AGENZIA FIDES REPORT-“The celebrations went on all night and this morning the situation is quite calm,” Fr Luciano Verdoscia, a Comboni missionary who works in Cairo tells Fides, following the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak. “There are still demonstrators in Tahrir Square. I immagine that the celebrations will continue on today,” said the missionary. Regarding the immediate future for Egypt he says, “we need to see how the economy will respond, given that it has taken a hiding during these days of protests. We will see how the authorities re-establish security. If the army is able to restabilise security effectively, the tourism sector may take up its activities again.
“Tourism has come to a complete standstill. The hotels are empty. Restaurants and bars which are usually full of tourists are closed and some have even been looted. Tourism is one of the most important sectors for the economy, together with the tolls for crossing the Suez Canal and the oil and gas sector,” said Fr Luciano. “In terms of food, Egypt produces fruit and vegetables, so at least there is still some food security.”
Egypt is currently ruled by the military, by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. Fr Luciano Fides relays to Fides his impressions gathered in Tahrir Square: “On the transition into the hands of the military, I have heard various things. Some fear that the Minister for Defence, Tantawi, who has shown a certain reluctance for reform, may impose a crackdown, after the protesters have left the streets. Others rather, are confident that the army can lead the Country through the transition to democracy, because according to them, the army has not been contaminated by the corruption of the regime. However I do not know how true this is. One thing is certain: the army was reorganized by the United States, which subsidizes it with one and a half billion dollars a year, not counting the hundreds of instructors and technicians sent to Egypt for training the local armed forces.”
Finally, regarding how the U.S. is seen by the protesters, the missionary reports: “The United States has been the subject of negative slogans, both from one side and the other. One of the slogans shouted by the demonstrators in Tahrir Square, was 'Mubarak servant of Israel and America'. Instead, the pro-Mubarak protesters accuse the U.S. of being responsible for the revolution and of supporting the revolutionary movement.”
“Tourism has come to a complete standstill. The hotels are empty. Restaurants and bars which are usually full of tourists are closed and some have even been looted. Tourism is one of the most important sectors for the economy, together with the tolls for crossing the Suez Canal and the oil and gas sector,” said Fr Luciano. “In terms of food, Egypt produces fruit and vegetables, so at least there is still some food security.”
Egypt is currently ruled by the military, by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. Fr Luciano Fides relays to Fides his impressions gathered in Tahrir Square: “On the transition into the hands of the military, I have heard various things. Some fear that the Minister for Defence, Tantawi, who has shown a certain reluctance for reform, may impose a crackdown, after the protesters have left the streets. Others rather, are confident that the army can lead the Country through the transition to democracy, because according to them, the army has not been contaminated by the corruption of the regime. However I do not know how true this is. One thing is certain: the army was reorganized by the United States, which subsidizes it with one and a half billion dollars a year, not counting the hundreds of instructors and technicians sent to Egypt for training the local armed forces.”
Finally, regarding how the U.S. is seen by the protesters, the missionary reports: “The United States has been the subject of negative slogans, both from one side and the other. One of the slogans shouted by the demonstrators in Tahrir Square, was 'Mubarak servant of Israel and America'. Instead, the pro-Mubarak protesters accuse the U.S. of being responsible for the revolution and of supporting the revolutionary movement.”
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