How fortuitous that on the day Hosni Mubarak finally decided to resign as President of Egypt (11.02.2011 – writing the date the way we do in England) I should have just started reading Taxi by Khaled Al Khamissi. As mentioned in an earlier post, the book tells the stories of 58 Cairo taxi drivers and it is at times funny, sad, bizarre, frustrating and heartbreaking.
To gain even the faintest insight into why so many Egyptians from every walk of life protested the way that they did – look no further than this book. There’s a great story about seat belts and another about bank loans to buy cars to use as taxis. Really, the only wonder is how people put up with the situation for so long. And I’m guessing there are plenty of people in Egypt right now asking themselves that very question.
What happens next is crucial and I hope the people are allowed a say in their future without too much interference from everyone else with a vested interest in Egypt’s stability and co-operation. In the minefield that’s ahead of them people need to beware of forces externally as well as internally and Insha’allah (God willing) ordinary citizens will have a great future.
Back to my book …
alkitaba 