Pink is the colour of freedom

Pink is a hot colour this spring in Egypt.

Yesterday for the first time in .... well, a long time ... Egyptians voted. There was a referendum on amendments to the constitution. Now I'm not an expert on the issues presented, but I've heard the preliminary results were a "yes." I'm not sure what that means.

But it doesn't matter.

What matters is that Egyptians voted. They stood in line (I know!), waited for hours (this is still Egypt, after all), and they cast their "yes" and "no" for the constitution. There were no reported bribes, no stuffing of ballot boxes, and no fighting.

How do you track and register almost 40 million voters in just a few weeks, in a country that does not have the technological infrastructure?

You paint their finger pink. No word of a lie. Cast your vote, dip your finger. It won't wash off for a day or two.

This is Gada. She works at our school. Gada is female, she is Muslim, and yesterday for the first time in her life she voted.

She looks brilliant in pink.

Revolution Tourism

On Saturday we ventured out to Tahrir square to see where history was made. History is still being made, I suppose, and it was very interesting to see first hand the things that have been on the news lately.
There are still small groups forming to protest, especially on weekends. Saturday was the first day that traffic was allowed back in the square, so these soldiers are doing their best to keep a swelling crowd away from the streets. At the time this picture was taken, things were peaceful.

This is the courtyard of the National Democratic Party headquarters (the name of the party leading the government). It is right behind the big pink Egyptian National Museum.

Piles of barbed wire all over the place.

A view of Tahrir and the Egyptian National Museum, with the NDP building in the background.

Street art commemorating what happened between January 25 and February 18, approximately. There are lots of murals around my neighbourhood too, and I will take pictures of those soon.