CAIRO: After touring 12 governorates, "The Freedom Bus" stopped in Menoufia to disseminate political awareness under the slogan "Speak with the Egypt that you want to be." The youth's initiative aims to link social classes with each other via the idea of a “Freedom Bus" that calls on all Egyptians to speak and interact. The Menoufia governorate is stop number 13, after visiting Alexandria, Kafr el-Shiekh, Ismailia, Suez, Port Said, Gharbia, Beni Suef, Mansoura, and other governorates, said Ashraf Sharqawi, founder of the Freedom Bus idea. “The talks became allowed after the January 25 Revolution,” said Sharqawi. “The people were very thirsty for freedom of expression, so we started to go in the streets. “That proves the Egyptians are ready to listen to each other and discuss and convince themselves of different points of views without altercations or quarrels. The four-month-old initiative ironed out the claims that said Egyptians are narrow-minded,” he added. “The talks are focusing on current incidents in the Egyptian street, especially the issues of the parliamentary elections, how the person should vote, and how to choose, because there are no awareness companies about the elections,” he continued. The freedom bus aims at spreading awareness over the post-election period that will witness the drafting of the constitution and presidential elections. The next stop is Minya in Upper Egypt.
