Recently in a post, I sorta "mentioned' that I'm a little bit concerned about the recent attack in Alexandria, Eqypt because I'm supposed to be sending a group of 20 6-9th graders there in mid March. So, I contacted my source there and this was his response.
As you all know the situation here has been shaken somewhat by the recent attack on a Coptic church in Alexandria. This is the first time that an explosive device has been used in Egypt in what some people consider to be an inter-religious conflict between Moslems and Christians (Copts). However things are never elegant or simple and it is not clear that this is purely an inter-religious conflict. There is some debate over Al Qaida’s involvement. The top government authorities point their fingers at outsiders, including Al Qaida, but some officials lower down are convinced this is just a new development in the inter-religious conflict and tension already existent in the country. Both scenarios could have unpleasant consequences. The targeted church on Jan 1st is about 3.5 Km from the school.
The US Embassy has not discouraged travelers from visiting Egypt or any other EU nation for that matter. But they have all advised caution.
My contact is Italian-Eqyptian man who has lived in Eqypt for 30+ years. He's very level headed and I trust his judgement and assessment. What's really weird is that when I first read it, my response was"okay, so we carry on". If it were three years ago when I was living in North America, I'd be FLIPPING OUT at the thought of even traveling to within 1000 miles of this place. But now it's just a sort of reality that is a part of the world we now live in.
I'll keep you posted on what happens.
No comments:
Post a Comment