About Egypt…a quiet chat with a Tunisian Jasmine Revolutionary
Context: Nadia is part of the intellectual, artistic creatives and bohemian circles in Tunisia who stood up for the Jasmine Revolution. Some of her friends risked their lives publicly in voicing their message for a Democratic Secular Tunisia during the Jasmine Revolution of 2011. They made Palm D’or winning movies. They wrote Academic articles. They published in the world’s Top media. They painted. They performed emergency surgeries on the wounded protestors. They pushed for Legal reforms. They defended Tunisia’s Constitution.
In short, they are and were the not so silent majority of educated people who took Jasmine from Rebellion to Revolution in Tunisia in 2011!
THEY WERE the Jasmine Revolution!
4th July 2013 A conversation about the last 72 hours in Egypt:
Nadia : Dis donc, c’est rapide ! Le roi saoudien félicite le nouveau dirigeant intérimaire d’#Egypte (AFP)
Hey, it’s fast! The Saudi King congratulated the new leader acting #Egypte (AFP)
Enis: le hasard mon enfant the chance my child 🙂
Cecilia: Saudis are such amicable people….lol. Anyway….seriously what are the chances a new dictator arise from the ashes of a fanatic like the proverbial Phoenix? Any idea?
Nadia: Not from the “Brothers'”, that’s for sure, the problem is their reaction. I don’t think they’ll take it lying down. could lead to serious unrest, and eventual civil war. Hope not
Cecilia: I still don’t understand why anyone would elect the Islamic Brotherhood…..clearly Education should be poured into Egypt for the poor so they will be better informed of what “separation of power” means in a constitutional democracy… I’m baffled.
Nadia: People (the mass), trusted them with their anti-corruption and religious spiel, having been trampled on and ignored, even shat upon, for so many years. Another essential factor is the fact that a lot of people didn’t go & vote, which was a huge mistake, knowing that the fans of the sect act like ants, i.e. would mobilize massively. Also, don’t forget all the corrupt businessmen who voted too, to save their necks, in a bargain.
In Egypt, the brotherhood was the main visible opposition, implanted there for years.
Cecilia: To my limited knowledge…while those you describe…eg. mid-level biz and members of the élite did nothing….the majority of the votes were cast by lower working class and the poor under the guise of voting for a government that would balance out the social inequality while allegedly promoting the Islamic Brother’s extremist version of Islam.
Yes, I remember the concerned expressed about the content of what you said in Mosques and Friday services to the lower-income workers, when I went there in 2007 to talk about my art at the Egyptian Art Guild…..instead of emphasizing the more compassionate charitable sides of Islam …there were incendiary messages for the purpose of scapegoating; creating an external enemy.
I remember when I said, “Oh wow, they are talking like Mao’s communist propaganda….politics of hatred disguised as religious values….” That’s why I keep saying, when it is hate-based, no matter what the name is: Bible bashing, Islam, Communism, Nazism, Fascism…it is all the same…..level of evil….Education. The nearest cure to stupidity I know…..but it does not cure Voluntary stupidity…..unfortunately.
Nadia: Absolutely. The same happened here, and we’re paying the price for those who didn’t get their asses down to the voting parlours, who didn’t foresee the threat of these total fakes, the religious quacks, who were nowhere to be seen in the events that led to the overthrow of January 14th, and whose only motivation is revenge. Revenge on a pacifist country who doesn’t abide on the whole with their violence and backward views. And to think that to the ratio, we’re the most educated in the region. But thankfully, even their own voters are waking up to the sham. Wait & see
Cecilia: I think like communism, nazism and islamic brotherhood, they prey on those who feel powerless and use external scapegoats to channel the lack of education, life opportunity into rage and violence against a targeted group.
That is what makes them so disgusting and evil. It is meaningless who they choose to target, whether it is the so-called “bourgeois and the educated” in communism, jews with nazism or women and girls who want education with islamic brotherhood… very short-sighted evil views feeding the egos that only bring them, eternal disgusts by all those who hear of their deeds afterwards. Unlike people who go through a much more difficult, philosophical and non-violent journey like Gandhi with Satyagraha who centuries later will still be respected.
As my chinese granny would say: “Honour others can give you, but Dignity is what you lose by your own actions in the world….”… yes…wait and see….indeed….
Nadia: The problem also that we face in these parts, is that people react to emotion, thus hysteria as the downslide, ( to put it shortly), and not the rational. But then again, they’ve left us little breathing space to sit back and analyse. Everything is deliberately planned, whether it be outbreaks of violence, followed by a pseudo-truce of about a couple of weeks, and then more violence, in which any form, the obvious goal being submission by forfeit. Today’s events in Egypt have boosted the morale here, but how long for ? I get the impression we’re living the actual Egyptian uprise by proxy.
