Cairo in Crisis

It's 2 A.M., and I'm not sure where I'm going with this...just random thoughts and feelings as I sit in our comfortable family room on a peaceful February morning watching Anderson Cooper and other journalists "reporting from an undisclosed location" in Egypt.

One Egyptian commentator (Mr. Ajami) said yesterday that the people didn't think they had enough room in their hearts for more heartbreak. Yet their peaceful demonstrations beginning 10 days ago have now taken a nasty turn as of yesterday. It's hard for me to wrap my arms around the violent images shown on CNN and elsewhere. How is it I am so blessed to be this safe, this protected, this peaceful while a world away others fight for democracy by civil disobedience and in some cases fight for their lives?

As a mediator, I'm trained to look for the win-win in conflict without going to war with each other. This seems so remote at the moment for the 80 million people of Egypt. While I go to bed soon and absorb the lovely silence of the night, I am struck by images of protesters in Cairo breaking up concrete streets into chunks to use as weapons and of a van blatantly mowing down pedestrians.

This crisis is hardly something to sleep on. I still pray for peace this day.