The streets of Maadi

Top left: Local kids painting the side of the road.
Top right: Road 206, after a recent makeover.
Bottom left: Gone, but not forgotten.
Bottom right: "Please help us to keep our area clean."

As well as the all important flag, the new thing to have this week in Cairo is a sticker that looks like an Egyptian number plate which simply reads 'January 25th'. It's still pretty hard to judge what, if anything, is happening with regard to change from a governmental perspective, but it's brilliant to see the attempted clean-up operations going on at community level.

With many of the schools still closed, this scene is reflective of what's happening all over Maadi at the moment. These kids are painting the curbs black and white in an effort to make the place look a little nicer and others are grabbing brooms and facemasks and sweeping up, with more and more signs and posters popping up asking everyone else to do the same.

This particular group were being watched over by local shop owners, all of them young guys in their twenties. When I asked if I could take a photo, they were very obliging, and even requested that I put in on Facebook*. It's refreshing to take a photo round these parts, and have people actively thankful that you're doing it.

This collage (which I've changed from earlier which just showed the image top-left) shows the streets of Maadi as they were this lunchtime. We've just heard worrying reports that Maadi is under lockdown after a bus driver was shot just up the road. That he was shot is bad enough, but that it was by a policeman makes matters worse. They're still far from popular in these parts, and there is a little bit of anxiousness that things might kick-off again. The army are apparently on top of it with increased tank presence and security at the main entrances to the area.

We've been advised not to leave our homes. At the risk of sounding melodramatic, we won't.


*Blipfoto's better.