Armed Forces Day

Guess what? Today is Armed Forces Day in the U.S. You probably didn't know that, and I definitely wouldn't have known it either if it weren't for the little note that is written on my daily planner. I guess not many of us will really do anything to commemorate Armed Forces day; maybe some will fly that "star spangled banner" (hint to Mom and Dad) today. But I thought it would be a good idea to mention something about a sense of national pride and unity in both the U.S. and in Egypt.

I think that the sense of "being an Egyptian" surpasses what seems to deeply divide this country, namely the differences in religion. Practically every day on my way to school I see someone's car or motorcycle broken down on the side of the road. If that person needs a ride, I doubt they would have to stand there for more than 5 minutes before someone comes along and takes them to wherever they need to go. Or another example is if you get on the metro and it's packed full of people and there's no seats left, the Egyptians will move from their seats without hesitation if an elderly person or a woman with a child gets on.

While I think there is a strong national unity among Egyptians, I've also encountered many Egyptians who have expressed their desire to leave Egypt and go to America. Usually this makes me proud of being an American, but sometimes it is also very sad. For example, once when I was on a felluca (boat) ride in Aswan, the felluca driver was telling me about how much he wanted to go to America to work...doing anything from working in a restaurant to being a cab driver. He kept asking me about how to get a visa, and since I've never looked into getting a U.S. visa, I really couldn't tell him. In the end he took my phone number just in case I was able to help him make his way to America. This is one of the times that you really feel good to be an American--people want to go there (LEGALLY) so that they can fulfill their dreams.

Then there have been other Egyptians who have wanted to go to America to work or to study but they are afraid. Last semester I was at a restaurant with Henry and after we were done ordering, the guy who took our order asked us where we are from. After we told him, we asked if he would like to go to America. He said yes, but also then said that it wasn't possible because Americans think that Arabs are terrorists. Or even when I was talking to a Muslim friend on campus, she said that she would like to go to business school in the U.S. but wasn't sure where she should go because she didn't want to be a social outcast for being Muslim. It's times like these that I've felt sad that the Arab people perceive all Americans in this way. But I can't lay all the blame on the Arab, it's also Americans' fault for being largely unaware or misinformed of the Middle Eastern world and culture (one of the main reasons why I've been here for a year), thereby propagating more inaccurate information.

Anyway, I hope that when I get back to America I notice the unity that I've noticed here. I hope we aren't too busy "social-networking" to actually spend time together, face-to-face. I hope that when we see someone who needs help, we take the 5 minutes to actually help them.

As American citizens we should be very, very happy for our citizenship. And we should be extremely grateful for those who have fought and given their lives for our freedom, as there are many people in the world who would give up so much just to have the freedoms and rights that we have as citizens of the United States of America.

Happy Saturday! Happy Armed Forces Day!