London

sally - أحد, 2008-08-10 16:55 By salamander
I am always proud to be an Egyptian and will always be but sometimes things happen to further consolidate my love and passion for my country. Life is strange with its surprises. For me, most of its surprises are unpleasant, but the one I encountered on Friday night uplifted my mood so much that I haven't stopped smiling. Yet my heart aches. I miss my country so much. I miss its people, history, walking downtown late at night, my friends .. everyone. But what has been nagging me was my lack of impulsiveness. I who consider myself so spontaneous have failed to satisfy my curiosity to learn more about a random person I met coincidently.   On Friday night I have changed my rituals and instead of hanging out with my work colleagues I went to the west end for a change. I should have known better. The people I was with were lovely but the night did not take us anywhere exciting, so I decided to leave early and catch the tube. I hardly take the tube in London, they are disgusting especially on weekend nights. Everyone is so drunk and loud and you are stuck with them in this long dark and stale cylinder.  I was sitting there trying to avoid eye contact. That is a rule in London. People don't like being looked at or smiled at. So I am sitting, contemplating the night, my foul mood, my life, the tube, and focusing hard on not looking at anyone and there came an old couple.

sally - خمي, 2007-08-23 01:10 By salamander

On 7 August 2007, 3arabawy posted a letter written by one labour activist in solidarity with the Egyptian postal strikers. The letter quickly became so popular amongst many socialist activists in Egypt, who translated it into Arabic. The story of the letter was published in the independent Al-Dostour Newspaper.

Here is what David Morrison the writer of the letter had to say about it all.

<!--break--> "I read about the Egyptian postal strikers in the Socialist paper. Their story was very inspiring. The fact that they stood together regardless of the police threat and at the end get what they want was just inspiring. So I automatically sent the Egyptian workers that email ...