Remember Egypt

Dear Editor,

Fighting in Egypt has caused me to think about my trip to Egypt in 1995 with a tour group.

At that time Mubarak had been in power for about 14 years. In spite of some modern buildings and the Cairo Museum, we could not help but notice the houses of the poor people. They were built of sun-dried mud bricks. Women washed their dishes in the polluted Nile River.

We visited a rug factory where children as young as eight years old worked all day. Many people could not read or write. Good medical care is not available to the average Egyptian citizen.

On a plan that our group took from Cairo to Luxor, we met a man who was injured while working on the Aswan Dam. He was lucky. They flew him to France where they saved his life.

It is not surprising that Arabic is Egypt's official language. The Arabs conquered Egypt in 639-642 A.D. (some people do speak French and English.)

What will happen if they do succeed in removing Mubarak? Will the Muslim Brotherhood take over? Can they manage to replace Mubarak with a reasonable leader? Will the few educated Egyptians furnished with the right resources be able to control the government? About 90 percent of Egypt is Muslim. No doubt, the Jingoists of the Muslim Brotherhood will use this to their advantage.

It is estimated, according to several news channels on TV, that there are a dozen political parties in Egypt. They want peace, justice and freedom. We can only hope and pray that one of them can achieve these goals.

Helen Ruth Arnold,

Trenton, Nebraska