I want to tell you a story of something that happened last night but I must start the story a week ago when I was at the Cat Fanciers Show in Belgium.
I attended the Breed Awareness/Judging School on Thursday and Friday and stayed in the hotel where it was held. During this time, there was a lot going on in capital of Egypt and I became interested in the news about the protests against the Egyptian President and the youth revolution (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J56oGIznUOQ). I have to tell you that civil unrest and global politics really aren't high on my list of things to keep up with. I read the headlines but rarely follow a story in depth unless I have some personal connection to the location or event. However, this particular story captured my interest. I kept CNN running for three days straight and checked in on the news at each break and over our lunch breaks to see what was happening in Cairo. I watched the protesters get killed in the streets, heard the President’s speech when he agreed to transfer some power to the military and then finally saw the announcement when the President decided to step down and left Egypt. Why this particular story captured my interest I don't know, but I followed it as if it were happening in my hometown.
Flash forward to yesterday. We left our car at the Venice airport parking lot and took the water bus (ferry) to San Marco. We decided to skip the train ride and spend the 50 euro on the round trip boat ride because it was such a nice day. Bill and I had a good time hanging out in Venice, exploring San Georgio and doing a bit of shopping. We had a very nice dinner and walked all around the city, even into the designer boutique areas where we discussed the latest fashions displayed in their windows. We wandered off the beaten path and watched gondolas drift by as we crossed many of the famous Venice bridges. When it came time to head back to the square to catch the late bus back to the airport, we decided to make one last stop for a cup of coffee at one of the famous old coffee houses in St. Mark’s square. It was the perfect way to end a memorable day in Venice.
We eventually arrived at the pier to catch the water bus but were a bit confused as to which pier was for arrivals and which for departures. We went to the one we thought was departures but became concerned when the boat that we thought was the one we were supposed to be on, motored past the pier without stopping. It was the right time and there was a different boat at the other pier so we hurried to the other side to ask them if we were supposed to catch that boat. When we got there we found someone else having the same conversation with the answer being, no, the last boat has already departed (yep, that was the one that didn’t stop) and this one had reached the end of the line. No more boats to the airport tonight.
The other person who was asking for transportation back to the airport was a woman of obvious middle eastern decent, dressed in traditional Muslim clothing and a hijab (scarf) covering her head. She spoke fluent English and was in obvious distress at being stranded on an island where all the hotels were full (Carnival starts this week) and she had no place to stay. She was trying to get guidance from the guys who ran the boat as to what she should do. Unfortunately they didn't speak English that well and weren't very inclined to help. This was obviously a very strong woman who would go against her culture and be traveling alone in a strange city but she had used up her reserves and the tears were beginning to flow.
We asked if we could help and she explained that she had arrived at Venice airport at about 5pm and took the boat to the island expecting to be able to find a hotel where she could spend the night. She had only one day to visit and wanted to see the city at night and then take some photos in the morning before flying out. She did not know about Carnival and expected that, in the middle of winter, a hotel room would be easy to find. When she was told that all the rooms in the city were sold out, she offered a hotel the price of a room to be allowed to stay in the lobby where she would be safe and off the streets during the night. The hotels turned her away so she went to catch the water bus back to the airport, planning to spend the night in the airport terminal where she wouldn't worry about being mugged or raped. This is where our paths crossed.
A water taxi from the island to the airport at this time of night (11pm) can cost a fortune. The taxi's know you have no alternative. We had already been told that the water taxi would be 100 Euro (about $135) and knew it would be no more to have another person join us for the trip. We explained that we had to take the taxi back to the airport to get our car so we could drive home and invited her to join us. You could tell she wasn't comfortable getting on a boat with two people she didn't know and had no guarantees where we would be taking her but she had few options so she consented to come along. She offered to pay her share but was very shocked at the price.
Once on the boat, we introduced ourselves (something we had failed to do previously) and explained that we could help her find a hotel nearby but not on the island. She really wasn’t comfortable leaving the area since she didn’t know her way around and she didn’t want to be away from the airport for fear that she would be able to get back. She was upset with herself for not making better plans and assuming that she would be able to find a hotel without a reservation.
We found out that she was from Egypt. She left the country about 10 days ago right after the President stepped down and turned power over to the army. She had spent the days previous to her departure in Tahrir Square with the protesters. She had been attacked with tear gas but continued to march with the youth of Egypt demanding freedom and democracy. This was a woman who was not afraid to stand up to her government, march against the police and be counted as an Egyptian youth who wanted a better life - however she had just been terrified at the prospect at being left alone in a city that could not offer her shelter for the night.
We explained our situation, Americans living and working in Italy and why we had left our car at the airport. She didn't understand why we would help her but she admired and trusted us just because we were Americans. More than anything else, she wanted to go to America. The land where people have choices and can become anything they want to be, regardless of sex or religion or social status. She wants, more than she can say, to experience the land of opportunity. Someday, she will work there. She is a doctor in Egypt and is now in her residency. She knows that when she is done she will study to get her license in American and find a hospital who will accept her. Her family wants her to marry, but she has turned away two husbands because they refuse the idea of living in America and that is her dream. She will wait and hope that the right man will come along.
Having followed the recent news of the revolution in Egypt I felt as if I were able to relate to this woman in a way that I would not been able to only two weeks ago. I was able to see the experiences she had recently lived through. I admired her and felt an immediate connection. Something I might have missed had I not had this recent inexplicable interest in the events of her country.
The return trip to the airport was quick and we were soon back at our car. We took her to the front of the terminal and I walked in with her to make sure she would be allowed to stay once the doors were locked at midnight. She would be safe there for the night and tomorrow she would be able to resume her journey to the home of her friends in Paris.
As we said our goodbyes and exchanged contact information, promising to keep in touch, she again came to tears. She said to me that there were no words she knew that would express her gratitude for our help. Her greatest fear was that she would be left alone on the street of a foreign country. In Muslim countries, women are cherished and protected. On her streets, she never worried about being raped or mugged but knew that this occurred in other places. If she were to lose her virginity, it would destroy her life. Everything she had worked for would be worthless. The sacrifices her family had made would be for nothing. She promised that her mother would call me to thank us for our generosity and that Allah would bless us.
We have an open invitation to visit Egypt (maybe after the dust of the revolution settles), where we would stay with her family and she would be our personal tour guide. When I said goodbye my heart was full of emotions that I can't explain. I may never see this woman again or we may keep in touch and become lifelong friends. All I can say is that I am really glad we missed our boat.
LeAnn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J56oGIznUOQ