Friends following the revolt on the Nile on their television screens in the U.S. are asking: "Are you leaving?" Planeloads of American expats, trapped tourists and other assorted foreigners are being evacuated. But the departures should not leave a false impression. Living conditions in Cairo and the risks to foreigners are not quite as bad as they may appear in the media. The streets could get ugly again but only if the Egyptian regime decides to use lethal force to snuff out the peaceful protests -- unfortunately, the violent, pro-regime gangs unleashed on protesters in Alexandria and Cairo Wednesday may be a sign of worse to come. As a longtime resident of Cairo, I have no hesitation whatsoever about staying put.
As the "million-man-march" was underway in downtown Cairo on Tuesday, I took a taxi with some Egyptian friends for a six-hour ride up and down the Nile and back. I traveled from the affluent southern suburb of Maadi where I live to the densely populated working class northern district of Shubra and home again. We were stopped at more than 50 checkpoints set up by citizens wielding sticks, knives and in some cases firearms. At each one we had to hand over our IDs, including my Navy American passport. Nobody complained about my nationality. A dozen times I was told, "Welcome to Egypt!"
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