Safe Havens

"How are you?" 'Are you safe?" The questions come in emails, in phone messages, on Facebook....heavens, even verbally. On these long hot summer days when there seems to be so much going on in the media, but when reality seems to be stuck in a  puddle of tar on a melting road, it's hard to know what to answer. We are in the midst of strong currents that push us in directions we don't want to go. The hope and vision that we saw in the winter of 2011 is darkness and worry in the heat of the summer of 2013.

My staff came to me today to talk to me about their annual raises. This is a topic that usually comes up in June but when it did this year, I told them that I couldn't do any raise at the present time, but we could talk at the end of the summer...and we are now at the end of the summer. But my funds are limited and while they are sufficient to pay salaries and the feed bills at the farm,  they are not going to be sufficient to pay increases without income from clients. I explained this to them and told them that we simply had to be able to get by on what we have for the time being. This is hard. We have good land on the farm where we are growing vegetables that the staff can use to help feed their families, but they are used to the idea that things get better, and right now they are NOT getting better.  They have good salaries and I help them with their medical bills and other things, but no one has ever taught economics or even accounting in Egyptian schools. It isn't very easy to explain that we just can't do raises.

Developments in Egypt are disturbing. The Ministry of the Interior has posted a notice showing two symbols that are being used as avatars on Twitter and Facebook in support of the Muslim Brotherhood, and is asking that people turn in friends as terrorists. This is a very bad sign, and in connection with the fact that the Ministry of the Interior has raided Human Rights Watch and is asking for a number of 2011 activists to appear for questioning.

We are under curfew, which is less than any kind of problem for me since I never go out anyway, but this is meaning terrible losses in an economy that is already crashing for most businesses. During the summer heat, most Egyptians are nocturnal and do most of their socialising and shopping in the cooler evenings. For the past week everyone in most places in Egypt has had to be home by 7 pm, although today they announced that the hour has been extended to 9 pm every day except Fridays. With all the businesses not making any money, how can everyone survive?

I've loved my life in this country and I still  have no wish to be living anywhere else. I look to the US where I lived during my childhood, but I see huge problems there. Most of the Middle East is  a crashing disaster. Europe is having major climate problems and its own share of political unrest. There simply seems to be no safe haven these days.


copyright 2013 Maryanne Stroud Gabbani

Laugh In The Dark

A couple of little old ladies (ok, one of them was me so maybe the "ladies" part is an exaggeration) were having lunch yesterday at the new Lebanese place on Road 9 in Maadi. (Al Balad is nice food, a little pricey, but good.) Anyway, we were talking and my companion told me that at every single shop where she'd stopped that morning the workers within were bursting to talk to her about all the advice Egypt seems to be getting from governments abroad. The gist of each outburst was "But none of those people have been here! None of them has seen their businesses go under because there's no power/gas/clients/money! None of them have had to listen to the crazy religious jabber of people who think that the age at which a girl marries is more important than the security of our hospitals!" There were variations on the theme, but essentially that was what she was hearing, and being a nice woman originally from Pennsylvania but also a 25 yr resident in Egypt, they really wanted to understand where all this was coming from.

The problem was that my companion felt the same way. As she put it, how could Pakistan, for heaven sake, where people get killed in horrible sectarian violence all the time, stand with a straight face and criticise the "coup/revolution/junta"? Neither of us are happy with the situation as it stands, especially since if people start running down streets away from mobs or CSF forces, us little old ladies aren't very fast. We make terrible revolutionaries.  Over olives and bread, I had a thought and it was that as much as what Egypt is doing in terms of our social/political growth (hopefully) and change (certainly) scares us Egyptians, it is TERRIFYING most of the rest of the world.

