Boulder County resident Nina Howard nervously waited Sunday for news that her daughter — who has been staying with friends in Alexandria since violent demonstrations began — has been able to leave Egypt.
Shoshanna Howard, 26, arrived in Alexandria last week on a trip from Israel, where she works for a music management company, her mother said.
Howard’s arrival coincided with the outbreak of protests as residents took to the streets calling for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.
Nina Howard said she and another woman whose adult child is with Shoshanna Howard have been working to get them out of the country.
Shoshanna Howard called her mother on a satellite phone Saturday.
“I spoke to her for less than a minute,” Nina Howard said.
“They were safe, holed up in a house. They pretty much don’t go out,” Howard said. “She said there are curfews but there is plenty of food in the home so they can stay there for an indefinite time.”
The trip was supposed to be a two-week vacation, Howard said.
The Egyptian government has imposed a curfew from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez.
The U.S. State Department is arranging charter flights for U.S. nationals beginning today, said Assistant Secretary of State Janice Jacobs on Sunday.
The flights will likely go to Athens, Greece; Istanbul; and Nicosia, Cyprus, Jacobs said. Americans taking the charters will be billed for the cost of the flight.
There are about 52,000 Americans registered with the U.S. Embassy in Cairo.
Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com
