Hurghada Blood bank

Recent events in Egypt are making one thing very clear: hospitals here are under-staffed, poorly equipped, and lack some of the emergency response abilities that can make the difference between life and death. One such commodity is a blood bank.

In Cairo, the chance of dying in an Ambulance en-route to the hospital after a car wreck, or dying in the hospital itself, are almost higher than the odds of the car accident killing you to begin with. With an estimated 30,000 car accidents in Egypt every year, providing adequate emergency response mechanisms to at least allow doctors and nurses the chance to save a life is crucial. In the post-revolution Egypt these figures are not slowing down; many people will testify that they fear driving in the country more now than they ever did during the Mubarak era. That's saying something.

Residents in Hurghada have decided that enough is enough. One of the most important things for a hospital to have on hand in case of an accident is blood. A work-related injury sustained by an individual in Hurghada made it blatantly clear that crucial element was missing.

Following his injury, Mo* was forced to wait almost three days before doctors would operate on him as there was apparently no blood available. Even worse, Mo - who earns an estimated 400 LE (less than 80 US dollars) salary a month - was asked to pay 500 LE for a half litre of blood alone (this does not include the expenses of the surgery!). First aid assistance should not be something that we are in the business of charging people for, particularly when their lives hang in the balance.

Mo's story has prompted the creation of a website whereby residents of Hurghada can register, mark down their blood type (with confidentiality ensured), and should the need arise for blood of that type they will be called and asked to come to the hospital or local clinic to make the donation. An early idea yet in its introductory phases, there remain a few kinks to be worked out, but the idea itself is solid.

This way it is not only guaranteed that your blood is coming directly to you, there's less chance of confusion in administering the wrong blood type - which can have disastrous and fatal results. My main concern remains with the facilities that would be collecting the blood, as I am very picky when it comes to sterilization of equipment, but I would highly endorse this project as one way for residents to truly give back to the community.

For more information or to register, please visit BloodBank Hurghada Online.


* Name changed for privacy reasons

Facebook Fuels Ignorance, Hatred

An insightful look at the reactions on Facebook and other social media sites yesterday in response to the events unfolding in Cairo. Taken from Simply LeAnne, read on.

So now, let’s take it to social media – the catalyst behind the revolution. Egyptians were the first among the ‘Arab Spring’ nations to utilize social media as a platform for political change with blogger Wael Abbas accredited for its onset. As a journalist, I use Facebook for a variety of reasons – not just for personal contacts but to also monitor the banter for situations such as this. Here are a few excerpts from my newsfeed to give you a better insight as to what others on the ground in Egypt are saying as well as to highlight what happens when people take to the internet to post rhetoric without looking up any facts to substantiate their argument(s).

*Please note that all names are withheld for privacy purposes*

**Excerpts were not edited and remember, for many, English was not their first language**

“My only advice to the Egyptian army today. SHOOT TO KILL. These people are not protesters, they are barbarians and hooligans. The country and world could use a few thousand less of them.”

This person was reamed with 90 comments coming back protesting this statement. Then the same person began to justify this statement with unverified and untrue figures:

“It's a protest because of a church incident in Komombo. I don't understand why they would attack the army in Cairo! 3 army officers dead, 400 injured, 30 of which are in ICU...”

This was posted around 8 pm local time, at which time reports varied with 19 deaths total, including two to six military personnel, and 150 injured. When the person was asked to support these numbers, the response was: “will find you a link one second.” I’m still waiting for that link…

Once the original poster continued to get an earful from those considering the words inhumane and insensitive, the person did the typical Egyptian move and backpeddled.

“Wow...I can't believe you took this status seriously...read the two [statuses] above it”

The next two status updates to combat the initial outburst were (shortened rant):

“It is so simple to take someones sarcasm and words and process your understanding of what their beliefs are. I do not and will never encourage mass shooting by anyone, specially not the army which is OBVIOUSLY more powerful by numbers and force.

