Optimism in Cairo

I just got off the phone with an Egyptian friend who told me in no uncertain terms that the revolution will "work", and that Egypt is heading, unequivocally, all sails to the wind, in the right direction. He bases this assessment on what he's heard from his acquaintances among the youth leaders of the so-called January 25 Movement, a group of whom have been meeting with the military government over the last few days and attempting to hash out a way forward for the country that will allow the army to remain as a guarantor of stability during the interim period until the elections later this year but will ensure a peaceful transition of power at that time, and will encourage active civilian participation in the nation's political arena in the meanwhile. My friend himself had spent the day working to promote political awareness among the population of his working-class neighborhood of Shobra, though whether that meant handing out leaflets on the street or going door-to-door with a sign-up sheet I didn't glean.

For us foreigners as well he promised "safety" in the new Egypt -- which is welcome to hear, of course, although I can't say I felt especially endangered in the old one (except as a woman in danger of facing harassment every time she stepped outside...though not to the extent of what happened to poor Lara Logan, not at all; more on that in another post).

Still, optimism is always comforting.