It's been a while... every now and then I get ideas about things I really want to write about, but seeing as how things are these days, I am just too busy to do it.
But then, every once in a while something happens which really really ticks me off... It's actually pretty amazing that this only happens every once in while because there are plenty of things to tick one off....
This time, I couldn't hold back! This is one of those entries that should have been written in Arabic, but this is kind of challenging for me when the keyboard doesn't have Arabic letters for guidance.. so here we go.
I refer you to today's Ahram newspaper, first page. Here's the link to the article I am referring to:
http://www.ahram.org.eg/Index.asp?CurFN=fron17.htm&DID=9559
If you don't know Arabic, the article is basically a futile attempt by the state-run newspaper to discredit the internet as a medium. The reason is obvious: the recent call for a strike that originated in Facebook!
A basic summary of the article is as follows:
"Internet is bad because a few evil youths use it to publish porn, false accusations, and calls for social instability. Even though these youths are minority, they're flooding the internet with their content to the point that requires a stance from the majority of internet users before the governement's security forces intervene. Even though Egypt prides itself on having the largest internet user base in the region, the medium has now become infested with porn, and profane language, which taints this advanced technological medium which the West has used for the purposes of advancement of their societies, and for which we use for calls for violence promoted by people hiding behind pen-names and others looking for fame and thrill. So you find sourceless calls for strike and for pharmacies to close, in a manner unmatched by any society in the world. Others yet call for writing anti-government messages on monetary notes, while others make accusations that surpass the limit of what's acceptable, in a manner that breaks any civil law in the world. There aslo vidoes on Youtube with two-way accusations between Christians and Muslims regarding abuse. One person even dared to publish the Dutch movie against Islam via email!"
This is an inexact translation... feel free to correct me if anything has been mistranslated.
What do I say? Of all the silliest, most ridiculous attempts to brainwash people, this is by far the silliest. Over and above being silly, it is insulting and infuriating for all of us who have found a way to express our minds through the internet. As such, I would like to address this article point by point:
1. The attempt of our respected government of Egypt to band together porn, obscentiy, religious unrest and political protest is unacceptable and insulting. The call for the strike was a direct result of our government's failed economic policy which has left millions of Egyptians below the poverty line, while our "elected" government officials find ways to divide up the pie. Position this any way they liked, our people are fed up and afraid. Civil disobedience was the only way to go... protestors are beaten and leaders of protests are sent to jail. A strike was an attempt on the part of these youths to send a message to our government, which seems bent on shutting its ear. The calls for a strike are not obscenity and not porn - it is a right that people of free will can try to exercise when they're fed up. Which we are, in case the government has not noticed. Mixing the bad with the good is a cheap trick that no one will fall for!
2. Accusations? How about evidence? Why are people like Yousif Waly and Ibrahim Nafe'e still free? Who is responsible for their getting away with everything they've committed? Are bloggers and facebook writers the enemy or men of the likes of these people? When an average citizen sees that people of low moral values can get away with anything, this basically shifts the whole value system of our society. The corruption of our government has led to the mainstreaming of corruption, and now it's just become a way of life. Are these false accusations? Are we imagining the corruption? Are we all crazy and our governement the only sane entity in Egypt?
3. Let's run a comparison between the West and us in terms of internet and other things. First of all, everything which the government tries to paint as traits of our internet users exists in the West and to a much larger scale. I do not condone porn or obscenity. But any attempt by our government to paint its people as backwards in comparison to the west is deconstructive and insulting. The internet is uncensored media, so naturally everything appears on it... in our world, as much as in the west. But some key differences include that the West's bloggers can write whatever they want and critisize whomever they please without fear of being jailed. And for that matter, Western countries lead their countries into better standards of living. In addition - and this is just a cherry on the cake - they actually have elections, not a shameful act of theater. So basically, both the west and us similar content publishers (bad and good), but the west has better governements for their people, while we're stuck with this rotten government that unable to provide the least expecations of humanity to its people!
4. No where in the call for the strike was there a call to close pharmacies. I checked the text, and I could not find anything related to pharmacies. That's simply a twisting of the truth that attempts to paint this strike with the color black. Does the governement think we're idiots? People of Egypt have the sense to discern that if they are doctors or pharmacists, then the strike does not include them. (I know first hand because both of my siblings are doctors who went to work even though I suspect they may have otherwise joined the strike). Similary, the people of Egypt are smarter than this futile attempt to disgrace the only attempt at an honorable action by the people of Egypt.
The bottom line is: Mubarak, if you had any dignity you would resign. Politcally, I have no agendas. But societally, we need a government that takes better care of its people. Whatever illusions you may have about what you've done for Egypt, I (and alot of others) can tell you that you've failed. The only decent thing to do now is to step down, and let people who are capable and committed to making this country better step up.
But then who am I kidding
