I moustache you a question

Talking to my colleagues (all of the above are lovely, and therefore not subject to any pejorative nickname), it's interesting to get their take on the political tension in Egypt at the moment. One of the women above wasn't aware anything was even happening until it was pointed out yesterday. One believes that the country needs a full-scale attitude change from the people, not the government. The other thinks the government has to change, but cares little for protesting about it.

Support for President Hosni Mubarak is minimal, though the older generation pictured above believe he's not a bad man, just that he adopts bad politics. The younger generation totally disagree. When I asked who they would like to see in charge should Mubarak go, they had no idea how to answer. There is no choice. There are no alternatives. There is only the desire for something to change, though from what I gather, people don't really know what.

Mubarak is an old man, with little time left and under the current regime, his natural successor is his son, Gamal. This also brings out mixed responses from the generation gap. The older ones believe there's no problem with that as long as he listens to the people and serves a fixed term (his father has been in power for over 30 years) whereas the younger ones don't like him one little bit. The streets are filled with mostly young people, which is an interesting reflection of today's staffroom discussions.

Whatever the opinions, there is a huge buzz surrounding the events and people (including one of the women above) are keen to get out on the streets. This is despite the fact that the protests have been declared illegal and appear to be attracting response in the form of extreme violence from the police. It all looks like building up to something very big tomorrow where a call for the biggest protest yet - set to happen after the Friday lunchtime prayers - has been circulating despite the shutting down of Facebook and Twitter.

I just hope it doesn't get too out of hand, not least of all because I'm leaving for Brussels tomorrow and can do without any hassle over and above the usual standard.