Thanks guys
I landed safely in Sydney at 11pm last night...and got back to the coast at 2am
(almost missed connecting flight from Dubai to Sydney, but thats another story)
The last few days in Egypt were a shame, but the people seem confident of long term success...it's just a matter of time.
Definitely Egyptian revolution Rd 2!
The part of Cairo I stayed at was Haram (translation: Pyramid), and that was like a ghost town the last 2 days. 30 million people fit into Cairo, and it's jam packed all the time, but those last 2 days everyone young and able seemed to go protest! So at least I was safe
It makes you feel very grateful for what we have in Australia. Julia Gillard (whom I have bagged out for months) doesn't seem a bad leader with my new found perspective (I still didn't say she was good
)
On Ahly. I went to a game 4 days earlier at Home in the beautiful Cairo Stadium. Was an amazing experience and relatively safe. Sure a few flares here and there but no issues. I laughed at the time about the extensive security presence...300 riot police surrounding the field of play (not my smartest moment).
I even went to sit with the Ultra's in the 2nd half...easily the standout football moment of my (short) life
The freaky thing is that some of the people I sung and jumped with may have been amongst the victims...
And on my last day walking through the street market, a man followed me and my cousin. He had heard me speaking English...he was a local reporter. He asked my cousin if he could interview me(with my cousin as the interpreter)
Unfortunately I am not that knowledgeable in the area of politics and what not, so my answers were probably lacking...but he was very keen to interview me as he wanted a foreign perspective (in my family's area of Haram, there are no foreigners)
What are your feelings on the revolution?
I support the cause of the Egyptian people. My prayers are with the people. And I believe that you will succeed.
What is the difference between Australia and Egypt?
Democratic voting. We elect our leader...have been doing so for 100 years.
Does Australia have a president?
(I explained no and then explained about our republic vs monarchy...and how lucky we are to be arguing about such a relatively trivial matter).
How can Egypt be like Australia?
I do not believe the Australian model to be suitable for Egypt.
Different religious/cultural focus etc. Obviously any model would be better for Egypt that the current one, but I think that there is no perfect model...it should be tailored to the country.
Obviously there are aspects of Australian governance that are paramount to any properly functioning society
ie. democratic voting (which was achieved at the end of 2011) and corruption.
I spoke of the harsh penalties for corruption. How anyone guilty would be convicted in Australia. I said that the threat of prosecution is important.
I referred (maybe a bit naive of me) to the police corruption in NSW in the 80s, and how we had a reform, and we are all the better for it.
In Egypt they are complaining about the brutality from the police and military...something that would NEVER happen in Australia
What did I think of the Ahly incident?
A disgrace. Football should NEVER be used for such evil, and cause the deaths of innocent people.
Who do you support in Australia?
Central Coast Mariners. Top of the league by 10 points (I was unaware of the loss to Brisbane just hours previous).
Who?
Central Coast Mariners, smallest club in the league...near Sydney 
What about Sydney?
I don't know 6th maybe?
What about Melbourne?
8th maybe?
What about Adelaide?
About the same?
lmao!
Kudos to the kid for knowing 3 Australian cities (most know Sydney, some know Melbourne...i'm shocked he heard of Adelaide)
Although Adelaide played Ahly if I recall at the CWC...
