CAIRO - Today's visitors to Egypt, the Arab world's most populous country, will see a tense nation, still reeling from a revolution that ended the 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak. They will also be struck by the changes in the Egyptians' behaviour. “The January 25 revolution has ushered in a new political and cultural era, in which people from every social stratum must have a say,” says Samia el-Gendi, a professor of psychology at Al-Azhar University in Cairo. In her view, the Egyptians have proved that they are powerful in times of crisis. “They have broken the barriers of fear. They launched this unique revolution to eradicate poverty, torture, corruption and unemployment. All the world agrees that the recent revolution has caused a radical shift in Egypt, whether in politics, the economy or people's attitudes,” she told the Egyptian Mail. Yehia Morsi, a professor of sociology at Helwan University, another public university in southern Cairo, said that the New Egypt would be a democracy with a leading position on the world map. “Many young people braved teargas and live ammunition to give their nation freedom, new laws and new media that will not deceive them,” he told this newspaper. “I think with all this in mind, the Egyptians will change for the better, despite the prevalent feeling of uncertainty.” In the weeks that followed Mubarak's ousting, Egypt was gripped by a rash of labour strikes, which have added to the nation's economic problems. “The country must regain its strength. Many people felt insecure when the police suddenly withdrew from the streets, to be replaced by thugs and criminals who plundered public and private property,” said Sherif Hegazy, a human rights activist. “Chaos erupted in Egypt after the revolution. The prisons were opened, and many prisoners escaped, making citizens feel insecure and terrified,” he told the Mail in a telephone interview. “But the true mettle of the Egyptians came to the fore when they set up vigilante groups to protect their streets and homes.” Hegazy said that the relationship between the police and the public needs to be restored – indeed, it needs to be stronger than it originally was – so that security and stability may return to the nation's streets. Says Walaa Atef, an economics graduate: “The one thing that I hated during the revolution was that the Government shut down the Internet and the mobile phone network in most areas of Egypt to limit communication among the protesters.” The new government is working on amending the law on telecommunication regulations. “The change of regime will change Egypt for the better. We are happy that the long-hated State Security Agency has been dismantled,” says Iman Ahmed, a student at the Faculty of Mass Communications, Cairo University. She added that there was corruption and oppression in the past, with the police unjustly detaining certain political figures. “But now everyone is certain about getting his/her rights and is free to express his/her views.” “This great revolution has deeply affected all Egyptians positively or negatively; it's been a difficult time for them,” says Khaled Moustafa, a media adviser to Cairo's Governor. He adds that, after the revolution, some foreign tourists stopped coming to Egypt, because they felt insecure. This is very serious, because tourism is a key foreign currency earner for Egypt. “What we need now is an economic revolution, as 50 per cent of Egyptians are living below the poverty line. We need to be economically independent,” stresses Moustafa. Over the past few weeks, Egyptians have been trying to drum up support for the Stock Exchange, which reopened last month after a seven-week closure. Meanwhile, civil society groups have been volunteering to clean up Egypt's streets and help the poor, behaviour cited as a positive change in the Egyptians' conduct after the revolution.
