CAIRO, EGYPT — The streets exploded with excitement, as drivers blew their horns, the pedestrians yelled and waved their national flag.The president of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, had finally announced that he was stepping down.Sitting in my Maadi apartment in the western part of Cairo, the euphoria was unmistakable. The Egyptian people, led by their youth, have achieved something that most thought unthinkable just three short weeks ago.“A new time has begun!” said my bowab, the Egyptian version of an apartment manager. “Look at the children, so happy.”The thought and the feeling are echoed up and down the street as I look out my balcony and watch people stream out onto the street waving the Egyptian flag. The mothers and fathers of the neighbourhood may finally sleep well tonight, not worrying that something ominous is about to happen.For the last three weeks has been a trying time for all of us here in Cairo, and indeed the entire nation of Egypt.Maadi is a community on the banks of the Nile where the highest concentration of foreigners who work and live in Cairo reside.Following the first demonstrations of Jan. 25, the community underwent a dramatic change. People were unsure of what was happening, of what to do, and mostly if they were safe.Tanks and armoured personnel carriers could be seen moving up and down the streets. Gunfire was everywhere, and phosphorus tracer rounds could be seen flying over our buildings.The Egyptian people who live in the community tried to reassure us all that everything was going to be OK, but then as things took a turn for the worse, people began to leave. On Jan. 28, the first calls for evacuation were being made by the Canadian Consulate Office. Other countries were working on getting their people out safely, as well.Schools and businesses were closed, and the community of Maadi was being left behind by most foreigners. The concern and fear was evident on all the faces, most noticeably the Egyptians who were being left behind.As the situation continued to deteriorate, most of the teaching staff at the Canadian schools were evacuated, either to Europe or back to Canada. For a number of us who could not get out for various reasons, the worry only grew.Those who were staying began to hunker down. We went to the stores and bought everything we might need. We got as much water, bread and canned goods as we could. We saw looting, and fights break out over simple arguments.When running low on Egyptian pounds, those of us who had any American dollars looked for places where we could exchange.While sitting in traffic with two other teachers, I saw a small riot erupt. One man arguing with a large group was struck with a machete, and was clearly seriously injured.As he fell against a building with blood flowing from his head, a stroke of extreme luck occurred. A military truck happened along, and the soldiers were able to intervene.Only with shots from their handguns and automatic weapons were they able to disburse the crowd. As our taxi sped away, I wondered what was to happen to the young man hit in the head, or to the others caught up in trying to survive the dramatic situation that was occurring.Things have begun to settle here in Maadi following the resignation of Mubarak. Although I have had no water for three days now, and my waste bucket is beginning to overflow, I am hoping for the best. Banking is very unstable, and I have no access to accounts through bank machines. We wait in long lines at the bank, and the shelves at the stores are rather bare.With a sense of pride and resignation, I watch my Egyptian neighbours. The smiles and delight I see in their faces tell me it will all be OK.“Tomorrow will be sunny, mister,” my bowab says. I know he’s not talking about the weather.Eli Campbell is a Canadian teacher residing in Cairo. His family resides in Comox.

Comox Valley Record