As the countdown continues to what many people think will be a decisive day in Egypt's modern history, most people had already made up their minds on where they would be on 30 June, at least as far as Al-Ahram Weekly was able to discover in a series of targeted interviews. “I will be at work,” said Ahmed Khalifa, an engineer. Khalifa told the Weekly that he supported the idea of the Tamarod campaign against the presidency of Mohamed Morsi, though he thought it was incomplete, adding that the opposition would have no alternative but to take over the country if it succeeded in ending Brotherhood rule. He said that he would not have joined the protests, however, even if he had not had to work that day. “I don't like to get involved in such things, though I might have gone to take a look at what was going on,” Khalifa said. “These protests usually end in tear gas and cartridge bullets,” he added. Amira Said agreed, this middle-aged secretary saying that the best place to spend the day was at home. “On days like these, it is better to stay at home and watch what's going on on television,” she said. Said said that she thought the country had gotten worse since Morsi had come to power, but she did not believe that collecting signatures and protesting would end the rule of the country's first freely-elected president. “The Islamists won't allow this to happen, and if they have to shed blood to keep their rule they will,” she said. “I don't want my sons to protest. I don't want to lose them,” she added. Karim Osama, a university student, signed the Tamarod petition and believes in the cause. Nevertheless, he does not think taking down Morsi is the solution to the country's problems. “The country will fall even more and everything will become worse if that happens,” he said. “If he just stops being stubborn and listens to our demands, that would be a better solution.” However, in a few days time Osama will be among the protesters wanting to end Morsi's term in office. Osama commented on the threats made by Islamist leaders like Assem Abdel-Maged, head of Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya, against those protesting on June 30. “I am not afraid of the Islamists' threats and all the nonsense they say,” he said, adding that the Egyptian army would never allow the Islamists to kill protesters or to cause fighting among Egyptians. Mahrous Abdallah, a building security guard, agreed with Osama that the army would not let “the terrorists” harm peaceful protesters on June 30. However, though he believes that Morsi and his government have failed to take steps towards achieving social equality, he won't be participating in the opposition protests. “If it was up to me, I would go. But the building I'm guarding is near the presidential palace, and we don't know what might happen,” he said. Taxi driver Mohamed Bakr will join the protests, on the other hand, and in his opinion there is no alternative. “The Muslim Brotherhood has left us no other way,” Bakr told the Weekly. “They never listen to anyone but themselves, and they have taken this country down politically and economically like no one else has ever done.” On the other side, Eman Al-Sayed, a university professor, supported Morsi against those she called the “secularists”. Al-Sayed said she would be going to work as usual on the day of the protests, and “even if they cancel lectures that day I'll just stay home,” she told the Weekly. She believed the protests would not succeed. “The secularists will never reach their goal because God is with us and will protect Islam,” she said. Anwar, who refused to give his full name, works as a waiter in a café in Nasr City which is where he will be on 30 June, he told the Weekly. He believes that there could be bloodshed during the protests, and he is not in favour of the protesters. “We will make an example of those who go out on 30 June,” he said aggressively. “They say the army will stand with them, but I say the army will support the legitimate president. Morsi is the president now, and he will still be the president after 30 June.”
