Crime Report

I am often asked about personal safety in Cairo. It is very safe. For a city of 16-25 million (the population estimate depends on whom you ask) it is remarkably safe.

I was sitting with our young friend Moody a couple of nights ago. He is a college freshman currently studying here. He is interested in continuing his education in the United States. One school he is considering is located in Santa Monica, CA. We looked up Santa Monica on Wikipedia and noted the following:

• The city estimates that there are fewer than 500 gang members in Santa Monica, although community organizers, such as Oscar De La Torre dispute this claim.
  
• Gang activity has been prevalent for decades in the Pico neighborhood, particularly the portion of the area running roughly from 14th Street to just east of Cloverfield, and between Pico Boulevard and Colorado Ave.
  
• ...A couple of hours after the shooting of Sevilla, German tourist Horst Fietze was killed by a Culver City gang member.
  
• During the incident, Culver City gang members David "Puppet" Robles and Jesse "Psycho" Garcia entered the store masked and began opening fire ...

Now since Moody's brother is a prosecuting attorney, his sister and parents had all been involved in the court system, Moody's quick response was "If they know how many there are and where they operate, why don't they put them in jail?"

There are some things about the United States that are hard to explain, aren't there?

But, Moody and his family now don't think Santa Monica would be a good choice for college.