Maryanne Stroud Gabbani
1 min readFeb 13, 2023

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Thank you. Your essays generally depress the hell out of me, but this is different. I have spent the last 20 years building a sandy plot of land in Giza to a warm, green, welcoming farm where people in the urban areas can come to lie on grass, get to know animals, and feel real for a while. I have been crushed by the worry of what would become of the haven that I have built over the years because to put it very bluntly, I am getting old and not everything in me works as well as I would like. But for me the question was how could I find a group to care for my farm when I am no longer here, and in fact, when I have no idea at all who or what WILL be here.

But in the past couple of weeks an answer appeared for me, as have people to support that answer. The world is no better in any rational way but I can feel better about how I am living in it for now. I believe that is the best we can do right now.

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Maryanne Stroud Gabbani
Maryanne Stroud Gabbani

Written by Maryanne Stroud Gabbani

I am a well-aged Canadian resident of Egypt since the late 1980s. I dislike late nights and the city, so I Iive on a farm in Giza and support communities.

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