thursday
ReplyDeleteThank you so much , your words means too much to me :)
@dear Maryanne, I know what you mean I witness it myself,strangely I do not know if Mubarak and family are so naive to ignore all that and to know that it is all fake !!
I think after her visit to Abu Sir ,the area returned back as it used to be before the visit !!