In my search for thought-provoking articles for my Facebook page, I follow people who comment on events worldwide, and one of the remarkable things I've noticed is that the general discontent level worldwide is rising. This is accompanied by a rise in conservative-unto-fascist thinking as many people retreat in the face of their worry and confusion (which is a whole other topic but it is feeding into the general divisiveness in Egyptian society), but many governments around the world must be really worried that if crazy, chaotic Egypt can get a ton of people (and I will not get into the question of just how many but it was a hell of a lot) into the streets, what would happen if THEIR people did it! This is a very sobering thought because no matter what form of government is concerned, the fact is that no army or police can really deal with a situation if literally millions of people simply walk into the streets and refuse to leave. So far, most places have not been driven to the point of distraction that Egypt was, so it hasn't happened, but the fact that we've done it means that it can be done. I'm quite sure that this is a lesson every government is hoping that their people don't notice or learn.

I think that, while being aware of others' opinions is not a Bad Thing, being overly concerned with them is debilitating, especially when the ship of state is sailing uncharted waters. Please forgive the nautical metaphors but having spent some years helping to skipper a sailboat around the Mediterranean, the image is the best I know.  The reality is that we don't know what is going to happen here. The MB seem to be digging in their heels and refusing to accept the political world that the majority of Egyptians are currently willing to be living in, which means that the military goal of clearing Raba'a and Nahda is going to be very difficult to achieve. And the recent allowing of "emergency" powers to the military AGAIN! is troubling to many of us who remember all too well that the military have kept a subtle but firm hand on our government throughout all since 2011, much to the detriment of the people. Will Tamerod be able to pull off another coup/revolution/whatever against the military should everyone realise that we are being steered back to 1990...or will the threat be enough to keep the military somewhat in line until we have some sort of real  opposition party? We simply don't know but we can't stand still. We must move on.

Friends in the US and Canada who read alarmist headlines contact me constantly about possibly returning to the lands of sanity (in their minds, but not mine), but I'm here for the long haul. Life these days reminds me of a carnival ride I went on when I was about seven in San Diego. It was called Laugh In The Dark and you sat in a small car that went through dark tunnels where skeletons and the like would pop out at you around corners or fall almost into your lap. It was terrifying and I believe I went on it three times that day. This is all utterly mad, but I wouldn't miss it for the world.


copyright 2013 Maryanne Stroud Gabbani

Mobinil User Warning

I'm one of Mobinil's oldest users in Egypt, and theoretically thereby accorded special privileges and consideration. When I have a complaint, for example, I have a special number for their first class customers that always gets answered although satisfaction is not always guaranteed. I know because I have been calling that number at least 6 to 8 times a week for the past few months.

Over a year ago I noticed that my bonus points on my Mobinil account was up over 20 thousand and a friend suggested that I use them before some accountant decided I wasn't interested and took them away. I went into the Mobinil shop in New Maadi near the area we fondly call Junk Food Alley, the line of fast food restaurants that greet you when you take the first exit off the Autostrade into Maadi. The only thing that they had that interested me was an iPhone and since it was practically free, I got it. I talked to the clerk about whether there was any necessary adjustment in my account plan and he very kindly said they'd take care of it. Cool...a new toy. At the time I had access to the internet through a broadband landline so I didn't use the internet part of the iPhone much at all, but when some local construction destroyed the landline, I did some research and went back to Mobinil for a USB modem connection. By this time, Mobinil had built a massive faux palm tree at Sakkara Country Club to improve our signal out here and we could get 3G service. Wonderful. I now had internet at home that didn't cut out every time there was a rainstorm and my iPhone as back up.

Living as I do outside the city, I'd made arrangements that my Mobinil bill (which was always in the neighbourhood of LE 700 a month since I do have kids in the US that I call every so often) would be paid automatically from my VISA card. I like having my bills paid. Now imagine my shock when I got a phone call in December to say that they were having a problem deducting my bill from my card. I figured that my bank was having some kind of glitch, this is Egypt after all, so I told them I'd be coming into town the next day and would stop by to pay in cash. Could they tell me the balance, please? The balance was LE 6920.39! No wonder the VISA was refusing it. When I picked myself up off the floor, I very firmly suggested that they do some serious checking on what exactly was going on with my bill. I was informed that there was a charge of 5307.06 LE for Mobinil LIfe, their telephone internet services. What on earth was going on here???

