CAIRO: The money goes into the till, fingers prod for a few coins and are handed back to the customer with pace most would find astonishing, in Egypt or abroad. Here in this middle-class cafe in Cairo, efficiency is key to success. This is also why the workers at this cafe find the entire democratic meandering in Egypt recently frustrating, even angering. “We had a revolution, we had and are having protests. This is democracy and now it seems like it is going away,” says 18-year-old Mohamed, who has worked at the cafe for one year, in the morning before he heads to classes at Cairo University, where he is studying Political Science. Life is not easy, but he says it isn't too difficult either. And he is angered at the foreign and local media's coverage of the happenings in his country. “You know, people like me are not important to the press because we aren't interesting enough. We are just like everyone else in the world. We struggle, but our struggle is for a better job, better life, not to eat,” he continues, “and we aren't so rich that we are interesting. But today, we are just like every other Egyptian. A single vote counts.” For Mohamed and other workers at the cafe, who run the gamut of young to old, democracy is a welcome idea for the country. They want to choose. Adel, a 34-year-old husband and father of three, tells Bikyamasr.com that he voted for the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi, “because as an Egyptian, I could not continue to vote for Mubarak. It isn't fair,” referring to old regime loyalist Ahmed Shafiq, who is up against Morsi. In many ways, this cafe, which serves on average 150 people daily, is a microcosm of the “real” Egypt that almost all visitors and foreigners living in the country experience on a regular basis. But their stories are rarely told. With the presidential run-off this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, these are the people in Egypt who are largely going to determine the future, at least part of it, for the country. “All my friends are voting and we are not voting for Shafiq,” chimes in Mustafa, an elderly patron of the cafe who has been a regular in the early afternoon hours for the past decade or more. For him, a man in his late 70s, the military and its control over the country is unforgivable. “The young people are so brave these days, to fight with words against the bullets of our military. I remember how we fought to get rid of the King and then the military controlled our lives for 60 years. It isn't right,” he says, getting nods from the staff who have clamored around to hear the man, in near flawless English, deliver his message. The take at this cafe is strikingly pro-Egypt, and for them, it doesn't really matter who is in power. They are religious, but not extreme; they are conservative but not Salafists, and they love their sport. “Egypt is a country that can be determined by how football matches go. And in many ways, this is just like a football match,” interrupts Mohamed. “Egyptians going to vote is kind of like watching a football match. If we don't like the result, we will be angry for a few hours, maybe into the morning, but at the end of the day, there are more important things to worry about.” And worry about they are. Democracy, for them, is the future of Egypt. And they don't want the military, or another Mubarak styled government entering the picture to deliver an authoritarian dictator. They've all lived through the past few decades, or longer. “We want change. We want our votes to count and we want a real government that represents us. It doesn't matter if it is Brotherhood or whatever, because as long as we can vote, we will be a better country and can change,” Mohamed adds.