I am sorry if my status offended you, and I retract it immediately as it was sarcastic in regards to 'touchy topics'...but for future reference, don't be so quick to judge someone, and try and see both sides of a story. THE ARMY ARE PEOPLE TOO. THEY HAVE FAMILIES!!!!!”

Yet, I failed to see the both sides present in the argument. Coincidentally enough, the next status all of the sudden, undoubtedly expecting to gain sympathy and forgiveness for the first uncouth rant:

“UPDATE for all the people who stood against me defending the army today...My moms car just got attacked by a group of "protesters" on her way home from work (in Tahrir).”

The next poster grew up in the UK mostly and splits time between Egypt and the UK, but is Egyptian and Muslim.

“My heart goes out to all that were shot, killed or injured today for standing up for Justice, Love 'n Unity and an END to the INJUSTICES towards the 'I'riginal Orthodox Coptic peoples of Egypt ..”

Response:

“u see first and talk smart instead of spreading western propaganda. U r not even in egypt so dont talk about Egypt”

This person continued to post against the original poster:

“u r lebanese and u r more attached to the american culture than ur own culture. And u r doing music which is not egyptian. U r more ethiopian than egyptian...”

How American culture got involved when the person has never spent any time in the US is beyond me. And someone else’s response to the original post (which I will shorten since Egyptians tend to ramble):

“let's say that the Aswan villagers who really burnt da church ok ... nd sure there are many videos showin how small the burnt buildin was nd sure u can find it in utube or i can send it to u .. nd no matter how big or small is it ... no matter if da villagerz or sum ppl did it on purpose ... is burnin a buildin worth killin one human being ? but da orthdox church leaderz made a public threats thru da media nd thru utube nd i can send ya da video if u want ... the orthdox pops learderz said exactly : the governer of Aswan is a liar nd i can beat him wit my shoes nd this governer will die in 2 dayz in a bloody way nd if da leader of da military council didn't respond to our demands , he knows wut's gon happen to him ) this is wut they said.”

He failed to post the YouTube videos and/or links. See the pattern?

And to be fair, here’s a view from a Coptic Christian’s page (note when I brought this person food after the revolution, he was too busy to be present to collect the items and was instead in Tahrir Square – long before the church attacks. He sent someone to pick it up, never said thank you and only asked for more):

“the Egyptian army crushed the Christian by its tanks and cars in Masbiro in Tahrir square”

Responses:

“I think the army is the victim, the protestors attacked the army. Most of the killed people are from the army.” (Not true about the majority of deaths being military)

His reply:

“Really, please see the pic in the news and the videos how the army crush the Christine, and don’t follow the Egyptian TV” (failed to provide links)

He then posted a gruesome picture which I will not add here from another friend (no source cited) saying, “the army killed more Christians every day”

He continues with various statements compiled below:

“I am so confused and can't thinks my mind is paralyzed ,what is happening for the church in Egypt which is Coptic from the beginning. If you,Marshal are Traitor , God is faithful, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”

"the army use the same way of killing the Christian like Moubark's system" 

I’ve only taken a few pertinent examples to demonstrate the negative repercussions of the internet. Social media can be a useful tool, but just like everything else, when used by ignorant people, it can be a very negative facilitator spreading unfounded and ill-conceived rhetoric. 

A firsthand account: Marching from Shubra to deaths at Maspiro

I was sent this article by a colleague this morning which provides an eye-witness account of the ongoings in Maspiro last night. It is a tragic article, yet the message at the end is what I hope will stand out to everyone. It is time that Egypt stops trying to place the blame for internal issues on external forces. This country needs to heal from within; as long as these invisible lines of division continue to be drawn and played upon there is little hope for Egypt to ever fully rebuild itself.

Written by Sarah Carr, taken from Al-Masri Al-Yawm, here is the article. My thoughts are with everyone, both on the side of the military and civilians, who lost their lives in the brutal violence last night.

Image from Al-Masri Al-Yawm, photographed
by Mohammed Hossam Eddin

The march from the Cairo district of Shubra was huge, like the numbers on 28 January. In the front row was a group of men in long white bibs, “martyr upon demand” written on their chests. A tiny old lady walked among them, waving a large wooden cross: “God protect you my children, God protect you.”