I don't use my phone for internet as a rule. Typing on a phone keyboard isn't much fun and I'm much happier to use my computer at home. Besides, I have a package with the modem that was supposed to charge me LE 150 a month for up to 3GB downloads with things like Facebook and YouTube free. As I wasn't downloading music or movies and I'm not a fan of YouTube, there was absolutely no way I was overusing my account. And the counter on my computer indicated that I might reach 3GB in 8 to 10 weeks, so that wasn't happening. I stomped my tiny consumer's foot soundly on the phone beginning the close and intimate relationship with the First Class customer service line. I was assured that my complaint would be looked into and that they would hold back on needing payment.

In January, Mobinil cut off my service and I was on the phone in a rage. My January bill included a charge of LE 3232.12 for Mobinil Life as well as my more normal charges of LE 548.77 bringing my total bill to LE 11,126.82. This time my initimate relationship with the First Class service personnel got a little heated. I sat on the phone until they dug up my past complaint and duly noted that it was "under investigation". They turned my service back on. Thank you, Mobinil. When I inquired about the status of the investigation, I was told that there was a "global problem with some aspects of the billing system".....a DUH statement if I ever heard one...and that someone would be in touch with me in 24 hours. Needless to say, that didn't happen. Every so often I would call and ask how the billing problem was coming along only to be told it was "under investigation".

On February 25, Cairo was hit by a thunderstorm of biblical proportions with hail falling all over to the fear/delight of people who had never seen the stuff before. I happened to be in town with friends when the storm hit and as we were driving back to the farm we could see massive bolts of lightning striking all along the edge of the desert near the farm. There are some huge high tension power lines a short distance away from where I live so I was hopeful that the strikes were hitting those rather than my pipe corrals around the horses, and indeed the horses were wet but safe. A number of strikes were in the neighbourhood of our Mobinil palm tree which was quite close to the power lines, and in fact, we were without internet service for some time after the storm...a "global problem" according to my buddies at the First Class Service line. Eventually the service did come back but it was rather spotty. Service would slide from E to 3G to a dot to nothing in the course of half an hour. Calls were being dropped or not getting through and the modems were very unhappy, as were all the modem owners out here.

This ushered in a new era of complaints. "Hello, madame. Is this complaint about the bill or the internet service?" Well, how about both? We went through the requisite gymnastics of checking settings on computers enough times that I can do them in my sleep. Hello, Mobinil....the issue is not the computer or the modem. It is the fact that your signal sucks, despite a relay station palm tree the size of Godzilla. Please send someone out to see if there was damage during the storm. Eventually, they did send some nice engineers out to do measurements and play with wires I assume and the service got marginally better.

Meanwhile back on the bill front, my connection fees had gone up to LE 300 a month but my Mobinil Life was down to LE 240.10, which was an improvement but I still had problems understanding what this charge was for. A deduction in my bill of LE 5752.98 brought my total back down to a measly LE 6146.02. Whoopdedoo! I thanked heaven for small mercies and urged my voices on the First Class Service line to do a bit better. In March Mobinil Life was creeping up again at LE 590.64, possibly because the internet on my modem wasn't working...who knows actually?...and there was another adjustment of LE 3418.11. Mobinil was kind enough to deduct a relatively normal payment in the neighbourhood of LE 700 from my VISA. I was hoping I was seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

In April, my Mobinil Life was LE 332.88, with a reasonable total, an overdue balance from previous periods just over LE 3000, and Mobinil took a bit over 1200 from the VISA. This was a bit more reasonable but at no time had anyone from Mobinil contacted me to explain what gremlins had been dancing through my account. In May the gremlins struck again with Mobinil Life bouncing back up over LE 2400. Were the "global problems" fixed or had they simply been incarcerated for a brief period? In June with the Mobinil Life charges down to about LE 300 or so, Mobinil helped themselves to over LE 3400 on my VISA card in payments, leaving me with an overdue balance of over LE 3000.

