New friends are a great surprise in any adventure. Throw in a couple of tear gas bombs and a mass riot and new friends soon
 become a bonding relationship. Just ask Joshua Webster of Lethbridge, who recently returned from Cairo.
He left Calgary, on Jan. 23 heading to India to attend his friend’s wedding. The flight had a stopover in Cairo for five days;
which Webster didn’t think would be too bad. After all, it was only $19 a night for a hotel.
The hotel Webster stayed at became a refuge for employee family members during the on-going political riots.

For example,
the boy who worked the graveyard shift would be off to school during the day. Webster spoke with the boy’s father, who said
there wasn’t much hope for success in Cairo. At best his son could make $50 a month once he finished school.
From the balcony of his room, Webster had a close view of the action. He also took hours of video footage from behind the
Egyptian police roadblock. He saw peaceful protestors taken from the crowd merely because
they held up a sign.
Once the plainclothes police officers had a person behind the police barricade, the outcome
was not pleasant. His video clips show many individuals beaten and not merely with fists but
with weapons. On one occasion a military vehicle ran out of control and swerved, hitting
several protestors.
It was the next day that Christians and Muslims stood and knelt in prayer on the streets
facing the exact location were people had been hit. Webster said one of the people hit
was a girl he believed had died on impact. With his flight ticket in hand, he headed for the
airport. Once arriving at Terminal 1, Webster said, “I was confronted by police demanding
 bribe money to enter.”
 “After being abandoned by British Airways for the second time, I was confronted by a
Canadian Consulate in front of British Airways’ locked office. I was informed to get to
Terminal 3 because the other terminal is deemed unsafe for Canadians.”
Webster and other travellers were then instructed to return to Terminal 1. Webster did
not understand why they were being asked to return to a hostile terminal when travellers
 from other countries were staying in the safety of Terminal 3.
It was now close to the government-ordered curfew time of 4 p.m., as they arrived at
Terminal 1 but they were not allowed in the doors. “Canadians were stranded outside
the building after the curfew time,” Webster said.
“We were shown a hidden part off of the parking lot; a steep, muddy grass area.”
They were not allowed into the building until each of the Canadians filled out a form.
The Canadian Consulate made them fill out the form outside after curfew time.
“Incompetence of our consulate officers only added to the terrifying circumstances.”
 Webster said.
The travellers were coaxed by the Canadian Consulate to sign a document stating they
would pay the Canadian government later for their flight even if they already had tickets
out of Cairo, as Webster did. He felt this was unfair but he was put in a
no-win situation. He signed the Canadian document under duress.
Once inside Terminal 1, they were greeted by the Egyptian police who demanded
 “tip money,” said Webster. They demanded $2,000 per head before the police would allow
the Canadians to proceed to departure. The travellers put their funds together, which only
came to about $2,000 total for them to be released, which included about a dozen
children, Webster said.
The Canadians stranded in Cairo weren’t the only ones stressed at airports. Webster’s
friends had travelled from a village in India to the airport in Delhi, India in anticipation
of him joining the wedding celebrations. When he did not arrive, Webster later found
out, his friends experienced “a feeling of fear.”
Friends and relatives from around the world were relieved when Webster returned to
Canada. He appreciated finding out how much his friends and family rallied together
waiting for his return. Some took time off from work while others phoned Ottawa for
 help. He said he was “ashamed that Canadian officials hindered my escape.”
He hopes his new friends in Cairo achieve the right to opportunities that come
from a new democratic society. His heart goes out to the struggles he observed.
Webster never made it to India, nor his friend’s wedding.
“I couldn’t see it being fair to celebrate a wedding after what I had just witnessed.”