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Firstly, I want to start off this blogpost thanking all of you for your outpour of love and support. I have been overwhelmed by emails, phone calls, and facebook messages (and an open invitation to stay with my friends in Tel Aviv for as long as I need) from all of my friends and family, and have been truly touched by all of your concern. Now, as my friend, Katelyn, said, let's just keep that sentiment going for the people of Egypt right now. For my teacher, Radwa, who has been on the front lines protesting since last Tuesday. For my friend, Mohamed, who has been out in the streets protecting his neighborhood from looters. For my teacher, Ustath Nour, who just had a baby girl last month. For my teacher, Ustath Imaad, who has been out protecting his church. For all of my friends and teachers and all of those who took care of me when I was in a foreign place. And for all the Egyptian people who are putting their lives on hold and risking their safety in pursuit of freedom.
For the past week, I have been on a really strange journey. The irony is not lost on me that on the day of the revolution, I took a bus out of Egypt through Sinai and crossed the border into Israel, and that Israel has been in some way my safe haven from the revolution in Egypt. All of my stuff is in my apartment in Alexandria, including my computer and American cell phone (let's hope it hasn't been looted), and my brother joked saying that I just had to leave before the bread could finish rising. In Israel, my Hebrew and Arabic have morphed together to form an incomprehensible monster of a really gutteral language that no one understands, I feel comforted when my taxi driver turns out to be Arab, and I have felt overwhelmingly lost and sad. All I want is Egypt. I have been glued to my friends' blackberries and iphones, checking for news, and scanning pictures of Alexandria so that I can assess the damage of the spots that I frequent often, and the uncertainty of the future of Egypt is really weighing on me.
There's been a lot of talk, especially in Israel, about why these protests have broken out, whether they should be supporting by the American government or the Israeli government, and whether this revolution actually represents a positive change for the Arab world. It seems to me that the fear that many people feel about this revolution is justified. You may be shocked to hear me say this, but the way I see it, this revolution may not just be about a change in leadership, but about a change in precedent.
From my time spent in Egypt, (and by no means am I trying to convey that this is the feeling of all of the Egyptian people or that this is in any way an accurate depiction of the Egyptian way of thinking. What is to follow are my thoughts and my observations, so please, don't think that this is absolutey Egypt) I have tried to peice together where anti-Zionism and anti-western sentiments have come from and why. This has been one of my biggest personal struggles being in Egypt, and next semester, I was hoping (and am still hoping) to do a research project on the role of Zionism in Egypt. From my point of view, Egyptians see that for the past 30 plus years, their government has been supported by the American government in order to protect Israeli interests. They have endured a crippling economic crisis, the slow deterioration of their most basic human rights and civil liberties by the hand of Hosni Mubarek, and when they look at the news, they see this man who has come to represent their oppression shaking hands with Barack Obama, George Bush, Bill Clinton. American president after American president has supported their poverty, their hunger, their deteriorating credibility within the Arab world, the rigging of their elections, the support of torture among Egyptian police forces by continually funneling aid Mubarek and supporting him, no matter what. And while they have heard countless commitments by these American presidents saying that they will pressure the Egyptian for more democratic reforms, for the loosening of the reigns, as of the November 2010 elections, the Americans had not followed through with a single one their promises. Hilary Clinton expressed "her disappointment" in response to one of the most corrupt elections in history, and the $1.3 billion dollars in aid kept funneling in to the corrupt pockets of the Egyptian government.
And while all of this was happening, the west was shocked to see a growing afinity towards religion and Islam, the growth of the support for the Muslim Brotherhood, and they were not able to peice together why. But I have to ask, why wouldn't poor Egyptians, undereducated and dissatisfied with their political representation, flock towards the Brotherhood? Why wouldn't they try to understand their poverty by turning towards the Koran and hoping that this is part of God's plan? Why wouldn't they see the American and Israeli government in some way supporting and encouraging their suffering? As Egypt grew poorer and poorer and saw more services cut, more rights taken a way, no end to the regime of the Mubareks as Gamal Mubarek campaign posters started to clutter the streets of Cairo, Alexandria, and Suez, why wouldn't they cry, "Enough!!"
