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Letter November 6, 1945 No2
No full textDoris Cummings Cox, was born Nov. 3, 1922 in Haddonfield, an historic town outside Philadelphia. She passed away at age 89 in 2012. She married Charlie Cox, our father, a fellow Haddonfield native, in 1952. Interestingly, she ran into him in Naples on her way to Cairo, although they did not date until years later.
In Spring 1945, Mom (Doris Anne Cummings then) was offered the opportunity to work as secretary to Dr. John Badeau, President of AUC, in Cairo for three years. We believe Dr. Badeau was a family acquaintance, and we do know she saw movies of the university and Cairo, and was excited to take the position. Her father encouraged her to go (which is remarkable to us, as it meant she would not see her family for three years.)
In October 1945, at age 22, Mom sailed on the S.S. Gripsholm for a 20-day trip to Cairo, her first time on a ship. Outside Naples, the ship's boiler exploded, so she took an army transport to Port Said. (The Nov. 30, 1945 issue of the Campus Caravan has a short front-page article on Mom;). Mom loved Egypt immediately, as she wrote repeatedly in her letters home. (She wrote about 250 letters to her beloved family, which her mother saved, from Nov. 1945 until she sailed home in August 1948, averaging over two a week) She first lived in Maadi with an American family, where she took the train into work each day, but soon moved to a flat in Cairo with American friends who worked at the American Legation (now Embassy). Her first-hand accounts of daily living in Cairo are fascinating.
An outgoing, amiable, and adventurous young woman, Mom fully embraced her three years in Cairo and on her summer travels to Athens, Cyprus, Beirut, Palestine, and throughout Europe. It is hard to choose one activity she loved the most. She particularly loved her job with ""the best possible boss"" Dr Badeau, (and was very fond of his family), and enjoyed coordinating and hosting teas for AUC faculty, students, and dignitaries. Her letters are full of descriptions of those events. As her experience began right after the war ended, she had the opportunity to meet and date many American and British military officers and war correspondents, as well as several Egyptians. Her letters are filled with stories of midnight felucca rides and regular trips at night to see the Pyramids, often by moonlight, tea at Groppis, trips to find copper treasures at the Mosky (four of her copper plates sit on my living room mantle), dinners and late-night dancing at Shepheard's Hotel and various other iconic nightclubs, tennis and swimming at the Gezira Club, and hosting dinner parties and bridge get-togethers in her apartment. She told stories of the hired ironing man and the cook, who learned to make various American recipes such as chocolate cake. Also included in her letters home are requests for certain clothing items, dance records, and camera film not available or expensive in Cairo.
Her letters also included commentary on the geopolitical events of the day, starting with watching from the AUC rooftop King Farouk's procession to Parliament (letter attached), where he stopped, looked up, and said, ""Welcome to Cairo, Doris!"" She wrote of unrest due to British occupation, student unrest and police clashes, and waking up to an explosion in the apartment across the street, an attempt to assassinate an opposition leader. In all of her accounts, she reassured her family that she never felt unsafe and was always treated with respect by local Egyptians. Her most interesting accounts tell of the creation of Israel and the pro-Arabic response by Dr. Badeau as representative of AUC. Mom remained an ardent supporter of Arabic interests throughout the rest of her life.
Mom's wonderful three-year experience in Cairo was a defining point in her life. It allowed her to experience on a daily basis the rich culture of Cairo. She learned to navigate the city and environs and travel abroad with confidence. She loved living with American girls, who became lifelong friends, and thrived on the colorful social life, which gave her the opportunity to experience the local nightlife and see Egypt's archeological wonders. She developed a lifelong love of travel and eventually traveled the world with my father, including a trip back to Cairo in her sixties. Living in Cairo, she learned how to host events both personally and professionally, which became an asset when she married my father, an insurance executive. She learned to experiment with different cuisines and became comfortable talking with people of all nationalities.
(Text by Barbara Cox Kozemchak, Cox's daughter
Heather Grady Oral History
No full textHeather Grady was a Presidential Intern at the American University in Cairo during the 1982-83 academic year, in the program’s second cohort. She tells of how she joined the program, gives her impressions of the AUC campus and student body, and describes her work on university publications as an intern with the Development Office. She speaks of her fellow interns (coming from American Ivy League universities), and about taking courses and experiencing a variety of places and recreational activities in Egypt. Grady also outlines her subsequent career in development work in the Middle East and beyond
Draft Resolution / France, United Kingdom Of Great Britain And Northern Ireland And United States Of America
No full textDraft Resolution / France, United Kingdom Of Great Britain And Northern Ireland And United States Of Americ
Briefing To The Security Council By Un Special Envoy For Syria. Mr. Staffan De Mistura
No full textBriefing To The Security Council By Un Special Envoy For Syria. Mr. Staffan De Mistur
Transcript Of Press Conference By Un Special Envoy For Syria, Mr. Staffan De Mistura - Astana, 15 September 2017
No full textTranscript Of Press Conference By Un Special Envoy For Syria, Mr. Staffan De Mistura - Astana, 15 September 201
Working Group On The Release Of Detainees/abductees And Handover Of The Bodies As Well As The Identi?cation Of Missing Persons
No full textWorking Group On The Release Of Detainees/abductees And Handover Of The Bodies As Well As The Identi?cation Of Missing Person
Joint Statement By Iran, Russia, Turkey On The International Meeting On Syria In Astana, January 23-24, 2017
No full textJoint Statement By Iran, Russia, Turkey On The International Meeting On Syria In Astana, January 23-24, 201
Statement By Mr. Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chair Of The Independent International Commission Of Inquiry On The Syrian Arab Republic
No full textStatement By Mr. Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chair Of The Independent International Commission Of Inquiry On The Syrian Arab Republi
Draft Resolution [on Renewal Of The Mandate Of The Opcw-un Joint Investigative Mechanism To Identify The Use Of Chemical Weapons In The Syrian Arab Republic For One Additional Year]
No full textDraft Resolution [on Renewal Of The Mandate Of The Opcw-un Joint Investigative Mechanism To Identify The Use Of Chemical Weapons In The Syrian Arab Republic For One Additional Year