Whilst other Cambridge academics find themselves caught up in student battles against education cuts, Professor of Classics, Mary Beard, has a very different protest at the forefront of her concerns. In the last few days, she has been using her Times Online blog to report and reflect on the experiences of her son who is currently living in the depths of Cairo while studying Arabic. Despite communication with the rest of the world proving a tentative situation for most in Egypt, Raph Cormack agreed to share with Varsity his experiences of what will surely prove an historic moment.

When I called Cormack for the interview, I didn’t quite know what to expect. Over the past week, the front pages of national newspapers have subjected us to images of violent gun-yielding policemen or firsthand accounts of citizens’ heads being blown open my tear gas. But fortunately, the dialling tone was interrupted by a friendly voice rather than a soundtrack of screams and gunshots.

I was keen to piece together the ‘real’ picture of life in Cairo beyond the media sensation. The email from Cormack that Prof. Beard included in her blog had been sent last Tuesday. It seemed to play down our impression of cataclysmic chaos with descriptions of an ‘evening stroll around Tahir’ and ‘a nice schoolboy who couldn’t stay the night because he had a French exam the next day.’ But can the situation really be as laid-back as that?

“It’s escalated a lot since Tuesday,” Cormack admitted. “Friday was insane. Practically the whole of downtown Cairo was tear-gassed and police were attacking people with rubber bullets. There was an enormous battle directly outside our apartment block.” But despite the escalation, Cormack still maintains aspects of the nonchalant attitude from his earlier correspondence: “We had to take to refuge in some building…Actually it was a nice little gift shop selling oriental souvenirs!”

Still, it does not sound a very safe place to be. “Safe is the wrong word, I think. Nothing much is happening right now but if something goes wrong, it goes very wrong. And everyone’s afraid of the protests getting violent. There are lots of people out on the streets and places are starting to open up. The looting seems to be further down than where we are and I’ve had calls from friends in other places that, although nothing’s been stolen, there’s people on the streets with sticks. For us, it’s just really hard to get cash and food.”

With internet connections cut, 80 million people in Egypt have been tossed into an oblivion at the mercy of the Egyptian rumour mill: “The scariest thing is not knowing what’s going to happen. Rumours already spread so quickly in Egypt but now it’s even worse. The other day, we heard Mubarak’s men were going to come out and beat people! “

At that point, Cormack had to stop talking; it sounded like a low-flying helicopter had decided to take the scenic route straight through his apartment. As I squirmed and held the phone further from my ear, it seemed an ironic symbol of the difficulties in communication facing anyone in Egypt during “the Arab World’s Berlin Moment”.  After all, the first protests were organised – not unlike recent student demonstrations closer to home – over Facebook.

“It’s too late for the internet cut-off to stop anything; once the message is out, it’s out and everyone knows where the protests are so they can join them. But it was much more important when mobile networks were down on Friday because no-one knew where anyone was. It was a really good police tactic to stop build-ups of people.”

It must be quite isolating being a foreigner in what is essentially seen as the Egyptians’ struggle, I suggest. “I don’t feel targeted as a foreigner but it is a very Egyptian thing – they all have flags out and everyone’s very happy. It’s not our protest but we can support it.” So he’s behind the people? “How can you not be?” he replies, with a hint of surprise in his tone.

But despite suddenly finding himself in the thick of the madness, overall, Cormack’s attitude seems to be a hopeful one. “Nobody knows how long it will last. Uni said it might blow over by next week but it could go on indefinitely. There’ll be no serious political developments until President Mubarak goes but it seems to me that Islamic law is unlikely to happen – it’s not what the Egyptian people want.”

Although, Cormack’s account suggests the people’s fight in Cairo is following an unpredictable and tremulous path. If this continues, the coming weeks will tell us whether his faith in Egyptians only getting what they “want” is prophetic, or just plain optimistic.