January 31st Update: A workaround to the disconnected internet in Egypt! Speak To Tweet on Twitter at @speak2tweet (http://twitter.com/#!/speak2tweet). Click the link in each tweet to hear a voice tweet from folks inside Egypt. Call +16504194196 or +390662207294 or +97316199855 to leave a tweet and hear tweets.
- The State Department [@StateDept on Twitter] posted the following to Twitter on Sunday evening:
U.S. citizens who wish to depart #Egypt via USG-chartered transportation should call 1-202-501-4444 or email EgyptEmergencyUSC@state.gov.
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- Gary Rhodes of the SAFETI Clearinghouse has prepared a "Special Issue" of the SAFETI On-line Newsletter focused on the U.S. Department of State Travel Alert for Egypt, which you can find at: http://www.globaled.us/safeti/egypt.html
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- Julie Friend, Education Abroad Health and Safety Subcommittee Chair posted the following helpful information and links to SECUSS-L and the NAFSA EAKC network on Sunday:
Sunday morning (Jan. 30), the U.S. Department of State issued a Travel Warning for Egypt. The Warning states that " U.S. citizens in Egypt who require assistance, or those who are concerned that their U.S. citizen loved one in Egypt may require assistance, should contact the U.S. Department of State & the U.S. Embassy in Cairo at EgyptEmergencyUSC@state.gov, or at 1-202-501-4444." (Though I understand this phone number directs you to a web site). The toll-free number for American Citizen Services (DC office) is 1-888-407-4747. It looks like State Department is organizing a flight out of Cairo for Monday, Jan 31. The flight will go to Europe. Travelers must make their own arrangements to go elsewhere from there. Travelers will also be required to sign a promissory note to cover the cost of travel from Egypt to Europe. No other details (carrier, departure time, destination) are known to me at this time. The American University of Cairo (AUC) is organizing secure ground transport to the U.S. Embassy meeting point for AUC's students who are opting to leave the country. Contact their NY office for more information at 212-730-8800.
Three sources of information you may find helpful:
U.S. Embassy in Cairo (operational now) (for local updates follow Travel & Public Announcements, most recent posting is Warden Message #5)
http://egypt.usembassy.gov
American Citizens Services Twitter Feed:
http://mobile.twitter.com/TravelGov
State Department FAQ - Egypt (contains evacuation information under "What should I do if I am in Egypt and need to leave?" ):
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_egypt_faq.html
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- Karin Fischer [@karinfischer on Twitter] who is the international education reporter for The Chronicle of Higher Education posted the following to Twitter on Sunday:
Do you have students in #Egypt? DM me - @chronicle is gathering info!
Your concern about the welfare of those in Egypt and how it is affecting those around the world is justified. Social media has come a long way and recently has shown it's power to bring about social change within cultures.
ReplyDelete@Jacob ~ Thanks for the comment. As I was watching the events yesterday in Cairo and the street fighting it made me so sad. I just hope this unrest ends soon. It's all very scary.
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