Cairo, Egypt

Yes, I am behind in my blog. Yet I just rediscovered some of the thoughts I recorded from a recent visit to Alexandria, Egypt. My journal entry begins here:

As the day began in this ancient city, I reviewed the day's schedule and was reminded of the challenges that many cities have in changing and adapting. With 18 million or more inhabitants, Cairo's issues are complex. And as the Commission (www.HELPCommission.gov) on which I am serving deepens its understanding of foreign assistance, I am reminded of how vital it is to have local leaders who are willing to solve problems. Yet today, our task shifts to another venue and another ancient city: Alexandria. It will be a day of coming face to face with leaders who grapple with the issues.

After nearly three hours in an armor-plated van, we arrived at a gleaming building of steel and glass. This is not your typical "foreign assistance" project for sure. Rather, it is a project designed to stimulate private investment and global trade. In essence, a very small financial investment was made through foreign assistance in order to leverage the impact of private resources -- in this case a petrochemical company that deals in Alkyl Benzene. These are business leaders who are definitely facing outward in their perspectives towards the world and the United States. I also must say that this is the first time I've ever been to an Alkyl Benzene plant -- and the first time that I've left a manufacturing facility with a parting gift: a spray bottle of cologne! Very thoughtful. And we didn't even smell the Alkyl Benzene. I'll be thinking of these entrepreneurs every time I freshen up!

While yesterday contained a first for me (a visit to a waste water treatment facility) and today had another "first" (a visit to an Alkyl Benzene plant), lo and behold, a "second" also was on the docket. Yes, another waste water treatment site. Two in two days! However, there is still no danger in me becoming an expert on how to manage sewer treatment or operate safety valves for chemicals like chlorine. However, the reality is that the two waste water treatment plants presented two entirely different stories. Whereas yesterday's was built in the hinterland, today's site in Alexandria represented the challenge of executing a project in a densely populated area. The Alexandria project took four years of reconstructing pipes, tearing up streets and rebuilding an existing facility. The project, led by a charismatic and articulate Egyptian woman, is impressive. Her demeanor conveyed a tough, no-nonsense approach. While it is difficult perhaps to do "hand-stands" to celebrate waste-water treatment, I'm encouraged by how such a project impacts the health and daily lives of millions of people. I also have to smile at how I might just need to use that cologne from paragraph two based on the aromas of the treatment facility!

As we weave our way through Alexandria's narrow and ancient streets, we catch sight of an old, large, and imposing Jewish synagogue, tucked neatly down a corridor-like street, a testament to Alexandria's multi-cultural and multi-religious history. I would have loved to stop, but we pressed on to a luncheon with several business leaders who have embraced the need to improve the city's educational needs. Wow! Talk about leaders who see a need and take action! This is a classic example in a classic city. We talk with these leaders about reform and discuss decentralizing education so that there is more local involvement and ownership. Very, very impressive. These are leaders who are taking charge, not looking for a handout.

From lunch to the halls of justice. On the waterfront of this ancient city is a courthouse that dates to a long ago era. But the outer columns betray an internal process of reform that has transpired within. After a brief visit with the Chief Justice, an older man who is suffering from a fever that day, we are introduced to how the Egyptian court system is entering the digital age (through grant-making from the United States government). Being phased out is an antiquated and hard-to-understand legal system in favor of better transparency and paperless procedures. This has resulted in the dramatic reduction of the average length of time to process a court case. It has made legal recourse far more accessible to women and to the average citizen.

Alexander the Great, for whom the city is named, made his claim to the city; Marc Anthony and Cleopatra left palaces here (the ruins of which are under water in the port); Julius Caesar's armies passed through Alexandria, as did Napoleon's. Alexandria's ancient port opens to the sea, even as it has opened itself to the world and to conquerors. Today, it remains an international city and one of elegant, portside buildings, a beautiful boardwalk - and a lost library that has been rebuilt. In fact, our last stop in the city is at the library of Alexandria. Of course, this is not the original library destroyed by fiery missiles catapulted from ancient ships. It is not the same library about which it is said that its destruction and the loss of its magnificent texts ushered in the dark ages. It is a modern, new library, located perhaps only a few meters from the historic site of its famed predecessor. It also, in a dramatic and symbolic statement, still faces the harbor. It faces the outside world. The modern edition of the library, built in the 1990s, stands as a magnificent architectural achievement. Its shape evokes an arch-like image of a rising sun, an effort through steel and glass to communicate that the acquisition of knowledge is never complete. Inside, the space is cavernous with pillars that stretch from three stories beneath the surface of the earth to perhaps four stories above the surface. The inside space of the library creates a vastness of wood, stone, sun and openness. Thinking of the library's sheer size and its capping by a glass roof literally gives me chills. The library of Alexandria is alive! The library's website is fascinating and even shows an aerial picture: http://www.bibalex.org/English/

"What to make of Alexandria?" The question bumps to mind as we bump along the highway back to Cairo. I come back to the concept that effective foreign assistance depends upon responsive local leadership. With that presupposition, I come away encouraged that Alexandria's future has the potential of surpassing its glorious past.

Tomorrow our official Commission's inquiry into foreign assistance in Egypt will end; the venue will shift to Jordan.

Walking with leaders in the Middle East,