UPDATE From the American University in Cairo

Dear AUC Community,

I write with updates about current events. Three of our American study-abroad students, Gregory Porter, Luke Gates and Derrik Sweeney, were arrested last night. We are in touch with their families and are working with the U.S. Embassy and the Egyptian authorities to ensure that they are safe. We have been able to determine that they are being held at Abdeen’s public prosecutor's office.

The Tahrir Square campus has continued to face attacks from intruders, including a band of armed robbers attempting to loot Hill House. Our security guards and other personnel on campus are doing an exceptional job in the face of very difficult circumstances, and we are continuing to work to provide them with additional support.

The University cabinet and the emergency management team are meeting daily to monitor the situation as it evolves. In the last nine months we have regularly revisited and refreshed our contingency plans, and we are confident that we are well-prepared to reach and secure members of our community as needed.

To keep you updated, an Emergency News Web page has been created at www.aucegypt.edu/newsatauc/Pages/EmergencyNews.aspx. Please check this page, to which you can also link directly from the University homepage, regularly for information.

While the Tahrir Square campus is closed until further notice, we expect to operate normally on the New Cairo campus tomorrow. We will be evaluating the situation later this evening, however, and should we believe that we need to close our New Cairo operations as well, we will inform the community no later than midnight tonight.

Thank you.

 

 

--

Lisa Anderson

President

The American University in Cairo

Protests in Egypt Day 3

I initially thought that the violence would fizzle out in a few days when the elections drew nearer but apparently I was mistaken. Therefore, I've have decided to write on my second round of Egyptian protests this year.

My first semester at the American University in Cairo, I took a class called "The Middle East in Transition". I found this title very interesting since the last thing that came to my mind when I heard the term Middle East was change... I wrote my final paper on how the Muslim brotherhood would come to power if elections in Egypt were ever liberalized, pointing to cases such as the Islamic Salvation Front in Algeria, the AKP in Turkey and HAMAS in Palestine. My teacher gave me a B and told me I was wrong. My classmates told me this would never happen. Well I have news for all of them... look at your country now.

Within the past 3 days buildings have been vandalized, 1500 people have been injured and 20 have been killed. One of my classmates was arrested (and released, thank God). Our downtown campus has been closed until further notice and there are videos of vicious acts being done by BOTH sides. Not just the army...let's get that straight.

It has now come to my attention that the upper-middle class has no idea that, even though they started the revolution, they are in the minority. This means that there is no way they'll have the kind of representation they're expecting or hoping to achieve. I fully expect it to go like this. First foreigners will be harassed/kicked out/forced to flee, then Christians will suffer the same fate of course...then the rich/upper-middle class will suffer from a certain redistribution of wealth, meaning they'll lose everything. One might call me pessimistic, but I'm in the middle of the chaos, watching it all unfold. It is inevitable now. Those who started and fought for and died for the revolution will lose it. It has been hijacked, but they don't realize it's over. They don't know what they're getting in return for removing Hosni Mubarak and trying to remove the army...but I don't understand why they can't see it. Perhaps they know something I don't know... After all, I'm just a foreigner.

American University in Cairo UPDATE/ALERT

Dear AUC Community,

As you are probably aware, there were disturbances and violent confrontations in Tahrir Square over the weekend and they are continuing today. In light of these recent events, I’d like to update you on several situations, as they unfold.

Last night, we received information that one of our students, Ahmed Abdel Rahim was arrested in Tahrir Square yesterday. We now know that he is being detained at the Kasr El Aini police station and are working to ensure that he is safe.

On the Tahrir Square campus, which is closed today and until further notice, we sustained some property damage in the form of broken glass in the science building, Hill House and at the bookstore. In addition, according to reports from our security officers, there were several groups of intruders, some armed, on both the Falaki and the downtown campus. AUC security guards were able to apprehend seven of them. The police forces entered the campus to search for and apprehend additional armed intruders. AUC policy prohibits police on our premises; in extraordinary circumstances AUC security may exercise discretion.

We have also received eyewitness reports from several of our students who saw tear-gas canisters being thrown at protesters from the campus. We are deeply disturbed by these reports and are currently investigating. Any member of the University community with information or evidence should email ouc@aucegypt.edu.

We are monitoring the situation on both our campus and in the case of our student Ahmed and will keep you updated as soon as any additional information becomes available.  

--

Lisa Anderson

President

The American University in Cairo

أعزائي أعضاء مجتمع الجامعة الأمريكية بالقاهرة،

كما تراءى في الأغلب إلى علمكم جميعا، شهد ميدان التحرير خلال عطلة نهاية الأسبوع اضطرابات ومواجهات عنيفة وهي مستمرة حتى اليوم. وفي ضوء هذه الأحداث الأخيرة، أود أن أطلعكم على مجريات أوضاع عديدة كما تكشفت لنا.

فقد تلقينا معلومات في الليلة الماضية مفادها أن أحد طلاب الجامعة وهو أحمد عبد الرحيم قد تم إلقاء القبض عليه في ميدان التحرير أمس. وقد نما إلى علمنا الآن أنه معتقل في مركز شرطة قصر النيل ونعمل على التأكد من أنه بخير. 

وفي حرم الجامعة بالتحرير، والذي هو مغلق اليوم وحتى إشعار آخر، تكبدت الجامعة بعض الأضرار في ممتلكاتها في شكل تكسير زجاج في مبنى العلوم والهيل هاوس ومنفذ بيع الكتب.  بالإضافة إلى ذلك، وفقاً لتقارير أفراد الأمن لدينا، اقتحم عدد من الدخلاء، بعضهم مسلح، مبنى الفلكي و حرم وسط المدينة على حد سواء. وقد تمكن أفراد أمن الجامعة من إلقاء القبض على سبعة منهم. وقد دخلت قوات الشرطة إلى حرم الجامعة للبحث على أي دخلاء مسلحين آخرين والقبض عليهم. وجدير بالذكر أن سياسة الجامعة تمنع وجود قوات للشرطة بداخل الحرم الجامعي إلا أنه في الحالات غير العادية يرجع تحديد ذلك الأمر إلى ما يتراءى لأفراد أمن الجامعة حسب المستجدات التي يرونها على أرض الواقع.

كما ورد إلينا أيضا تقارير من شهود عيان من طلاب الجامعة تفيد بإلقاء عبوات من الغاز المسيل للدموع على المتظاهرين من حرم الجامعة. وهو الأمر الذي يزعجنا كثيرا و نقوم بالتحقيق فيه. ونهيب بأي فرد من أفراد مجتمع الجامعة لديه أي معلومات أو أدلة تساعد في ذلك التحقيق مراسلتنا على البريد الالكتروني ouc@aucegypt.edu .

نحن نتابع التطورات عن كثب فيما يتعلق بالمستجدات في حرم الجامعة وفيما يتعلق بقضية الطالب أحمد وسنواليكم بأي معلومات جديدة تتوافر لدينا.

ليسا أندرسون