Zamalek neighborhood watch

“We have these firebombs, just in case,” said Amm Saleh, the doorman of a building in Zamalek. “Some of these thugs are armed with knives and guns, so we have to be able to defend ourselves,” he added, showing off a line of kerosene-filled bottles with paper wicks ready for action…

In other neighbourhoods, residents wore arm bands to identify each other and prevent infiltrators from coming into their midst. In Zamalek, a handwritten announcement hanging on a street window asked people to register their names for neighbourhood defence committees.”

I’ll gladly register, if they’ll take me. Thugs not allowed on Brazil Street.

The following happened just behind my flat:

“Long after midnight, gunshots rang out on a scenic street along the Nile, near the Indian embassy and the Algerian ambassador’s residence. One youth said the neighbourhood watch confronted the passengers of a car, one with a firearm, and persuaded them to leave.”