Egypt: Dov’è L’Amore · Global Voices
Tarek Amr

Last Thursday was Valentine's Day, and for sure Egyptian bloggers couldn't miss such opportunity without writing about it, or even dedicating a special recipe of a Chocolate Pie for this occasion and calling it “The meal of Love”.
Some bloggers, such as Pinsy Winsy, decided to dedicate that day to everyone she knows:
ماليش حبيب واحد أهديله ورده حمرا مع حبي
اشتريت عشر وردات من أجمل ماشفت لكل زمايلي فى الشغل
واتمنيت لو جبت مليون ورده لكل أصحابي وحبايبي البلوجرز والفيس بوكيين وأصدقاء الطفولة والرحلات والسفر
اتخضيت لما عرفت ان أسعار الورد غليت بالطريقه المتوحشه دى
حتى الحب والفرحه عاوزين يكسبوا من وراهم؟؟
أمشي في الشارع ومعايا ورداتي
أبص على الأحبه اللي ماشيين وايديهم متشبكه
والايد التانيه شايله هدية.. حجمها صغر عن السنه اللى فاتت
أو شايلين بوكيهات ورد.. عدد ورداتها قلت عن الأول
بس فرحانين .. ومتحابين
ماحدش يقدر يسرق مننا الفرحه… وهانفضل برضه نحب ونفرح.. ولو بأبسط الامكانات
I don't have a lover to give a red rose with my love.
I bought 10 beautiful roses and gave them to my co-workers.
And I wish I could get one million roses and give them to all my friends, beloved bloggers, and Facebook, childhood and travel mates.
I was shocked when I knew that roses prices became that high.
Even love and joy, they wanna make money of??
I walked in the street with my roses in my hand.
And looked at those lovers holding each others hands.
And in the other hand there was a present … but its size was smaller than the one of the previous year.
Or holding a bouquet of roses … with less roses than those of the previous year.
However they were happy and joyful
No one can steel from us our joy. And we will continue to love  and amuse ourselves, even with fewer resources.
On the other hand, Amira Hassan, decided to dedicate her post to … let's see who her lover is here.
I want Grow Old Loving U,,,
Kol sana w ent yaib ya 7abebi
ml2tsh 7aga bt7bha akter mn Google :)
I want to grow old loving you,
Happy Valentine's Day my dear
I found nothing to love more than Google :)
Hany George, bikya, also wrote about Valentine's Day here.
عيد الحب … تأتيني بعض الرسائل علي تليفوني المحمول … هابي فلانتين … فاجيب بمثلها … ما معني أن يكون الحب مثل التبرز … له اوقات معينه نتبرز فيها بعض الكلمات مثل التي تتكرر علي مسمعي في الهاتف … و انت عامل ايه … كلمات تملأ فراغ زمني … و لا يشعر بها أحد .. نبرة الاصوات تدل علي ذلك بشدة لكنه الواجب
الواجب … و نحن صغار يكون الواجب أن تكرر حرف الالف العديد من المرات في صف طويل في كراستك و انت لا تعرف ما الفائدة ان كانت مرة واحدة كافية لكي تحفظ شكل الحرف
و عندما تكبر قليلا … يكون الواجب أن تحترم المدرسين … و تكتب موضوع انشائي طويل عن مضار التدخين و أنت تعلم أن من سيقرأه و يصلحه لك … مدخن
و عندما تكبر اكثر … يتحول كل شيء الي واجب … حتي ممارسة الجنس … فعل الحب … في اطاره الشرعي يسمي بالواجبات الزوجية
ملعونة هي تلك الواجبات
Valentine's Day … I received some SMS's on my mobile phone … Happy Valentine's Day … and I reply on them with similar ones … what's the meaning of love when it's like shitting … it has specific occasions when we have to piss some words like those ones I received on the phone… “How are you doing?” … just words that fill time and space … and no one feels them … the voices and tones also emphasises this so much, however it's the duty.
Duty .. when we were young, we use to write the letter “A” many times in our copybooks, we never know what's the use of writing it that much when writing it only once is enough to know its shape, and we got older … our duty was to respect our teachers … and write essays about the dangers of smoking even when the teacher who will read your easy is a smoker, and when we got older and older … everything turned to be a duty … even sex and love … it's even called “Marital Duties” … damn those duties.
As you know, in this part of the world, people sometimes like to relate everything to religion, even when religion has nothing to do with it. And Badway wrote here about those who believe that we should not celebrate the Valentine's Day.
و الله أنا زهقت كل سنة فى الميعاد بتاع عيد الحب ده اللى معرفش ميعاده امتى أصلا ألاقى ناس محموقين قوى و أعصابهم شايطة أن ازاى احنا نحتفل بعيد الحب و ألاقى مقالات طويلة و نصايح اخوية رخمة بأننا مفروض منحتفلش بعيد الحب و ناقص يقولوا نعلن فيه الحداد … أو نلبس شارة سودا
I am really sick, every year of Valentine's Day, the day that I do not even know, I see people mad at us because of celebrating Valentine's Day, and I see long essays and silly advises that we shall not celebrate it, I think they are about to tell us to show grief and sorrow then … or to wear black armbands.