With fear in the heart and trembling legs I walked towards the nearby Tahrir square. These feelings of worry and fear date back, it seems, to a long time ago. Back then, on January 25th, there were tear gaze bombs and a crowd of very courageous young people ready to die for the freedom cause. As we all know this was another era, a dark age of the past.
Today, on February 4 , the new era of freedom and Egyptian solidarity is born. Thousands of people are gathered in the Tahrir squar, more and more of them are flooding the streets, all my friends and relatives are either in the square or on the way to the place. These are people whose relation to politics and activism used to be to read the story in the newspaper and discuss it over lunch or dinner. Despite the attacks and the fear we all felt safe and happy.
Yesterday, I spent the day in the square as well, late at night when I went back home, behind the safe doors of my house, suddenly it was a vaccum of fear. We had to watch the Egyptian media's false propaganda. They told Egyptians that the protestors in the the Tahrir square are causing serious damage to the economy and endangering the safety of the country. In other, allegdly, more independant Egyptian media channels, some of the most influential writers and analysts were trying to sell to the people the idea that it is time to go home, you made it people, just give the current government enough time to make it right again. Actually among the Egyptians there are those who just want their lives back to normal and beleive that the present achievements, Mubarack's promise to leave office, is good enough.
Angry and worried I shifted to the news flowing from other International media channels. As usual, their intense focus is on the fights, the bloodshed and the terror, they ask questions about who is leading, what about the Muslim brotherhood, and the other opposition leaders, they speak to irrelevant people, who do not make part of the event , but just like the media they are observers. suddenly in my safe warm home, I am worried, afraid and unsure.
Than again today back to the square to find the that the number of those who support the uprising is increasing tremendously. The charm of the Tahrir square is attracting more and more people, some flew all the way from the United States, Canada, Germany, London and even South Africa to be there in the square at this very moment of ultimate hope. Others are coming from different Egyptian governorates, simple people who came a long way because they beleive that this is a true revolution fighting for their rights and they were determined to give it all their support.
One very simple lady from the rural Fayoum governorate told me," I am here to support the youth." she posed and added," when Mubarak's grand son died we all felt for him , we dressed in black and cried for the innocent child, why on earth is he now doing this to our sons? How many mothers are now crying for a child who is dead or lost. "
Many analysts in the media speak of Egypt's economy, they say that the economic growth did not trickle down to the poor and this is why this is happening. This is too simplistic. This revolution is not about poverty or need. The people in the streets from all walks of life , rich and poor are their because they want freedom, freedom, freedom, freedom.
In the square amazingly there is no anger and no violence, People are singing and clapping their hands. they form circles and forums and indulge in heated discussions that usually ends with laughter or songs. The pro- Mubarak camel riding thugs, on the oher hand, are poor ignorant people paid, reportedly, by wealthy busnissmen, to fight for the man and for his gang's short sighted business interests, this is poverty and hunger at work, people are selling their souls and swords for the highest price. But the freedom fighters in the freedom square (Tahrir means freedom) are truely, innocently happy souls whose aim is to get their Egypt back from the hands of a regime that abused and exploited the country and the people for over 30 years.
It is a revolution lead by young intellectuals. It started as a virtual idea in the social media. They did not at the time, just ten days ago, think that it could lead to such an astounding uprising. One young blogger told me that they did not think that one can simply set a date and a time for a revolution, "we used to joke about it saying let us meet tomrrow at cilantro after the revolution, or we better do this or that thing ahead of the revolution." Although it started and was fed by the connectivity of the internet, once it started rolling, people already were connected even in the absence of the internet and the mobile phones. Awreness and beleive is a super network that connected people.
In the media they speak of an international community afraid of a power vaccum, they speak of a fear from Islamic radicalism, others speak of the absence of the building blocks of democracy. This is exactly because they do not undrestand the nature of this revolution, the people, literally for the first time in history, are taking the lead and deciding for themselves, the government will continue to make its concessions and offers, and the street is the judge. It is a different process where the voting is a continuous process, as the street reacts to the government announcements and measures
The absence of a person or a group of persons as a recognizable leadership group or figures is intentional. The intellectual young people who started all this are actually leading by spreading awareness among the people in the square, rather than by giving orders and this is making the pressure of the street crowds even more forceful. Simply because it is the people rather than this or that specific name who is reacting and deciding.
For the media people the general picture and the controversy is mostly about who should speak in the name of the revolution. Many so called Committees of Wise Men are being formed and they go out to the media with statements but the people in the Tahrir square are not interested.
To have their voice heard, and I mean here the young intellectuals, who act as organizers, they dropped a very big banner along the facet of a tall building overlooking the square. the banner had 7 demands starting with the departure of Mubarak, the immediate ending of Egypt being under the emergency law, the dissolution of the illegal parliament -both houses the senates and the people's house the formation of an interim coalition government, The announcement of new parliamentary elections to form a truely elected parliament that oversees and ultimatly approves a new constitution ahead of the coming presedential elections, the arrest and trial of those reponsible for the killing and deaths among the young protestors in the past days, the arrest and trial of the thiefs who have been exploiting and stealing Egypt's wealth.
These demands reflect not only that there is actually an organized body of intellectual leaders, but that they are the ones who are holding for now the reins of the people's movement. In the square people are singing, but it is not only spontaneous songs, these are the beats of a skilful maestro who is in control of the whole symphony. I do not mean by this that they are planning or manipulating the people, instead it is truely an organic leadership, as one of them told me, of a considerable number of homogenous young thinkers and artists, it is a generation rather than the usual political format of a party or an organization. it is a generation of young people who act collectively in all directions towards an obvious and pre-determined goal. Some use their networks, reach out to well known reputable Egyptian figures such as the popular composer Ammar el Shereiyee, who publicly went on Dream TV, yesterday, to support the young people, his bold words and incrimination of the current regime was a total surprise in an atmosphere of heavy governmental propaganda. Today he was in the square and the young people carried him on their shoulder all over the place. Many other prominent artists such as the well known actor Amr Waked have also shown their support for the uprising.
There is certainly a media war here, every concession the government presents gets some people out of the square and every fowl move to end the uprising brings them back in larger numbers. Interestingly the heavy media propaganda has played a negative role and added to the misstrust in the government.
The international media should make a drastic shift and start asking the right questions, they should discuss the needed, on the ground, guarantees that will make sure that the present regime including the new vice president and prime minister, at the end of an interim period will effectively let the Egyptians choose a new Egyptian administration. The people need a guarantee that whoever rules will at the end of the day month, year go back to his home knowing that his initial identity is an Egyptian citizen and not an everlasting ruler. uptill now the Egyptian government failed the transparency exam, trying hard to hide what is happening in the square from the eyes of the world. They continue to speak a language that is not reflected in actual measures such as the announcement of new parliamentary election in three or six months with guarantees of international and judiciary monitoring.
The story of the Tahrir square is not about who is with Mubarak and who is against, it is about a truely civilized, very peaceful people who decided to regain control of their destiny. This is a total super change. It means that they have given up their "let go" attitude, they have broken the seal of fear that has been stamped all over their bodies and soul. they will for ever be responsible and work to rebuild the whole country.
0 comments:
Post a Comment