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mstaji · Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 5:37 am Post subject: Within The Revolution

Hello All,

A few VO buddies have been kind enough to check up on me during the Egyptian revolution since I am a resident of Cairo.

Here is the reply I posted on LinkedIn in case some of you are curious:

Greetings All from tumultuous Cairo,

We just got the internet back after they had disconnected the whole country for the past 8 or so days. Facebook and Twitter are still out so I decided to make the announcement through LinkedIn which I guess the government doesn't see as a threat.

First and foremost is that me and my family are fine. Things were getting a little hazardous with the looting. Many think that the looters and thugs were government hired to cause unrest and I tend to believe that theory.

Petrol (gas) is at a shortage. Bread is probably the most precious of commodities and I havent been able to go to my day job for the past week and a half. Which means that we havent been paid our salaries.

Obviously with the internet being cut off I have not had a chance to access my mail which means that my voiceover business came to a stand still. Hopefully with the internet back I can contact my clients and let them now I'm still around.

My neighbors and I have been setting up patrols around our neighborhood to fight off looters. Thankfully my family and I live in a suburb outside of cairo ... but the worry is still strong since my parents and sisters live in Cairo proper.

Anyway... I didnt want to make this announcement too long but I just wanted everyone to know me and my own are fine and hoping that stupid President will get impeached or leave or something.

all the best,
Mahmoud Taji
Cairo, Egypt.
2/2/2011
_________________
Mahmoud Taji
Personal website: http://www.mahmoudtaji.com
blog: http://www.voiceemporium.com
twitter: @mahmoudtaji

Chuck Davis · Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 5:42 am Post subject:

Be safe Taji. The pictures and the news we're seeing over here are amazing.
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Scott Pollak · Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 6:23 am Post subject:

Taji,

I haven't had the pleasure of knowing you, but please know that we here in America have our hearts and prayers with you and your countrymen as you deal with this upheaval. We all hope for a peaceful resolution that will result in a better and more peaceful and prosperous Egypt. May you all be safe. Best wishes.
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todd ellis · Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 6:30 am Post subject:

keep your head down & protect your own, taji. we'll keep the t&p coming from here.
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samowry · Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 7:01 am Post subject:

Glad to hear you and your family are safe. I'll hold good thoughts for that continuing.

bobsouer · Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 7:18 am Post subject:

Mahmoud,

I'm glad to know you and your family are safe.
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Bruce · Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 10:09 am Post subject:

It's unsettling to watch from here...I can only guess how difficult it would be to have it going on just down the street. Here's to a peaceful resolve for everybody, especially you and your loved ones.

Bruce
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Deirdre · Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 11:22 am Post subject:

Taji!!!
You have been on my mind.

Thank you so much for checking in here.
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Diane Maggipinto · Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 11:24 am Post subject:

thanks for letting us know, taji!

vo-related, yours makes all those noisy lawn mowers and weed whackers little blips in the night. stay safe
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Jen Gosnell · Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 12:37 pm Post subject:

Hi Taji!

We haven't met but I am sending you and your family a big hug. I can't even begin to put myself in your shoes, but am glad to hear you are safe, and hope that things get better very soon. My best wishes to all of you coping with this difficult situation.

Jen
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cyclometh · Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 12:46 pm Post subject:

I was worried about you, I'm glad to hear you're OK. Stay that way! Smile

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Lizden · Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 3:56 pm Post subject:

Thank you SO much for checking in!
omg...I can't image...really...SO glad you & your family are safe.
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ccpetersen · Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 7:12 pm Post subject:

Taji,

Glad you are safe. We have friends near Cairo and were IN Cairo last October. Seeing the areas we visited (including the downtown areas and the museum) under threat has been very sobering.

Be well!

CC
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mstaji

Hello Again Folks,

Thank you so much for all the kind replies and good wishes. I ask for your prayers and hope you never have to go through anything similar.

One never realizes how much of what we have is taken for granted. One day Egypt is one of the most technologically savvy countries in the Middle East. The next day we were pitched head first into the late 80s or what I like to call the modern dark ages.

