Report from Cairo
 

I'm in Cairo and wanted to quickly report as I'm leaving for Luxor in an hour. I'm staying at the Mena House, far away from the Khan Khalili bazaar where there was a sort of bomb attack today. (I understand from news reports that possibly 3 men dropped homemade bombs down on the heads of people at a cafe from a window of a hotel that overlooked the cafe.) 12 people were injured, somewhere between one and 3 died. One was French, but I don't know the others' nationalities. I don't believe any were Americans. At least 4 Egyptians were in this group.
People here are wondering, Will this incident ruin tourism here?
I certainly hope not. This is my sixth visit to this wonderful country, and I have found the people as friendly as ever. If I had an upcoming trip, I certainly would not cancel it. To do so helps the terrorists succeed in their goals of ruining the Egyptian economy. Of course everyone has to decide for him/herself how they feel about this. But I think if anyone were to run the odds of risk of being hurt in this country, they would be very minor compared to the risk many of us face in our own cities and in our cars each time we step in them.
I hope to have reassured some who may be hesitating to come visit.
Best wishes to you all.

Thanks for the report, I'm glad you are OK. I went to Egypt about a year ago and I agree with you in the hope that other people will not cancel their trips to Egypt.

Thanks, Pam. I have reservations to Cairo on March 5 and still plan on going!
Jane

Curiously, so far there is NO news in the US (internet -- I looked at both cnn and msnbc) reporting on the bombing. I found out about it from a link my son sent me to an article in Al Jazeera.

Glad all is well with you Pam & good wished for a safe trip home. I was in Egypt a year ago in March and had a wonderful, safe time. I know how important tourism is for their country, and the lack of coverage in the USA may, in the end, be better for them. I guess because there were no Americans killed, today all we see on the news is who wore/ won what at last night's Oscars.

Thanks for your post -- nice to have some perspective from someone who is there. As for news coverage, I actually heard quite a bit about this in the news Sunday (AP story went out right away, it was on our local news, and I heard about it in my car listening to NPR).

Yes, the story was on CNN (tv + internet) Sunday afternoon. Maybe has dropped off the top stories by this afternoon, sf7307.

sr7303 - I saw the report before 6 am this morning on the Google news page.

I depart on March 6 for 14 days in Egypt with 41 high school students. We have a parent meeting tomorrow and I am sure I will be asked about the level of danger for their children.It is difficult to put this into perspective for parents in rural Canada - especially when the culture and situation is so very foreign to most of them.

I expect we will not have our travel restricted, but the Board of Education does reserve the right to pull permission from any trip they authorize if they feel the safety of the students is compromised. Any suggestions about how I can convince the School Board that the element of risk remains minimal?

On another note, JaneB, is it possible we might meet up while we are in Egypt? If you are interested in making a short connection, you can email me at cooperfam1 at yahoo.ca. We really could only connect if our itineraries crossed, but it is an interesting idea.

tC

teacherCanada -that is a tough one! I feel for the anxiety you - and the parents, students, and school admin - must be feeling.

I think what you need to stress to everyone is that in today's world - there really isn't ANYPLACE that is 100% safe. It's a sad statement, but true. I had friends who missed being on the underground in London when the bombs went off in 2005 (??) by minutes.

So -you take all the precautions necessary and try not to worry about the "what ifs." Some parents may choose to pull their kids. That is their choice and their right.

In spring 2005, there were bombings on the eastern side of the Sinai (in Taba, near the Israeli/Jordanian borders). Just days later, my son's 7th grade class was set to go on a trip to Petra. The trip went as scheduled, but some parents chose not to send their kids. We opted to send our son, and it was uneventful (from a parental viewpoint) but great fun for our him.

I hope you are able to reduce the fears/anxiety and go on your trip. I know you've been planning it for awhile.

TC - I thought of you almost immediately when I heard the news - please let us know the outcome of the meeting.

Liz

Grcxx3 and Elizabeth_S

Thank you both for your expressions of concern. I had chatted with my planning/travelling partner and also with my wife about how best to deal with the recent bomb attack in the Khan el Kalili area. Both of them expressed concern about how the students, the parents, the School Board and administrators might react (as well as for our safety).

The meeting was held tonight. We had all parents sign the DFAIT (Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade) document that provides the lead chaperones the legal authority to take children (our students) across an international border. A local lawyer served as Notary Public and witnessed and "sealed" each document. All of them are complete.

The meeting took just over 35 minutes and every family was present. We discussed fundraising (over $10 000) successes, rooming arrangements, code of conduct (for students, not chaperones), handed out the itinerary with all hotel addresses and contact numbers, talked about medical concerns, arranged a "post-trip" party, and a few more incidental topics.

Not one student or parent mentioned the recent bomb attack in Cairo, but I felt we could not pretend it did not happen. I spent about 3 minutes talking about how it was the first bomb attack in 3 years that targetted tourists and that the consequence of the attack would probably mean a greater police presence and enhanced security for us when we were in Egypt. I commented on the notion that there were no "perfectly safe" places anymore. I committed our chaperone team to provide a safe and secure environment to the best of our ability for the students. We will not take undue risks, but hope to still provide a wide range of educational and fun opportunities for all participants.

There have been no expressions of concern from the Board of Education (at least to me). I have checked the travel advisories for the UK, Canada and the US and none of them have issued a travel advisory related to Egypt.

The present situation? We carry on as planned. I was very pleased with the maturity displayed by all participants and their parents. I feel this may be our best trip yet!

Overall, the meeting went very well and the chaperone team feels quite comfortable providing this opportunity to the youth of our communities. I will provide further details on the thread that focusses on our trip, rather than hijack this thread any further.

tC

I am just returned to the states and viewed these responses for the first time. I am very happy to see what you all wrote! As a footnote, my group of 10 voted to visit Bab Zuweyla (one of the restored original gates of the city wall and part of the Khan Khalili) and the adjacent tentmakers' bazaar in the Khan. We walked several blocks through the old part of Cairo to get there, and went inside a mosque undergoing restoration on the way. The people we saw were quite poor and the area shabby. But so many people came up to us and thanked us for coming and didn't have a thing to sell us!). It confirms in my mind that the vast majority of Egyptians welcome visitors to their country and are among the friendliest people I have met in my travels. I hope those of you who are traveling there have a fabulous time. Best wishes, PamR