MU| F e a t u r e s
2011 revolution in Tahrir Square that
ousted President Hosni Mubarak, followed
in 2013 by the coup d’état that deposed
Mubarak’s successor, Mohamed Morsi.
Both events had far-reaching effects on
what we saw throughout Egypt.
One of those effects is Egyptian poverty
and the country’s dependence on tourism.
More than 26 percent of Egyptians live
below the national poverty line, according
to the United Nations Development
Program. Total revenue from tourism
– now $5.9 billion a year – is less than
half what it was before the revolution
and coup. Considering tourism provided
employment for 12 percent of the
workforce in 2010, it’s difficult to reconcile
the struggles of Egyptians with the
greatest travel experience of my life.
Our Manchester education, which
teaches us to appreciate and respect other
cultures, is a valuable tool in situations that
affront Western sensibilities. It helped to
prepare us for what we saw. Elizabeth
McKenney ’16, a religious studies major
from Cynthiana, Ky., recalls a visit to a
carpet-weaving school. “I had a pretty
meaningful experience with some of the
children there,” she said, “I know a tiny bit
of Arabic and I was able to communicate
with them. They were really bright kids,
really excited to talk to someone.”
But McKenney felt less enthused about
the bigger picture. “A lot of kids end up
having to work to earn a living instead of
getting an education, and the school allows
them to do both. They get about three
hours of education a day and then spend
the rest of the day learning a traditional
craft, in this case carpet weaving. But,
ultimately, it’s still child labor.”
On page 23: Manchester students ride camels through
the Egyptian desert; clockwise from lower left (starting
opposite page), students take in the Egyptian scenery;
Renée Neher ’16 gets acquainted with a camel; students
(from left) Nolan McBride ’19, Hannah Brown ’18, Renée
and Clayton Marcum ’18 perform their rendition of “Walk
Like an Egyptian”; the Manchester group explores an
ancient temple; Clayton is dressed for his camel ride;
and (from top) Clayton, Elizabeth McKenney ’17 and
Heather Dorn ’17 climb the Great Pyramid.
Hannah Deubner ’17, an education major
from Vandalia, Mich., was surprised at the
stark disparity between economic classes.
“It’s just something I wasn’t expecting to
see,” she said. “The first thing everyone
asks is, ‘Did you see the Pyramids?’ Of
course I saw the Pyramids. When I tell
them about [the poverty] they’re surprised,
but it’s not something I can convey well
enough in words for them to have the
same reaction I did.”
We left expecting to bring back tales
of pyramids and tombs, the size of the
Sphinx or the beauty of the temples.
And we did. But we also brought back
our impressions of the daily, hardscrabble
struggles of everyday people. And that’s
something about cultures that remains
universal.
By Jacob Ray ’16
Manchester | 25