The march started down Shubra Street around 4 pm, past its muddle of old apartment buildings, beat up and sad but still graceful compared with the constructions from the Mubarak era next to them - brutish and unfinished-looking.

A man explained why there were bigger numbers than the march last week in response to the attack on the St. George’s Church in Aswan: the army had hit a priest while violently dispersing Coptic protesters in front of the Maspiro state TV building on Wednesday. A video posted online showed a young man being brutally assaulted by army soldiers and riot police.

At a traffic underpass at the end of Shubra Street, at around 6 pm, there was the sudden sound of what sounded like gunfire. Protesters at the front told those behind to stop - the march was under attack. Rocks rained down from left and right and from the bridge, underneath which protesters were taking shelter.

Some threw stones back. Behind them, protesters chanted, “The people want the removal of the Field Commander.” The stone throwing eventually stopped sufficiently for the march to continue. A teenage boy crossed himself repeatedly as he moved forward toward the rocks.

Darkness fell just as the march reached Galaa Street. “This is our country,” protesters chanted, led by a man on a pickup truck full of speakers. An illuminated cross floated through the darkness. At the headquarters of state daily newspaper Al-Ahram, a single rock was thrown at the door, likely a comment on its coverage of violence against Copts.

Outside the Ramsis Hilton Hotel, the chanting stopped momentarily - the exuberance of having escaped the attack in Shubra faded as the march rounded the corner toward Maspiro.

It was immediately met with gunfire in the air. As protesters continued moving forwards, the gunfire continued.

Suddenly, there was a great surge of people moving back, and something strange happened. Two armored personnel carriers (APCs) began driving at frightening speed through protesters, who threw themselves out of its path. A soldier on top of each vehicle manned a gun, and spun it wildly, apparently shooting at random although the screams made it difficult to discern exactly where the sound of gunfire was coming from.

It was like some brutal perversion of the military show the armed forces put on for the 6th of October celebration three days before. The two vehicles zigzagged down the road outside Maspiro underneath the 6th of October Bridge and then back in synchronicity, the rhythm for this particular parade provided by the "tac tac tac" of never-ending gunfire, the music the screams of the protesters they drove directly at.

And then it happened: an APC mounted the island in the middle of the road, like a maddened animal on a rampage. I saw a group of people disappear, sucked underneath it. It drove over them. I wasn’t able to see what happened to them because it then started coming in my direction.

Later, as riot police fired tear gas at another small attempt at a demonstration and fires burned around Maspiro, I found on the floor part of one of the white “martyrs upon demand” bibs the men had been wearing, and took it home. It had been ripped in half.

**

The Coptic Hospital tried its best to deal with the sudden influx of casualties. Its floors were sticky with blood and there was barely room to move among the wounded, the worried and the inconsolable.

A man asked if we were press, and whether we’d like to film the morgue if we “were strong enough.”

The morgue was a harshly lit two-room building surrounded by men and women screaming and hitting themselves in paroxysms of grief. In the first room there were two bodies, middle-aged men on the floor next to the fridge, which we were told held three bodies. In the other room there were the bodies of 12 men of varying ages.

A young woman sat by one of them clasping his hand and wailing. Vivian and Michael, who were engaged to be married. Michael had been crushed, his leg destroyed. Next to Michael was the body of a man whose face was contorted into an impossible expression. A priest opened his hands and showed me the remains of the man’s skull and parts of his brain. He too had been crushed.

Outside a woman said out loud to the dead, “How lucky you are, now in heaven!” A man screamed, “We won’t be silent again.”

**

Even while the wounded were still being brought in, state TV was reporting that Christian protesters stole weapons from the army and killed soldiers, and that the busy foreign hands are back again, still trying to destabilize Egypt.

There should be a finality in death, an unchallengeable truth when it happens with the simple brutality of last night. But even when death happens on Maspiro’s doorstep, it can be rewritten, in order to lend a twisted sense where there is none, to justify the impossible and, above all, to sabotage any attempt to consider that the problem is within us, not without.