The way I see it, these protests, while largely they are a call for freedom, democracy, basic dignity and human rights, they are a call for a restructuring of the political order. The Arab world, which has been dominated by Turkish policies, then British and French, and now American and Israeli, is calling for governments that are not so easily swayed by the dominant world superpower but actually care about promoting the interests of their people. They do not want a government that can so easily take advantage of their people, that can continue to allow settlements to grow in the West Bank and can continue to support and defend the seige on Gaza. They want a say in their lives and in their futures and the way that they conduct their international relations as well as their domestic policies.
In light of this, as we look ahead, what can we expect for the future? For Israel? Everyone is scared of the Muslim Brotherhood. Israeli is shaking, wondering if they can trust the peace treaty or whether they should start calling out their reserves. Firstly, the way I see it, there will be no war with Israeli any time soon. These countries are scrambling to piece a government together and piece any form of order together, how could they possibly have time to declare a war on Israel? Or how could they possibly risk that giant aid package from the states as they are desperately trying to reopen their banks and encourage investment? What I can predict is a future change of tone towards the Israelis and Americans. I doubt the Egyptian people will continue to tolerate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict much longer, and I feel that it is in Israel's best interest to extend a hand of support for the Egyptian, Jordanian, and Syrian people as they form their new governments, and also to solve the conflict as quickly as possible. As we know, the Arab world's number one problem with the west is support for Israeli policies. If this conflict is solved, the risk facing Israel from the Arab world is greatly diminished.
Similarly, I do not fear the Muslim Brotherhood. I think they now fear the Egyptian people. This revolution has changed history. For the first time, Egyptians have banded together to topple their own government. I hope, and I believe, like other grassroots democratic revolutions, this one will be successful. This revolution has sparked massive interest and investment in politics in the Egyptian people, and I do not think that they will allow themselves to be continually taken advantage of. They will get free and fair elections. And they will participate. And their government will be forced to respond to their will.
As painful as it is not to be in Egypt right now, I support the Egyptians 100%. Every one of them deserves freedom and democracy. They deserve food, fair wages, and self determination. I believe in democracy and its merits. And maybe I am being foolish and naive, and just like I have been slapped in the face this week with the reality of the world and politics, I will be slapped again in a few weeks or years. But I cannot allow myself not to hope and not to believe.
Eish. Horiya. Kirama insaniya- Bread. Freedom. Human Dignity.
For the past week, I have been on a really strange journey. The irony is not lost on me that on the day of the revolution, I took a bus out of Egypt through Sinai and crossed the border into Israel, and that Israel has been in some way my safe haven from the revolution in Egypt. All of my stuff is in my apartment in Alexandria, including my computer and American cell phone (let's hope it hasn't been looted), and my brother joked saying that I just had to leave before the bread could finish rising. In Israel, my Hebrew and Arabic have morphed together to form an incomprehensible monster of a really gutteral language that no one understands, I feel comforted when my taxi driver turns out to be Arab, and I have felt overwhelmingly lost and sad. All I want is Egypt. I have been glued to my friends' blackberries and iphones, checking for news, and scanning pictures of Alexandria so that I can assess the damage of the spots that I frequent often, and the uncertainty of the future of Egypt is really weighing on me.
There's been a lot of talk, especially in Israel, about why these protests have broken out, whether they should be supporting by the American government or the Israeli government, and whether this revolution actually represents a positive change for the Arab world. It seems to me that the fear that many people feel about this revolution is justified. You may be shocked to hear me say this, but the way I see it, this revolution may not just be about a change in leadership, but about a change in precedent.
