It's July and it's 2015 . Two years after the military coup. The weather is the usual sultry heat of Summer and I was going by microbus to visit a sick relative, one moreover that I had not seen in over five years.
The nile was the same azure jewel it had always been, nothing had changed not the green banks nor the peace and beauty of the river. Along the banks of course there were new signs designating parts of that bank to military club after military club, of course.

After all everything was back to the way it was the military had taught the wayward people a lesson, a pretty harsh one 10000 dead civilian strong to say the least and the people had seemingly learnt their lesson.

Along a bridge were the words : the army are heroes, CC Is a hero. The author had seen fit to write this several times across the wall, either to convince himself or passers by I wasn't sure until I saw the white wash that was splashed irregularly all along the street walls.

I smiled, I couldn't help it, it reminded me of something that had been written a year ago" wipe and cross out we'll write again down with military rule".

My relative had strong views about uprisings and people taking to the streets and pushed the blame of all the countries troubles at the doors of these revolutionaries these Brotherhood is. Bad bad people who had caused the Egyptian pound to flop to its current pathetic state.

I changed the subject and let her tell me her views on hospitals in general and doctors in particular, apparently this was also something to blame the Muslim Brotherhood for, after all weren't these people responsible to the medical Syndicate.  I said no the Syndicate members were elected and the current ones Christian nothing to do with the MB. But in that I was misinformed.

It's a fact that you cannot continue a conversation in egypt for very long without touching upon politics and the rising prices of everything.

Finally I got up and said "don't forget to pray for -------- that he's released and returned to his family", she answered "if he's innocent he'll be let off."

"You can't seriously believe that  I protested you know him, is there any doubt of his innocence, "

Apparently his being in jail was a result of someone wanting his position at work and had laid a false claim against him which the police had seen fit to believe and put him accordingly in jail for ten months until such time as they could prove his innocence.

This convincing explanation probably makes life very comfortable, it removes all blame from a police force that enters a man's home without warrant and without accusations breaks his home, frightens his children at 3 o'clock in the morning, steals all the money and jewellery and electronic equipment in the house, hides him in their secret security services headquarters for two months to finally after two months of torture admit him to a high security prison with thirty no less trumped up charges ranging from terrorist activities and blowing up cars to abusing the sisi.

It helps those who have sided with the military and allowed the media to brainwash them; explain to themselves how a beloved relative could be in jail or accused of being a member of the Muslim  Brotherhood.

It was there on the walls fresh and clear the words down with military rule, sisi is a murderer on walls that could not but be passed, how were these not white washed? There had been a protest March on Friday to show the military and the police that even here in Cairo in their sanctum of sanctum where the tightest of forces held sway the protest marches had infiltrated. One boy had been killed in Maadi,  I heard that during iftar today and couldn't eat.

As though it was just that one boy.

It looks bleak.

Don't say what you mean in front of a taxi driver because you don't know who will turn out to be part of the security police tale bearing gang of thugs and find yourself in a police station. You don't say what you want in front of anyone for that matter because people find it a public duty to flush out the Muslim Brotherhood supporters.

Witch hunting.

The secondary school finals exam saw the kids handing over their mobiles at the security check point, they got them back but sometimes some foolish boy or girl would find the examination room invaded by police and their being arrested before finishing their exams because they put some prodemocracy pictures or music on their cell phones.

Two years  more than 40000 in jail, more than ten  thousand dead, and the anti coup movement is as alive as ever. I once in a fit of depression said to someone, why not just give in, they've vilified every beautiful thing the Muslim Brotherhood have done over eighty years, they've falsely accused them of every violent action that has occurred on Egyptian grounds, where does this end? Isn't this like the fifties when they were killed before?
She said no. They've learnt their lesson and they're not going to stop until egypt becomes a democratic nation. I believe her.