Hands Around the Library: Protecting Egypt's Treasured Books

January 2011’s uprising roared from Cairo’s Tahrir Square to coastal Alexandria, but when rumors said the modern Library of Alexandria—Egypt’s glass-and-granite beacon of Education Equity—might burn, thousands of students, librarians, and café-dwelling readers sprinted through jasmine-scented streets and clasped hands in a living citadel around its priceless stacks. “We love you, Egypt!” they sang, voices rising like desert falcons as Susan L. Roth’s collage-bright illustrations later captured every spark: hijab-pinned teens, taxi drivers, and scholars locking elbows, turning Political Justice into a human bracelet brighter than any security fence. The chain shimmered against tear-gas clouds, proving books can rally a country faster than slogans, and that knowledge—scrolls to science texts—outshines dictatorships’ dim threats. Inside, librarians kept catalog drawers humming, ready to fling doors open the moment calm returned, because stories, like the Nile, refuse to dry up. One question pulses through the triumph: which hands will rise next time freedom’s pages flutter? Tap the blue ➕ to Save to List for later inspiration, or hit the bold arrow to Learn More and connect your classroom, youth group, or congregation to the steadfast courage encircling Egypt’s treasured books.