With the revolution being brought up a lot in American news and here by the locals, I have learned a lot about why life is like it is here. Every night, men must wait for at least several hours to get gas in order to go to work the next morning due to the shortage. Lack of resources are just one thing that takes a lot of time from people being with their families, having water to drink/shower with, and electricity at night. While being here, our water and electricity has been shut off quite a few times in only the week and a half here so far. The revolution, although predicted by some to be destructive, is a piece of hope for most Egyptians here to have a country run by the people. As you may know, President Morsy was arrested this July 3rd. This was exciting for the people here in Mokattam to say the least. Fireworks, sparklers, and celebratory cries were in the air making this garbage community extremely beautiful to see and hear. The team and I went to the roof of the Center of Love (where we are staying) and watched the men below shoot fireworks from their own hands up into the sky. God definitely provided a one of a kind independence day to celebrate. We praised God for what He is doing here and are continuing to pray for the upcoming process of Egypt’s freedom to be continued. After some time of watching the fireworks from our roof, we decided to celebrate at our favorite place in town, the juice shop. We ordered our usual, either mango or sugar can juice. Locals came in and out yelling in joy and smiling at us as we celebrated alongside them. As we began to over crowd the juice shop, we headed to a friend’s house to watch the celebrations from her balcony/rooftop. Men were all over the street playing with fireworks, driving back and forth waving the Egyptian flag, and drinking tea. At one point there was 15 men on the back of a donkey cart. The women were inside watching from their windows along the street. This made think about what the celebrations would have looked like if the women were able to join in. Later in the night at midnight or so, a DJ went to the main street also and again, the men were out dancing. I am learning a lot about what it is like to be a female in this society and this community celebration also made me thankful to God that I can just dance whenever I am joyful back at home. Celebrating this 3rd of July was a blessing to me and I know God wanted me here during the revolution for this reason and many more.
-Arial
