The Nevada Sagebrush

Having just returned from the land of camels, pyramids and sand, I’m bursting with fun facts, stories and some opinions to share from Egypt.

First and foremost, it’s important to know that Egypt, although physically a part of the African continent, identifies more with the Middle East with its religion, culture and language. With that being said, I didn’t waste a single opportunity to root out the true feelings of “Middle Easterners”when it came to my fellow Americans and me.

Beginning with my age group, I asked many Egyptian college students what they thought about the good ol’ U.S. of A. Although this particular group of Egyptian students is by no means a final answer for all Middle Eastern students, disappointment with America most definitely was an underlying sentiment among them.

This disappointment surprisingly didn’t find its sole source in the Iraq War— it instead was predominantly fueled by frustration with the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Yes, the very same Palestinian-Israeli conflict that barely makes a 30-second appearance on CNN these days has a stranglehold on the thoughts and discussions of these students. And as can be expected, the Egyptian students are disappointed that Americans seem to have not only lost interest in this conflict, but also seem to be blindly throwing money at a problem without attempting to understand or fix it.

Moving along to the less-educated Egyptian opinion on America, I wandered through a market in a predominantly Muslim area of Cairo and hadn’t gone far before the owner of a small handbag shop gave me the answer I was looking for. After correctly identifying me as an American, he bluntly informed me that while he loves Americans, he hates the American government. When asked why, he scoffed and said, “Your president is a cowboy.”

Although not the most detailed answer I’ve received, I believe his response speaks volumes about how the Middle East perceives our current policy of “invade first, ask questions later.”

I finally finished my unofficial opinion survey with the concierge at our unassuming yet comfortable hotel. While educated in the loosest sense of the word, Mohamed Ali (yes, that’s his name) was up-to-speed on current events and public sentiment and seemed to have a fairly good grasp on politics, religion and the world as a whole. As he so eloquently put it: “Most Americans are afraid of us and most of us are afraid of Americans, but it’s stupid because we are all the same. Ignorance is what keeps us apart.”

That’s right, folks! You heard it here first without the filter of corporate media and FOXNews: Egyptians may be disappointed with our attention span, unhappy with our president and generally afraid of what we’ll do next, but Egyptians don’t hate us. Wooooo! Now if that isn’t some great news to finish the semester with, I don’t know what is.

Phillipa Lockwood is a columnist for The Nevada Sagebrush. She can be reached at editor@nevadasagebrush.com.

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