So how do I rate Mobinil customer service? Would -399 be appropriate? We still have the signal problems and no feed back whatsoever on what is going on. Yesterday alone I was on the phone three times to tell them that we couldn't use our modems, that the iPhones were getting coverage that varied from none to 3G but that we COULD check our email on them so the issue was the data signal as opposed to the phone signal. Obviously, I currently have internet service but the explanatory phone calls have never arrived. I've arranged to be able to check my bills online and so far my July bill isn't showing up so who knows what exactly is going on. I will never, ever just allow my bills to be paid unchecked by my VISA and I know many people who have withdrawn this option from Mobinil due to similar problems. Do I have the option to change carriers? Unfortunately no. Vodafone has appalling service in my area and can't be used for the internet. I know. I've tried. Etasilat, while quite reliable for phone calls, can provide back up phone service for when Mobinil drops the ball out here, but they have no 3G service in this area. So I'm left to poke a large orange elephant in the butt with a stick in the hopes that it will find me tiresome enough to actually pay attention. It's sort of like an experimental trial to see if the Japanese are right that the nail sticking out will be the one hammered down or whether the American saying that the squeaky wheel gets the grease is correct. In the meantime, squeak, squeak, squeak.


copyright 2010 Maryanne Stroud Gabbani

A Spot of Politics

I have a quick scan each morning of the online papers that mention Egypt, Giza, and Cairo just to see what's being covered and every so often something strikes my fancy. This morning Andrew Sullivan wrote about Egypt's military importance to the US:

"1) Egypt controls the Suez Canal, which makes it considerably easier to control traffic of ships between the Red Sea and Mediterranean and was crucial for the buildup in both US-led Iraq wars; 2) Egypt is a key counter-terrorism ally and played a major role in the Clinton-Bush rendition program; 3) Egyptian air bases play an important logistical role in the ongoing occupation of Iraq; 4) Egypt has played a crucial diplomatic role supporting US efforts in various recent regional crises. If anything, Washington is getting a great bargain for its $1.3bn a year, and those who are paying the real price are the Egyptian people who are seeing the Mubarak dictatorship maintained by America.

Finally, the military aid program to Egypt is also a subsidy for the US defense industry and a mechanism to grease the palms of the corrupt Egyptian military establishment, whose senior officers get kickbacks on the weapons deals."

My late husband used AID funding to help to purchase equipment for some of his companies and I'm always astonished at how little the American people understand about how this works. In the first place, most AID funding is in the form of low-interest loans that must be used to purchase US-made goods. No one is GIVEN anything. If you qualify, you can get better interest rates for the purchase of equipment or whatever, but the money must be spent in the US. This is of enormous benefit to the US producers who might otherwise not be picked to supply the equipment. When Egypt is given aid to buy military equipment, the same stricture holds true. The equipment, the maintenance, and the training all come from the US, providing employment and sales for US suppliers. Whether the aid comes in the form of low interest loans or outright gift, I don't know in the case of military aid, but people should understand that this "assistance" is not without its payoffs for the giver as well as the receiver.



copyright 2009 Maryanne Stroud Gabbani

Keeping a Cultural Mix

A Washington Post article on the boom in business for the Cairo Hard Rock Cafe which is owned by the Binladen family underscores the wonderful mix that is Cairo. When the Grand Hyatt was built a few years back, it was advertised as a 5 or 6 star hotel, but when a Saudi bought it recently and poured the entire alcohol stock into the Nile, making it a DRY hotel, it's star rating plummeted in the eyes of many tourists. We used to like the sushi restaurant in the Grand Hyatt, but I do like my sushi with a beer. Now most of the guests who want to refresh after a hot summer day are wandering over to the Hard Rock Cafe which is in an annex to the Grand Hyatt. I love the quote in the article from the Cafe manager who when asked about the fact that both owners are Saudi commented that no two fingers on the same hand are alike. That is so true and is the saving grace of the world. In fact, not all Saudi's are followers of the Wahhabi sect and many of them are not enamoured of the strict rules that the Wahhabi's enforce.

So raise a glass to variety!



copyright 2008 Maryanne Stroud Gabbani