# Our last week



## marimar (Feb 9, 2011)

Back in January a thread was started asking people, How long are you intending to stay in Egypt? To this I posted my reply was "until the end, unless things became unsafe for my children to remain here", my family and I had intended to stay for the the rest of our lives here.
Well, how things can change in a short time, next week my husband, my 2 children and I will be leaving. 

Since the Revolution we have watched how the country has gone from one of optimistic hope to one of depression and lethargy. I may be thought by some as a pessimist but both my husband and I see no improvement coming for the people here any time soon, just another load of empty promises and passing the buck so people in power need take no responsibility. This is just our opinion and because of this and a lot of other factors we have decided to try and find a brighter and better future for our children.
I will be sad to leave as I had come to love this country and could see myself living here into old age and watching my children grow up here.
I have spent the last 11 years in Egypt and will be taking a lot of good memories with me, it has certainly been an experience!! 

I have enjoyed being a part of this forum and wish all who are staying in Egypt the very best and hope the future does get brighter here for everyone.


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## Lanason (Sep 1, 2009)

marimar said:


> Back in January a thread was started asking people, How long are you intending to stay in Egypt? To this I posted my reply was "until the end, unless things became unsafe for my children to remain here", my family and I had intended to stay for the the rest of our lives here.
> Well, how things can change in a short time, next week my husband, my 2 children and I will be leaving.
> 
> Since the Revolution we have watched how the country has gone from one of optimistic hope to one of depression and lethargy. I may be thought by some as a pessimist but both my husband and I see no improvement coming for the people here any time soon, just another load of empty promises and passing the buck so people in power need take no responsibility. This is just our opinion and because of this and a lot of other factors we have decided to try and find a brighter and better future for our children.
> ...


Sad to see you go and of course the wider polical sitution is unclear but how does this translate into your personal life.
I would be interested in examples of what made you make the move at a individual level..... what exactly changed :confused2:


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## hurghadapat (Mar 26, 2010)

marimar said:


> Back in January a thread was started asking people, How long are you intending to stay in Egypt? To this I posted my reply was "until the end, unless things became unsafe for my children to remain here", my family and I had intended to stay for the the rest of our lives here.
> Well, how things can change in a short time, next week my husband, my 2 children and I will be leaving.
> 
> Since the Revolution we have watched how the country has gone from one of optimistic hope to one of depression and lethargy. I may be thought by some as a pessimist but both my husband and I see no improvement coming for the people here any time soon, just another load of empty promises and passing the buck so people in power need take no responsibility. This is just our opinion and because of this and a lot of other factors we have decided to try and find a brighter and better future for our children.
> ...


Well that is sad....but i am sure you will not have made the decision without a lot of thought and heartache so i hope you have made the right decision and will be very happy where ever your new life will be....but you don't have to leave the forum just because you are leaving Egypt...i am sure everyone one here will look foreward to you telling us all about your new venture and for sure after living all that time in Egypt you will have lots of tips and advice to give to people who come on here asking for help so please keep posting and Good Luck.


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## Whitedesert (Oct 9, 2011)

Good luck! Our last day in Egypt is the 25th Oct...but of cause leaving for business/commercial reasons...first home to South Africa for a holiday, then on to Qatar to start a new company. Scary stuff!!


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

I hope your future is everything you wish for and so sad for you in cannot be in the country you would love to be in. 
Please do call back into the forum and let us know how you are getting on and of course you can still join in on the posts.. 

Thank you for your past contributions they are appreciated. 

ma`as-salāma

Maiden


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## CAIRODEMON (Sep 18, 2011)

marimar said:


> Back in January a thread was started asking people, How long are you intending to stay in Egypt? To this I posted my reply was "until the end, unless things became unsafe for my children to remain here", my family and I had intended to stay for the the rest of our lives here.
> Well, how things can change in a short time, next week my husband, my 2 children and I will be leaving.
> 
> Since the Revolution we have watched how the country has gone from one of optimistic hope to one of depression and lethargy. I may be thought by some as a pessimist but both my husband and I see no improvement coming for the people here any time soon, just another load of empty promises and passing the buck so people in power need take no responsibility. This is just our opinion and because of this and a lot of other factors we have decided to try and find a brighter and better future for our children.
> ...


Brave decision, and in my opinion probably the correct one. Nobody can tell the future, but it is really difficult to come up with reasons to be optimistic about what lies ahead for Egypt.

Good luck


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## aykalam (Apr 12, 2010)

Hi Marimar

I hope your move goes smoothly and wish you and your family the best for the future. Please do come back to the forum and keep us posted.

Aykalam


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## Lanason (Sep 1, 2009)

aykalam said:


> Hi Marimar
> 
> I hope your move goes smoothly and wish you and your family the best for the future. Please do come back to the forum and keep us posted.
> 
> Aykalam


Everyone wishes good luck (from me also), but I am still keen to know what tipped the scales


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## marimar (Feb 9, 2011)

Lanason said:


> Everyone wishes good luck (from me also), but I am still keen to know what tipped the scales



There is no one thing that made the decision, rather an amalgamation of little things that although they probably don't affect everyone here have started to wear me down. 

Obviously, being a woman, the constant harassment we face on the streets on a daily basis is unbearable and is getting worse (despite the governments new "name and shame" video scheme, which is supposed to help,..... unlikely). Not being able to confidently go out by myself anymore is making me feel isolated. Knowing that my daughter will eventually have to face all this harassment makes me feel sick.

Children being told that 100% is not good enough for exam results and that most universities are now only excepting grades of 101% or more (how is it even possible to get 101%??!! Seeing the disappointment of family members who assumed that because their children had the top grades (100%) it would be easy for them to find a university place and then being told that the children could no longer follow their dreams and study for their choice of career all because here in Egypt children are allowed to take Blackberrys and mobiles to exams (explains the high percent rates!!). 
My daughter was in KG1 last year, since January she has only been to school for about three weeks, due to closures for political elections, safety fears from protests, teachers on strike etc etc etc. Then we were told that her KG2 term would not start until the third week of September. Nearly 9 months of this year out of school is what I call getting an education, the money we paid is being wasted. This is not what i envisioned for my children and their education.

Being looked down on as a second class citizen or worse because I don't wear a veil or headscarf, something that has become more prominent in the last few months due to social pressures. If it were law, I would comply but because I choose not to people treat you differently.

I know not all the things I complain of are the fault of the government, a lot is from social pressure and things in the Egyptian culture but the new president and his government are, I believe, on their own agenda and have little or no interest in the future prosperity of everyday, working Egyptians.
These are just some of the reasons, I won't bore you with too many and I understand that these things may or may not affect everyone and that a lot of people learn to live with these things, but after 11 years it starts to grind you down, changes who you are. So for the sake of my children's future, our family life and my sanity, we decided a move was the best thing.

I truly wish in my heart that things do improve here for everybody, after all the country has gone through, Egyptians and ex pats alike all deserve better.


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## marimar (Feb 9, 2011)

I would like to thank everyone for their good wishes and I will definitely still pop onto the forum to keep up with the news and offer tips to anyone.


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## marimar (Feb 9, 2011)

Whitedesert said:


> Good luck! Our last day in Egypt is the 25th Oct...but of cause leaving for business/commercial reasons...first home to South Africa for a holiday, then on to Qatar to start a new company. Scary stuff!!



You leave the same day as we do!!!! Good luck to you and your family for your new venture, hoping that it all goes well for you.


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