Issue 28: Security Update

Sticking around Cairo :)

Hi everyone :)

I want to let you all know that I am doing well in Cairo. It’s been a chaotic week, of course. On Monday night, the State Department posted on Instagram that Americans in Egypt (along with 13 other countries) would have to evacuate. Strangely, this wasn’t backed up by any official notifications from the Embassy. What followed was 24 hours of confusion, as myself, the university, and all the other expats in Cairo tried to figure out what this all meant. I’m privileged enough to have contacts who told me Egypt’s inclusion was likely a mistake, but it was stressful to navigate nonetheless.

Early Wednesday morning, the State Department corrected their post and affirmed that Egypt was still at a Level 2: Exercise Caution (which it’s been at since I arrived). The lack of coordination in the current administration was stressful for everyone on the ground here in Egypt. I am safe and I will be staying in Cairo so long as security remains the same.

Egypt is a very neutral party in the current conflict, friendly with the US, but with no US bases to target. Everyday life is continuing as usual, of course with added concern as many Egyptians have friends/ family that live in other parts of the Arab world that are under threat. The US and Israel’s decision to engage in this conflict has affected the real lives of my friends and co-workers here in Cairo. It’s one thing to understand war from the U.S., it is another to see it with such proximity. I hope this conflict will cease soon, and in a way that does not cause more turbulence and systemic violence for the people of this region.

As I said, life continued as normal in Cairo, so here are a few snapshots from my weekend:

Iftars with Friends

Egyptology Class Field Trip to the Egyptian Museum

Souq Diana

Song of the Week:

1. Safe Ship Harbored by the Crane Wives

Food of the Week:

This sandwich I get everyday from a cafe at AUC:

Professional News Corner:

Articles published this week, following a migration conference hosted by AUC (right up my ally!!!!) Also, a profile on how different international students celebrate Ramadan.

Since it’s International Women’s Day, I also got to work on a few special edition articles. This one is on the history of IDW, and this one is on feminist AI.

Friend Shout-out:

Thank you so much to everyone who checked in on me this week, it means a lot :)