'It will never be the same'
People's anger rose to unprecedented levels this week as the invasion of Iraq began. Shaden Shehab monitors the mood on Cairo's streets
As US President George W Bush's 48-hour ultimatum to Saddam "to leave or face war" came to an end in the early hours of 20 March, many Cairenes were either up, or had not yet slept, glued to television screens dreading the start of war. With dawn's first air campaign, people phoned or sent mobile messages to one another. "The Americans did it," some of these messages said. And while some wept, and others were frustrated and enraged, televisions were rarely turned off in Cairo from that moment on.
In many ways, the US-led invasion of Iraq was a wake-up call, changing lives, political positions and levels of awareness amongst the general public. Before the fighting actually began, Egyptians were against the war, but also clearly not in favour of the Iraqi regime. But because most people think that Saddam tried his best to comply with inspectors' demands, the fact that the US struck anyway quickly transformed him from villain to victim. For some, he even became a "hero".
Those who had always blamed Saddam for triggering the 1990 Gulf crisis, saying it was his actions that had allowed America to place its troops in the Gulf, were not as convinced now. In fact, such sentiments, when made by media or officials this week, tended to result in a loss of credibility.
"This is just an excuse," said a group of men sitting at a coffee shop. Nearly in unison, they also said, "the US would have struck Iraq anyway, and in any case the Gulf states would have welcomed their troops."
For others, a previously enthusiastic outlook towards the US tended to evaporate, with America now looked upon by a great many as an "enemy" and an "invader".
On the first day, messages circulated, reminding people of the 1pm protest in Tahrir square. Whether they took part in it or not, Egyptians were proud of the size of the crowd, and the headlines they heard on satellite channels saying Cairo's turnout had inspired crowds in other Arab countries to follow suit. Interestingly, most people said they did not really mind the traffic jams caused by the protests. "Traffic is normally catastrophic," said Mounira Abdel-Shafi, a teacher. "Why shouldn't we tolerate the jams for a national cause?"
Some turned to religion to show their solidarity with the Iraqi people. Muslims forwarded messages urging each other to perform special night prayers called Qiyam Al-Leil, fast on Monday, and read the Qur'an in groups.
At home and at work, in coffeehouses and at universities and schools, the subject was Iraq, with conversations initially focussed on the seemingly inevitable conclusion that America would overpower the Arab state. Suddenly, on Sunday, hope replaced despair, with a great many Egyptians happy to find out that Iraq had indeed done some damage to the allied troops. While watching Iraqi television broadcast images of damaged military vehicles, corpses, and POWs, a sentiment similar to the banners at demonstrations that proclaimed, "Iraq and Egypt are one", began to creep into the nuances of people's speech. "We will win," said Khaled Khalifa, a kiosk owner. "Even if they eventually take Iraq, the US will suffer tremendous losses," said others.
At the same time, Arab regimes began to be criticised more harshly. "By saying we did all we could, while they actually did nothing," said Fathi Naguib, a pediatrician, "they washed their hands of guilt. They don't even want people to demonstrate in solidarity with the Iraqi people." According to Naguib, the shamefulness of that stance will lead to an "eventual explosion of the Arab masses".
Even children were swept into the fray, as families across the country turned their TV sets almost exclusively to Al-Jazeera and other news channels. "Are those the Israelis attacking the Palestinians?" Seven-year-old Merna Mohamed asked her mother as she watched war footage. "No," her mother said, "this time it's a war with America hitting Iraq." The young girl hardly hesitated before saying, "But Iraq is Arab, and we have a big army. Why don't they go and help them?" The mother could find no answer.
But it wasn't just innocent seven-year-olds who were urging Egyptian and other Arab armies to join Iraq's fight. The call was heard from many a corner. However, as one person put it, that scenario was not very likely considering that "the Arab states did not even denounce the war."
Those looking to Egyptian television for a clear overview of the war's progress were equally disappointed. "Not only did they not have correspondents in Iraq or in other neighbouring countries," ridiculed Somaya El- Rashid, a housewife, "but they featured footage from other satellite channels hours after people had already watched it elsewhere. Maybe they don't want to hurt our feelings," said El-Rashid sarcastically. In fact, coverage of the war was mainly on channel one, with the seven other government-run channels featuring their usually scheduled programming. "Who would watch Egyptian TV at a time like this?" wondered university student Ahmed Madkour.
Others were worried about the war having an affect on life's essentials. Some decided to stock up on food and water, "just in case, since nobody knows how crazy it might get."
