Just thought I would let you all know about a new book that has just been published here in the UK. I think the contents are likely to put many people, especially young women, off travelling to Egypt, although I find the the story to be rather unbelievable. In a nutshell, Jacky Trevane travels to Cairo with her boyfriend and they take a bus from the airport to the centre of the City. As the bus is crowded she manages to get separated from the boyfriend and ends up in the home of a guy called Omar who, after 7 days she marries. You can imagine what comes next. They live in an apartment in Embaba with no water in the taps (she has to go to the public tap in the street) and without a stick of furniture. They have very little money to live off (he's a conscript in the army) and she earns only LE56 a month as an English teacher. Before long his mood changes - he becomes controlling and starts to occasionally beat her. His family withdraw their support when she gives birth to a daughter instead of a son. Eventually she has another daughter and escapes back to England via Israel (the tale of escape itself sounds like something from a James Bond movie).

She has been on TV here in the UK promoting her book and wearing disguise as she claims a Fatwa has been issued calling for her death.

I have been married to my Egyptian husband for 19 years and we have a home here in the UK as well as in Heliopolis. My husband is incandescent with rage at the injustice this woman is doing to the reputation of Egypt itself, let alone the men. She paints a picture of children in the street with flies round their faces, cows wandering around the streets and injured and dying people lying in the road. Maybe Embaba is like that but I have never seen anything like that, even in the villages. At the end of the day, who arrives in Egypt, goes to the home of someone they have never met before and marries him 7 days later.

There are similar/worse kidnapping stories/books that happenned in:
Morocco, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Jordan, Malaysia, Somalia, India, UAE, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Palestine, Israel, Greece, Turkey, USA, Eastern Europe, Communist China...And some, specifically in New York, Montreal, Paris, Frankfurt, London, Rome etc...etc....etc.... they sell very well indeed. People still travel to most of those places, I certainly do, again and again.

There are also books on INCEST like for example: 'Because I Remember Terror, I remember you, father' ( Sue William Silverman) and guess what, this one did not happen in the Middle East. People still love their father.

I also remember a few scandals that happenned in the US, involving women - one in particular comes to mind: a woman being forced in a hotel room by the security ( !) people of a certain 'Senator' waiting for her to...what else, talk politics? yeah!... People still go to the US.

Don't worry about the pictures of Embaba with the flies over the children's faces, I saw flies in Paris on food, and on grown up faces- people sleeping in the streets with sticky flies at the corner of their mouths, as well as ants coming out of their ears,I still go back, as well as million others!

When travelling to Egypt or anywhere else, intelligent people try to keep safe as much as they can by avoiding certain areas, but things happen.

'In Montreal, in the comfort of her own home a young woman was attacked and injured in the middle of the day in a very nice neighborhood' - this happens daily around the world.

To women: take self defense courses/karate and 'Keep on Travelling'. I'm a black belt

Sincerely,
Monica
Egypt is beautiful even to the flies!

I agree with you completely. I have been travelling to and from Egypt for almost 20 years now and I have made many notes on all the wonderful times I have had (especially some hilarious family events). Maybe I will write a book - but I shall have to invent something sensational to get a publisher to take it on.

The thing that really struck me about this Jacky Trevane is that she genuinely seems to think that she is under a death threat and that someone is going to jump out and bump her off at any moment. Maybe she could spend some of her royalties from her books on counselling.

And on self- defense or on travelling, with a body guard this time!

I don't even think that someone is really after her! Sensationalism sells!

Write a book, but remember to include a bit of politics, a bit of scandalous issues, and something related to injustice. To make it a 'real' goodie, include a revenge plot against the global 'conspiracy'

quote:

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Originally posted by Shushi:
Hi Monica,

Maybe she could spend some of her royalties from her books on counselling.

Best wishes.

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The story behind the story is that probably her boyfriend ditched her on that bus. He saw that as his only way out of a relationship with this nutcase/drug addict/clingy woman that was desperately looking for a husband. He saw his opportunity and he took it.
Considering I don't recall EVER hearing any news stories come out about a man looking for his kidnapped/lost girlfriend in Egypt.... we might be onto something here.

The only part of the story that was probably true was the salary she was paid for teaching English..... and she should be happy she was paid at all. Odds are, she was lousy at it.