From my time spent in Egypt, (and by no means am I trying to convey that this is the feeling of all of the Egyptian people or that this is in any way an accurate depiction of the Egyptian way of thinking. What is to follow are my thoughts and my observations, so please, don't think that this is absolutey Egypt) I have tried to peice together where anti-Zionism and anti-western sentiments have come from and why. This has been one of my biggest personal struggles being in Egypt, and next semester, I was hoping (and am still hoping) to do a research project on the role of Zionism in Egypt. From my point of view, Egyptians see that for the past 30 plus years, their government has been supported by the American government in order to protect Israeli interests. They have endured a crippling economic crisis, the slow deterioration of their most basic human rights and civil liberties by the hand of Hosni Mubarek, and when they look at the news, they see this man who has come to represent their oppression shaking hands with Barack Obama, George Bush, Bill Clinton. American president after American president has supported their poverty, their hunger, their deteriorating credibility within the Arab world, the rigging of their elections, the support of torture among Egyptian police forces by continually funneling aid Mubarek and supporting him, no matter what. And while they have heard countless commitments by these American presidents saying that they will pressure the Egyptian for more democratic reforms, for the loosening of the reigns, as of the November 2010 elections, the Americans had not followed through with a single one their promises. Hilary Clinton expressed "her disappointment" in response to one of the most corrupt elections in history, and the $1.3 billion dollars in aid kept funneling in to the corrupt pockets of the Egyptian government.
And while all of this was happening, the west was shocked to see a growing afinity towards religion and Islam, the growth of the support for the Muslim Brotherhood, and they were not able to peice together why. But I have to ask, why wouldn't poor Egyptians, undereducated and dissatisfied with their political representation, flock towards the Brotherhood? Why wouldn't they try to understand their poverty by turning towards the Koran and hoping that this is part of God's plan? Why wouldn't they see the American and Israeli government in some way supporting and encouraging their suffering? As Egypt grew poorer and poorer and saw more services cut, more rights taken a way, no end to the regime of the Mubareks as Gamal Mubarek campaign posters started to clutter the streets of Cairo, Alexandria, and Suez, why wouldn't they cry, "Enough!!"
The way I see it, these protests, while largely they are a call for freedom, democracy, basic dignity and human rights, they are a call for a restructuring of the political order. The Arab world, which has been dominated by Turkish policies, then British and French, and now American and Israeli, is calling for governments that are not so easily swayed by the dominant world superpower but actually care about promoting the interests of their people. They do not want a government that can so easily take advantage of their people, that can continue to allow settlements to grow in the West Bank and can continue to support and defend the seige on Gaza. They want a say in their lives and in their futures and the way that they conduct their international relations as well as their domestic policies.
In light of this, as we look ahead, what can we expect for the future? For Israel? Everyone is scared of the Muslim Brotherhood. Israeli is shaking, wondering if they can trust the peace treaty or whether they should start calling out their reserves. Firstly, the way I see it, there will be no war with Israeli any time soon. These countries are scrambling to piece a government together and piece any form of order together, how could they possibly have time to declare a war on Israel? Or how could they possibly risk that giant aid package from the states as they are desperately trying to reopen their banks and encourage investment? What I can predict is a future change of tone towards the Israelis and Americans. I doubt the Egyptian people will continue to tolerate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict much longer, and I feel that it is in Israel's best interest to extend a hand of support for the Egyptian, Jordanian, and Syrian people as they form their new governments, and also to solve the conflict as quickly as possible. As we know, the Arab world's number one problem with the west is support for Israeli policies. If this conflict is solved, the risk facing Israel from the Arab world is greatly diminished.
Similarly, I do not fear the Muslim Brotherhood. I think they now fear the Egyptian people. This revolution has changed history. For the first time, Egyptians have banded together to topple their own government. I hope, and I believe, like other grassroots democratic revolutions, this one will be successful. This revolution has sparked massive interest and investment in politics in the Egyptian people, and I do not think that they will allow themselves to be continually taken advantage of. They will get free and fair elections. And they will participate. And their government will be forced to respond to their will.
As painful as it is not to be in Egypt right now, I support the Egyptians 100%. Every one of them deserves freedom and democracy. They deserve food, fair wages, and self determination. I believe in democracy and its merits. And maybe I am being foolish and naive, and just like I have been slapped in the face this week with the reality of the world and politics, I will be slapped again in a few weeks or years. But I cannot allow myself not to hope and not to believe.
Eish. Horiya. Kirama insaniya- Bread. Freedom. Human Dignity.
I totally agree with you Moni! Awesome post, I wish we were in Sporting though :(
ReplyDeleteBrilliantly written.
ReplyDeleteBe strong!