The current wave of Middle East and North African protests have been making their way steadily through many countries. The clashes, self-immolations and death tolls have been frightening for many of us who have been watching from afar.
But what of those who were right there when it happened? The Inkslingers talked to Anis Natrah Muhammadd Khairulailzaki, one of the many students studying in Egypt when the revolution happened.
Inkslingers : Where in Egypt were you studying?
Natrah : I’ve been studying medicine at Mansoura University for the past year and a half. There’s always some protest going on at the university, to be honest (laughs).
Inkslingers : When did you realize that something was wrong?
Natrah : My friends and I heard about what was happening in Tunisia sometime in the middle of January. I started stocking up on food even then, just in case. Then the protests happened in Mansoura itself, on the 24th of January. This time we knew the protests were serious when we noticed that the police were there at the university.
Inkslingers : How did the communications blackout affect you?
Natrah : It was a little worrying. Phone lines in Cairo and Alexandria were cut off. Thankfully it did not extend to Mansoura. Then on the 28th of January onwards, we could not connect to the Internet. That was really difficult, as the only real way I could get updates on what was happening was by contacting my family back here in Malaysia. They would then relay to me what they knew from the news and Internet.
Inkslingers : So you had to call your family half the world away to get updates on the country
you were in?
Natrah : Yes! It was ironic, to say the least. I remember at some point my mother told me that there was a directive from the Malaysian High Commission telling us to go out one last time to stock up on food for a month. That would have been a scary thing to hear, had I not already stocked up food long before that.
Inkslingers : What happened next? How did you finally get out?
Natrah : We took the bus out of Mansoura to Alexandria on the 5th of February. There were about 22 buses all in all. We only stayed in Alexandria for one night. Me being me, while we were there, I wanted to catch at least a glimpse of the action so I went out and managed to get some photos.
A burnt car on the street in Alexandria.
Natrah : Then from there we were flown to Jeddah. Some went with MAS, some with AirAsia like myself, and others on military planes. To be honest I was a little disappointed that I wasn’t on a military plane! That would have been such an interesting experience. We were then housed in the Tabung Haji building in Jeddah for about six days. It was terribly boring there just waiting, so we managed to get permission to go out in groups to shop and sightsee. That wasn’t so bad. Later on we were flown back to Kuala Lumpur on SriLankan Airlines. We finally arrived back here on the 12th of February.
Inkslingers : Now that you’re safely back here in Malaysia, how do you feel?
Natrah : I’ve been back here for over a month now. While this unexpected holiday is welcome, it would have been interesting to be there and part of the revolution there. But to quote my uncle, it wasn’t my fight to fight. School is starting next week. I’ll be flying back soon. I hope everything will be stable and safe enough for me to continue my classes.
(An exclusive interview by Alia Ali)
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