Let's talk about the revolution...

“The Role of the Ordinary Egyptian in the Revolution”

Friday I blogged about how the class discussed the revolution and the role of the ordinary Egyptian in it. Now I will talk about it with a little more detail. Our speaker, Maged, was selected because of his involvement with the revolution. Like many other Egyptians, prior to the revolution he was not political at all. Now, however, he is highly involved in politics. He was an incredible speaker, discussing his involvement with the revolution, how Facebook and the internet affected the revolution, and what he thinks we can expect in the days, weeks, months, and years to come.

He explained how on January 25, 2010 they were chanting for “bread, freedom, and rights.” Prior to the revolution, as Maged explained, “suspicion was governing Egypt.” Mubarak’s presidency was full of corruption and injustice. There were lies upon lies upon lies. Sadat, towards the end of his presidency, began using emergency law, a type of law that is similar to Marshall Law in the sense that the rights of the people are suspending for “the greater good”. In the most basic sense, traditional forms of ruling and law are tossed aside as the government goes around regular courts. After Sadat’s assassination, Mubarak continued the use of emergency law for the 30 years of his presidency.

We have a district judge travelling with us, Judge Samir, and it is incredible to hear him now able to joke around with Professor Hamad about this occurring. At one point during the trip, Hamad jokingly told me I was on the “black list”, so I instinctively demanded to hear the reasons why. They both agreed, however, that this is Egypt and things aren’t that way. They joked that I will serve about 20 years without truly knowing why, then the government will make up some charges for why I was held and maybe make me serve a few more years. It was eerie to hear two men I respect very much joke about such a recent problem that affected Egypt. Perhaps they are joking because this is how they have learned to deal with the situation or if things are truly getting better that quickly. I am inclined to think it is more of the former.

Another thing that set off the revolution was the murder of Khaled Said, a young 28 year old man who was killed by two policemen. They attempted to arrest him but Said ran away. When the officers captured him, they beat him in a dark alley. He was dead within 30 minutes. This event was witnessed by many people, sparking anger among citizens. People got even more upset when it was discovered that this man was killed because he was a human rights activist. After this, the Facebook revolution took shape. A Facebook page was made by two young people that were upset by this event. The name? “We Are All Khaled Said”. As soon as I heard about this page, I went on Facebook myself and liked it. I encourage anyone who reads this to go on Facebook, like the page, and support the revolution.

Of course, there were many more reasons for the revolution, these just were the ones that stood out in my mind. I knew the majority of the basics before coming to Egypt but hearing about it from a person that actually experienced it made it seem real rather than just something in the news. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be in Tahrir Square during that time. The best part of this trip, in my opinion, has been the discussions regarding the revolution. They are incredible. Everyone has so many stories to tell and so many opinions regarding the upcoming elections. Many people want stability, many people want change, and many people want Islamists in politics. It is a great mix.

The Burned Building

In my last post, I discussed our visit to the impressive Egyptian Museum of Antiquities. It is important to note that this museum is massive, containing thousands of artifacts. From the outside, the museum is breathtaking. This was especially true for our visit because it was our first real look at the ancient Egyptian culture. With that being said, it wasn’t the museum that stole our immediate attention. Instead, it was the large building right beside it. Showing the unmistakable signs of going through a fire, this building was the sight of many of our gazes. This building was highly important during Mubarak’s time in power. It was the headquarters of the former “National Democratic Party”, Mubarak’s political party. It is now completely destroyed, burnt during the revolution on January 25^th, 2011. Inside the museum, just above the statues of departed pharaohs and queens, multiple open windows give sight to this building. Nothing can compare to the feeling of viewing ancient history and history in the making at the same time. It was truly incredible. 

Presidential Elections

The presidential elections are quickly approaching. As I am writing this, I am currently on the bus with the group toward the desert for an incredible experience sleeping under the stars in the desert. Unfortunately, our group is one member short. Judge Samir, one of our supervisors, is unable to attend this year because as a judge, it is his job to oversee and count the votes at one of the polling station. As he explained, it must be done this way because there is a lack of established trust between people politically. So during the election he must sit in a room without food for 12 hours, singlehandedly overseeing and counting the voting of 5,000 voters.

I want to first give a quick overview of how the presidential election will occur here. There are two scenarios for the outcome of this week’s elections. To win the presidency, the candidate must receive a majority vote, meaning 50% plus one vote. It is unlikely that any of the thirteen candidates will receive that many votes. In that case, there will be a run off election in two weeks between the two candidates receiving the most votes.

There are two candidates running that were very much involved in the old regime. Most importantly, Mubarak’s former prime minister is in the running. Many, including my professor, are worried about the support this individual currently has. Hamad believes that government TV has brainwashed people into believing that this former high ranking Mubark official will bring stability to a country that is in great need of it. Hamad believes that these individuals, usually involved in the tourism industry, are simply selfish and not thinking about the “greater good”. (At this point, I want to note that whenever these words are mentioned, I get shivers down my spine. How can one individual or even a group of individuals truly decide what is for the “greater good”? It can’t be done. This argument terrifies me because of its use in numerous political campaigns throughout history that have led to nothing by pain and suffering).

Tourism

That evening we also went to a sweets shop after dinner. When our large group of 40 slowly invaded a building with seating for about 50, we noticed a man sitting toward the back of the shop. He was drinking a bottle of water, fiddling with a very nice looking camera, and looking up at his laptop screen periodically. Unfortunately, due to the layout of the building, our group sort of surrounded him, effectively blocking him from leaving. He looked up, puzzled, and made eye contact with me. My table happened to be the closest to his and I just happened to be looking in that way. He started to speak (in English!) to me. He asked why we were there and where we were from. I answered and he seemed intrigued. He asked many questions and then it was our turn to ask questions. It turns out he is a photojournalist from Alaska. He has been in Egypt for a few years now and is just a few days from receiving his residency in Egypt. He told us about his experience. He told us how he has been shot by rubber bullets and tear gas many times by the military since arriving. About the army he had two words, “Those fuckers.” He then discussed tourism and the changes he has seen in Egypt in the past few years. He explained that tourism has greatly decreased. It is now a rarity to see so many tourists at one time. He said it is even noticeable just by walking the streets of Cairo and visiting tourist sites. How so? The number of street vendors has decreased substantially. (It is hard to imagine there use to be even more and it use to be even worse!!!)

The decrease in tourism since the revolution is a great concern in Egypt. I have heard it from numerous Egyptians since our arrival. Our tour guide, for example, is greatly troubled by it. Granted, he relies on tourism for his income. However, he has made many good points about why this is such a concern. Egypt holds 2/3 of the world’s artifacts from the ancient world. Unsurprisingly, this means that tourism generates a large amount of money. In fact, it is one of the highest sources of income in the country. Since the revolution, however, this industry has greatly suffered. Our tour guide explained that after January 25^th, he sat on his couch for months with nothing to do. This is creating a trend of questioning the revolution. People are becoming even more poor now despite one of their concerns at the protest was “bread”. Perhaps this is why Shafiq, a presidential candidate who was Prime Minister under Mubarak and during the Battle of the Camel, is gaining such popularity.