Money has a strange power. Because of it, maintaining journalistic integrity in Egypt proved confusing and offensive to both parties. Would the refugees lay wide-eyed in bed, worrying about how to eat the next day while I worried about getting good quotes?
Whether its because of DNA, the Nile water or some collective unconscious, soccer seems to captivate all of Cairo. When the two biggest clubs, Al-Ahly and Zamalek, met in the finals of the Egyptian Cup, not a soul was to be seen on the street.
The Bedouin of the South Sinai, the traditionally nomadic people of the area who more recently work in such tourism-centered industries as transportation, construction, hotels and handmade crafts, have been hit hardest by the recession.
Think Intermedia Arts in Minneapolis or the Nuyorican Poets Café in New York City – with corporate funding and excited patrons who have never seen anything like it before.
As Egypt’s society becomes more religious, the question is not whether women can preach—few would deny the long standing tradition of women preaching in Islam—but rather, who has the authority and license to preach under a government that fears the radicalization of Islam.
While the children’s disabilities and financial standing vary, they all have one disadvantage in common: they are seldom given the opportunity to participate in artistic expression, in schools or in their homes.
If I have learned nothing else in my nearly two months living in Cairo, it is that nearly all issues are more complex than they seem and your understanding of them can change drastically simply by altering what part of the map you are standing in.
I never imagined that my favorite city in the Middle East could be replaced with Cairo. Cairo was too much to swallow when I first came here. There was just too much going on. It was hard to think.
But there was never a dull moment.
I never knew the talents that Egyptian males possess in the art of booty shaking! Seriously, they put my attempts at dancing to shame. They can move their hips like nothing I’ve ever seen before.
Aisha Qidwae
A senior in journalism at Columbia College and lives in Chicago with her huge extended family. She enjoys visiting museums and art galleries, playing sports and is interested in Middle East politics. She aspires to be a foreign correspondent.
Email: alshayq786@yahoo.com
Alexandra Hazlett
A junior magazine journalism and economics major at Ohio University. She is an avid soccer player and is pursuing a career in international reporting with an emphasis on foreign affairs and development.
Email: ah295905@ohio.edu
Braulio Rodriguez
A senior at the University of Arizona studying Political Science and Communication. His interests in the Middle East include the Arab Israeli conflict, nation building in Iraq, and the functions of organizations such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Email: braulio@email.arizona.edu
Chase Gilbert
A senior majoring in Journalism at the University of Arizona. He plans to pursue a career in international journalism and photojournalism after he graduates in May, 2008.
Email: cgilbert@email.arizona.edu
Emily Youssef
A senior at Columbia College Chicago and plans a career in music journalism.
Email: emily.youssef@gmail.com
Kelley Hascall
A journalism student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and plans a career photojournalism. She loves hiking, scuba diving, and watching Husker football. Her personal motto, courtesy of Helen Keller: “Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.”
Email: kjh@bigred.unl.edu
Marium Chaudhry
A senior Journalism and Mass Communication and International Studies major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She plans to work as a journalist in Karachi, Pakistan when she graduates.
Email: mariumc@email.unc.edu
Megann Daw
A senior at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. She is majoring in journalism and art history and plans a career in broadcast journalism.
Email: dawm@wlu.edu
Meredith Severino
A native of Arizona and a senior in journalism at the University of Arizona.
Email: mlseveri@email.arizona.edu
Rachel Anderson
A senior broadcasting major at the University of Nebraska. She plans a career in international journalism doing investigative reporting and producing documentaries.
Email: rachelbethanderson@hotmail.com
Stephanie Carter
A senior majoring in journalism at the University of Utah. She has completed a minor in Middle Eastern studies and studied Arabic and politics in England for a year.
Email: caughtINc22@hotmail.com
Zoë Holmes
A senior at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., with a double major in media studies, and religious studies. She has studied Arabic, loves traveling, hip-hop and plans to be a media mogul.
Email: zholmes@macalester.edu
Aisha Qidwae
Alexandra Hazlett
Braulio Rodriguez
Chase Gilbert
Emily Youssef
Kelley Hascall
Marium Chaudhry
Megann Daw
Meredith Severino
Rachel Anderson
Stephanie Carter
Zoë Holmes