No Internet, No text messaging, no cell phone service. The government had decided that the best way to keep protesters from protesting was to take all forms of modern communications out of the picture.

Of course humans have been communicating for centuries and so the protesters still found a way to communicate.

Several people who have contacted me asked me the same question over and over. Their biggest fear was that the Muslim Brotherhood (an Conservative Islamic political movement) would seize power in Egypt and that people would end up with a second Iran that is much closer to Israel and far more strategically dangerous.

Let me assure those people that this is all just regurgitated BS from the US ministry of Foreign Affairs. The issue here is that the US govt has now been revealed to have supported a Dictator and his oppressive regime for decades while still promoting the concept of democracy. So technically the Ministry of FA is trying to save face by saying we kept Mubarak in power because otherwise the Muslim Brotherhood (or MB for short) would be in power.

That is completely untrue. The MB are at best a contender for a minority of seats in parliament but not the Presidency. The revolution taking place right now was organized and spearheaded by the Middle Class Intelligentsia who have no political agenda other than getting an oppressive, and as the world has now seen, blood thirsty dictator out of office and to put an end to his regime.

Later they were joined by the majority of the countries opposition parties which are far bigger than the MB.

Please try to find alternatives sources of news instead of CNN, NBC, CNBC, ABC and CBS (and definitely Fox News). I suggest trying the BBC, alarabiya and Al-Jazeera at least to check out the other side of the story.

The Egyptian population is so diverse that it would be difficult for what happened in Iran to happen here. So please ignore what your news outlets are spewing... its mostly meaningless.

The biggest danger is that the old dictator is kept in power until September because then what will happen is he will exact his revenge on all those who brought his regime to its knees... and that means misery for all... or at least everyone that wasnt paid (like his thugs) to show support for him.

I was supposed to get back to work today but they called in and told us to stay home.

Also to clarify I am not Egyptian. My sisters are married to Egyptians and have been naturalized so they are Egyptian. I have lived in Egypt for around 18 years but that does not qualify me for a citizenship. My daughters were born in Egypt and that doesn't qualify them for citizenship. Nonetheless since I live here I can safely tell you this revolution was a loooooong time coming.

Maybe I don't hold the citizenship but that doesn't change the fact that these people are my brothers and sisters.

My the Almighty protect us all,
_________________
Mahmoud Taji
Personal website: http://www.mahmoudtaji.com
blog: http://www.voiceemporium.com
twitter: @mahmoudtaji

ccpetersen · Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2011 9:36 am Post subject:

Taji,

Your words echo what we have heard in Cairo from folk of various walks of life. One of the most moving moments we had on one of our tours was a discussion that sort of broke out spontaneously during a two-hour bus ride, with one of the passengers asking our tour guide if Christians were in any danger from Muslims in Egypt. Now, mind you, the bus had many people on it from the cruise ship on which I was lecturing (on astronomy and space science!) and a good many of THEM were on religious pilgrimages to see places from the "Bible". Egypt was just one stop for them.

Anyway, our tour guide - a lovely person who was well educated and quite a sense of humor -- said, "You know, many Americans ask me this and I am surprised that they do not know that we Muslims love Jesus, too." And went on to talk about how in much of Egypt, people of all faiths live quietly together as brothers and sisters. This person was quite sincere and open and showed a face of Egypt that I think many did not expect. It was a wonderful discussion and when we finally got off the bus in Cairo for our first stop (the National Museum), the conversation continued while we waited in line to get in.

A relative of mine worked in Cairo for a year and brings back much the same story as you tell... including the fact that the story of the government there has not been a good one.

I, for one, HAVE been following Al-Jazeera -- I do read it fairly often to get the news slant that we don't get from CNN, BBC, etc. It's part of being well-rounded in reading news. Without getting any more political here, it does seem to me from MY reading and talking to people when we were in Cairo, that these events we're seeing you live through have been a LONG time coming.

Stay safe and thank you for keeping us posted.
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