Chowraha

Fiza asked me "What are your thoughts on the Arab Spring?" To be honest, I didn't see it coming. From the students I talked to/debated with at the American University in Cairo (AUC) to the man on the street who sold fruit to me, I didn't see it coming. From the students, I heard bitterness in their voices but never enough anger to start a revolution. After all, you do need a certain amount of anger to fuel yourself to camp out on the streets, risk your life and your loved ones too. Maybe anger is the wrong word, but you do need something inside of you to become part of a revolution. And while I constantly heard Egyptians expressing their unhappiness with the state, they all seemed to have such a defeatist attitude in the end. I remember arguing with one AUC student proclaiming that change is possible, that with hope anything can be possible. I was obviously reeking of typical American idealistic values. I probably could have just worn a sign around my neck sa...