Coptic protests in Cairo turn to violence

In what is being seen by many locals as the latest ploy to pit Egyptians against one another, a Coptic protest in Cairo today has erupted into violence.

Thus far the details are hazy. State TV is reporting one thing while international outlets report another. One thing is clear: The situation on the ground is not stable, and there are continued outbursts of gunfire that have left an estimated 17 people dead according to ministerial statements.

Sadly, also evident is how media outlets are highlighting this as a "Coptic" protest, when sources on the ground report that there are Muslims and Christians holding hands and chanting "we are all Egypt," reminiscent of the revolution. Everything at this point remains unclear.

To follow the events as they unfold in Cairo, click the links below.

Al Masri Al Yawm live updates

Egypt troops dead after Coptic church protest in Cairo - BBC News

Deadly Cairo clashes over Coptic Protest - Al Jazeera 

Fantasia Exchange is not so fantastic

Sometimes I just really do not understand people. The general blanket belief that we were all born stupid. Yet time and time again I am seeing examples of people who obviously believe just that. 

Corruption is again thriving in Egypt. I don't know if it ever actually disappeared, but at least it appeared to do so for a short period of time there. 

The sad thing about corruption in this country is that it is not a phenomenon reserved to the upper echelons of society. No, it goes all the way down to the bottom feeders. Enter Fantasia Exchange, located on Sheraton Street.

 

I am regularly exchanging currency so I keep up to date with the conversion rates. Currently, the dollar sits around 5.94 EGP to 1 U.S. dollar, give or take a few piasters. It has sat around this rate for a few months now.

With the ongoing banking crisis in the world it is of course normal for currency exchange rates to fluctuate. These fluctuations are rarely as dramatic as falling an entire Egyptian pound however, unless the economy of the 'host' country if you will has completely collapsed. It rarely happens over-night. 

But Fantasia Exchange would have you believe it does. Or, they just assume that you're ignorant and don't bother to check exchange rates before attempting the conversion.

Now, I have previously blogged about the Nile Exchange located on Sheraton Street and their blatant thievery. Let's take the exchange rate of today as an example. 

The rate today as posted online is: 1 U.S. $ equals 5.962 Egyptian Pounds. 

Therefore you would expect exchange places to hover around this figure. They make take a slight commission, but nothing really noticeable. 

Until you go to Nile Exchange. 

There, you would see the following exchange rate: 

1 U.S. $ equals 5.092 Egyptian pounds. 

Sneaky beggers. 

This means essentially that for every 100 U.S. $ you convert, you're losing close to 20 $ (or 100 EGP). That is not a small sum of money. 

Fantasia Exchange have decided that they too want in on this game. Meaning, were you to go to Fantasia Exchange you would notice the same 0 placed after the decimal point.

Is it coincidence these two are basically across the street from one another? Did someone in Nile Exchange march across the road and tell the tellers they could line their pockets with HUNDREDS of EGP every day by adding in this figure?

The sad thing is that I used to use Fantasia to exchange money. No longer my friends. Is it too much to expect honesty these days? 

So, consider yourself warned. If you choose to frequent either of these exchange places, expect to get ripped off. 

Click here for a great currency conversion site online. 

New Mobile Numbers Start Today

Last week I posted a blog notifying people of the upcoming changes to Egyptian mobile numbers. These changes have gone into effect today. As per usual, nothing is made easy here. Trying to find specific examples online is like trying to pull teeth!

Fortunately K found a detailed listing of the numbers, which you can see below. I daren't post the text, because the English is so poorly written it will only further confuse people. If you want to read the explanations further click here.

