CAIRO: Reports of foreigners attacked in Egypt's capital city Cairo have spiked during the last four days of conflict between protesters and Egyptian state security, as a rumor mill of “foreign conspirators,” has racked public discourse, fueled by the fact that tear gas used by Egyptian security personnel was made in the United States. Rage over the noxious tear gas, a version expired for at least five years, according to canisters obtained by Bikyamasr.com, has electrified the square. It is known to cause severe pulmonary damage, as well as causing damage to the heart and liver. It is also reported to increase the risk of miscarriages. Reports of seizures, seve brain damage, blindness, frothing at the mouth, and prolonged unconsciousness due to exposure to the gas have also come forward. “Do you know this was made in America? Have you seen this? What do you think of this?” said several protesters, swarming an American Bikyamasr.com correspondent, wielding the empty tear gas canisters in their hands. “This is a conspiracy between the United States and Israel to slaughter us,” another proteser, alleged in the square on Tuesday afternoon. Egyptian authorities have pointed to “foreign conspirators,” and “invisible agents,” for the cause of the violent uprisings. Conveniently fueling this discourse, three American students studying abroad at the American University in Cairo were arrested for participating in the anti-military demonstrations on Tuesday. They allegedly picked up Molotov cocktails and hurled them at army personnel. One of the students wrote on his Twitter account, “Honestly, hopefully I die here,” before his subsequent arrest. The three students, Luke Gates, Greg Porter, and Derrik Sweeney, were arrested publically, allowing officials to declare the men's senseless act a deliberate act of ”foreign interference,“ in the domestic revolution. Local Egyptian papers also reported that a 29-year-old American man was deported to the UAE for allegedly instigating protests in Tahrir. BM
