Are You Obama? An American finds inspiration in Cairo

“Are you Obama?” Imagine my surprise when young and old yelled this question to me as I walked through crowded Cairo just days after US President Barack Obama visited Egypt. Being blonde and blue eyed, I realized when I questioned them they were asking me if I was American. I had to smile and realize an era has passed.

Not many years ago in a mall patisserie in Paris, a young man asked me in French if I was Russian. When I said no, the young man was certain I was Hungarian. When I had to say no again, he looked at me with confusion. I said in French, I was American. Immediately without a breath, the young man began a stream of “George Bush, il tue. il tue. il tue.” All the while matching his words with chopping motions with his hands.

A new era truly has arrived. “Are you Obama?” made me think of Election Day in Washington, D.C., where citizens waited for hours to vote. Many had never voted before in their lives. They had hope. On Inauguration Day millions came from around the country to attend the ceremony on the mall. With temperatures close to freezing, the only warmth was being pressed into the crowd of mink coats. It was a solemn day as though it was the largest church service ever held in public with tears shed after President Barack Obama repeated the official oath.

From where I stood at the Lincoln Memorial where Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous speech “I Have a Dream” to standing at the Giza Pyramids in Cairo, Egypt with young kids yelling, “Are you Obama?” made me realize the contagious nature of hope.

With hope, there is undeniable respect for the President of the United States for his courage to visit the ‘pyramid’ of Islam in Egypt, the Mosque of Sultan Hussein and then visit the Giza Pyramids of Egypt. The young and the old, the educated and the poor, the faithful and the secular recognized immediately the symbolism.

The hope for security and prosperity is lifting the spirits of the young with the hope for prospects of economic opportunities and success. It shouldn’t take a presidential visit to pave the streets around a cherished mosque or a royal visit to create a road to the pyramids. If so, advise heads of state and royal families to visit often and different sites.

However, realistically, in our bilateral co-operations, we should look to incorporate common sense solutions to the larger picture of the future for young people, economic and security stability in the region and the preservation of monuments of world history.

Are you Obama?

By Keri Douglas, writer/photographer, Washington, DC
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