Mobinil
Current Number	The Number After Modification
012 XXX XXXX	0122 XXX XXXX
017 XXX XXXX	0127 XXX XXXX
018 XXX XXXX	0128 XXX XXXX
0150 XXX XXXX	0120 XXX XXXX

Vodafone
Current Number	The Number After Modification
010 XXX XXXX	0100 XXX XXXX
016 XXX XXXX	0106 XXX XXXX
019 XXX XXXX	0109 XXX XXXX
0151 XXX XXXX	0101 XXX XXXX

Etisalat
Current Number	The Number After Modification
011 XXX XXXX	0111 XXX XXXX
014 XXX XXXX	0114 XXX XXXX
0152 XXX XXXX	0112 XXX XXXX
0155 XXX XXXX (Data Accounts)	0115 XXX XXXX (Data Accounts)

Where to Go - Dolphin House

**Let me first make something very clear, I am not referring to the Dolphinarium in Makadi Bay, nor would I ever recommend going to such a location. **

It was my birthday a few weeks ago, and this year we decided to do something different from the "go out party and get wasted" theme. Instead, K and I decided to do something that has been on my bucket list for years. To swim with dolphins.

I have blogged in here before about how excited I get when I see dolphins from a distance, so you can only imagine how unbelievably excited I was at the prospect of swimming with dolphins. 

The trip that we took goes past what is known as the "Dolphin House" about 2 miles off the Gouna coast. It is called this not because the dolphins actually live there, but because of the frequency with which the dolphins are constantly spotted.

Heading out to our first snorkel spot

One thing that made this trip stand out from any other boat trip, is that our boat actually asked people to be quiet when we saw our first pack of dolphins. Instead of the deafening blowing of the horn, high-pitched whistling and shouting in an attempt to attract the dolphin, our boat cruised along silently. It made all the difference; the dolphins were so curious to come up and see who was around, and were enjoying showing off. We saw tail slaps on the surface, dolphins swimming past the boat sideways to check everyone out, and a total of at least 15 dolphins in the first pod to pass our boat.

Corals and clams! 

The trip includes two snorkelling stops and lunch on the boat. Our first snorkel spot was beautiful, although I have to admit that the corals we snorkelled around did not have as much of a variety of marine life as the corals closer to Giftun island do. So if seeing loads of marine life underwater is your objective, look for snorkel trips around Giftun. If dolphins are your primary goal, this trip is ideal. 

Jellyfish!

After the first snorkel, we got back on the boat to have lunch. The lunch includes meat, fish, fresh salads and veggies, and a variety of potato and rice dishes. Overall the food was good, but not the best food I've had on boats. I would rate the meal at around a 6 out of 10, we had to add salt, and the Kofta tasted like the frozen store variety. 

Following lunch we moved our boats about a half a mile, and anchored to the second snorkel spot. This spot was next to a massive coral, and proved more exciting than the first spot. Our boat had attracted the attention of about four dolphins who swam around our boat on a 50 metre perimeter. At one point they swam directly under the boat, but it seemed that once people got into the water they disappeared. 

The current this day was very very strong, so after debating whether or not I'd actually get in the water for the second snorkel session, I was ready to get out after about ten minutes. While swimming back to the boat a dolphin surfaced about 10 meters to my left. I swam like I've never swum before...and it made everything worth it. The minimal sightings on the coral, the 'just average' food, everything was made acceptable by what transpired next. 

By this point there were only a handful of swimmers in the water, which may have helped in letting the dolphins feel confident enough to get up close and personal. I literally had a dolphin swim directly underneath me, and had I wanted to I could have reached out and touch them. I did not though; it was enough of a privilege simply to be around these incredible animals that I did not feel the need to have to "pet" them.

The curious four

I wish I could describe how it felt to be in the presence of these majestic creatures. To know that they willingly came close enough to check us out. It was a quiet intelligence and a sense of really being "seen" by the dolphins. I cannot imagine that swimming with captive dolphins would even come close. 

Our captain told us that we were very very lucky to actually have been able to swim so closely with the dolphins. Often the trip will include dolphin sightings, but rarely will it actually involve people swimming with the dolphins. It made it so much more special, and this will definitely go down in the books as a birthday to remember. 

No words

The cost of the trip as advertised is 30 Euro per person, however resident rates may apply. For more information you may see here, or contact me for a direct phone number. 

And here is a clip taken during our day out :) I am sorry it is so short, but I was too excited to stay still long enough underwater for a decent video!