Are We There Yet? How One Outage Sent Us Back to the Stone Age

A true story from Cairo on why continuous learning, and a bit of old-school street sense, still matter.

Picture this: Cairo, two weeks ago. A fire breaks out in one of Egypt’s main internet hubs, built sometime in the past when shoulder pads were in fashion and “portable phone” meant a suitcase with an antenna.

Suddenly, poof! No internet. No calls. Welcome to the apocalypse. There I was, standing in the middle of the street, dealing with a real emergency: a family member in the hospital. I did what any modern human does, whipped out my phone to order an U**r.

Except... the app wouldn’t load. Hmm, maybe it’s my phone? Restart. Still nothing. Tried calling someone, anyone, for help—dead air.

Cue the old-school solution: running (yes, actually running) after the nearest cab, which was so old it might have come off the museum floor, complete with a driver who had almost given up on picking up random passengers. Why? Because nowadays everyone and their grandmother uses an app.

By sheer luck, he was free and agreed to take me.

After what felt like a scene from Fast & Furious, we reached the medical center, only to be greeted by chaos so pure that it deserved its own Netflix series.

• Queue management system? Dead.
• Card payment machines? Lala land!
• Insurance approvals? Forget it.
• Mobile transfers? You wish.

The cashier’s heroic request “Has anyone got cash?” was met with blank stares. Because who carries cash anymore?

Meanwhile, I was supposed to be replying to critical work emails. But instead, I was stuck watching modern life melt in real time, powerless to even send a “Sorry, can’t reply, Cairo’s internet is literally on fire.”

The worst part? This outage lasted 3–4 days. And that raw fear I felt? It wasn’t about missing emails. It was the realization: we do rely on technology for absolutely everything, taxis, payments, hospital approvals, even checking if your message has been “seen.”

The funny thing is, back in the 80s and 90s, we lived just fine: cash in our pockets, landlines in the hall, and actual human cab drivers everywhere. And we didn’t panic when the power flickered. But times have changed. And that’s why, at Meirc, we continually design innovative training programs that help professionals adapt to new technologies and prepare for when those very same technologies decide to take a break. Because yes, innovation is fantastic, but sometimes, it pays to remember how to flag down a dusty old cab.