Live from Cairo
I didn't know for sure when I chose this book, just how many memories it would bring back. It did just that though. The streets and memories of Cairo came flooding back to me. Thinking about the moments I spent in taxis, the many adventures that I was able to have. The emotions that living in Egypt brought out in me.
But this book also gave me a deep connection to those that are seeking to go to other places, due to war.
The story in this book tells so much of the time of the revolution. What was going on in Egypt during that time, but it also tells the story of how hard it is to get to America. I am always amazed by Americans that continue to put people down that try to come here. I am always amazed by Americans that don't even pretend to understand just how difficult it is to be from a country that is constantly at war. A country where women are raped, and it is okay. A country where police have the right to just beat whoever they want, and that is the way business is done.
We have a long way to go in this world. But I think the first step is to always be able to listen to someone else's story and really hear it. Not to compare it to our own, but to understand where that person comes from, and how much they have gone through.
A few excerpts from the book:
"That's where the interview ended, with the feeling- belonging to no one specifically, but floating in the air above the table- that the only way to change Dalia's fate was to change her location." -page 24
"Charlie recalled why he'd left Montana, not because he had somewhere to go, but because he couldn't bear living amid selfish white similitude." page 55
"I was an immigrant in a land that didn't want me." page 64
"Maybe he just wanted to assure Omran that it was possible to survive unfathomable tragedy. That there might be some joy to be had in the end." page 119
We have to let stories impact us, I'm thankful for this one!
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