Cecilia: It is ironic to hear you say that when I know so many among your friends and inner circles were directly active in the Jasmine Revolution which began all this cycle in North Africa! Especially as I remember in 2011, it was the other way around, I received news of how lobbyists were more optimistic of the future and in their chance of deposing Mubarak because of events in Tunisia…..My goodness, it is true….time is cyclical….we all seem to be travelling in circles…..no? (sigh) …
Nadia: No, in the meantime we were screwed, most of the people being naïve-even though at the time I kept barking about the threat, and people tended to minimize the threat- not realizing that the brotherhood had been waiting for around 30 years in the wings. At the time, before the elections, this was greeted with huffs and puffs, and ” no way”, and “are you scared of them ? – No, I’m not scared, I’m worried, slight difference” within my circles
Cecilia: I agree with your feelings…and I remember you were also one of those very insightful people when I raised the same question as I do now…to Cairo about “What will you replace Mubarak with?” and “Be careful you don’t end up in the hands of Islamic Brotherhood…” and a few people thought I was too chinese to understand the complexity of the situation and thought I was being naïve and being negative about the great revolution of hope etc…at the time you were not allowed to question Obama’s great “black” hope sincerity either…..but well…a few years down the line….
I get to say: “It is because I am chinese that I asked those questions…” Oh but it sad to see you didn’t even have a few moments of Genuine leadership like we did with Dr Sun Yat Sen before it all went tits-up and China ended up in the hands of an illiterate delusional loser like Mao….
What followed was that he starved 45 millions to death due to his incompetence, corruption and communist stupidity….I don’t think this will happen to Tunisia or Egypt….you got your Constitutional documents faster than we did…in China, apart from Hong kong…they still don’t know what the hell is a Rule of law….that is messed up after 6000 years of reindeer games!
I am happy to say that for NL2B 2013, I will be show casing a few of the canvas I made last year for my exhibition at the Cairo Opera house which was rescheduled as the Christmas show with Samia Kamel because of the little business with Morsi and the Egyptian Constitution (seperation of power stuff). I think it is appropriate that Delroy Murray (who composed the music for the Pulitzer winning play “Fences” for London’s Westend production at the Duchess Theatre) has kindly allowed me to use x2 of his original compositions for the occassion.
I am honored to have the opportunity to work with so many amazing artists passionate about their work and their role in shaping messages for peace, human rights and justice.May Egypt have the same good fortune in finding a Democratic Leader who will respect a little thing called “seperation of power” in a Constitutional document.
I want to thank those who gathered the photos from Egyptian Streets Facebook and www.egyptianstreets.com introduced to me via those who work with YaLa-Young Leaders يالا-يا قادة الشباب יאללה-מנהיגים צעירים in keeping all of us, focussed on what is going on in the Egyptian streets in accordance with the wishes of the ordinary silent majority within the Egyptian culture, who maintained their dignity, spirit of genuine ethnics away from dogma and their belief in human dignity, peace and freedom.
Inshallah, I hope for dignity, peaceful co-existence, mutual respect for all, education for all those who would like it, freedom of speech, thoughts, religion and a secular government based in an impartial and incorruptible rule of law, for all of my friends in the Arabic speaking world. ♥
Cecilia: I am a little sleepless from worrying about the safety of my friends in Egypt. But I must sleep. Goodnight all. ♥ Lovely to talk with you Nadia, you are such a great example of a modern thinking, educated Tunisian woman, it is what all Arabic world should be aiming for, not this regressive crazy stuff with shooting girls for wanting to go to school….those people are an embarassment to all Muslims on earth! Is the Glass half-empty or half-full on 4th July for Egypt? I don’t know. I really don’t know. XXOO
********* Thank you to Egyptian Streets شوارع مصر | The path to recovery !!!!!!
It is always us Combo-Aussies who seem to “get things said”! ;)How to get in touch with Egyptian Streets: If you would like to leave feedback, ask a question, want to work together, or just want to have a chat, then feel free to contact Egyptian Streets at egyptianstreets@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter @EmkayXx
EP recorded a very personal journey of what is essentially 72 hours which changed the lives of every Egyptian and possibly many more Arabic speakers on this planet:
Mainstream News about 4th July 2013 deposing of President Morsi, Egypt
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its not really that bad….Egypt will somehow be around…..they hung out for 8000 years…calm down! lol.
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