Saturday 30 June 2012

A Good Place to begin


"Islamist Mohamed Morsy has paid tribute to Egypt's Muslims and Christians alike and symbolically swore himself in as the country's first elected civilian president before a huge crowd at Tahrir Square."

Read more: http://www.timeslive.co.za/africa/2012/06/30/morsy-vows-to-be-president-of-all-egyptians

Many would agree this was the right place for this address: Ta7reer Square.
With so many promises hanging by a thread, a clear response to several disputed stands is fervidly awaited. Adhering to any of the revolution's principles denotes the revolution's goals are being respected and that in turn denotes a fair and empathic direction has begun.. 
Morsy bowing to serve the people, an unprecedented pose
Every move Morsy makes will be either criticised, applauded, condemned or admired. The new president has indeed got off to a good start and every Egyptian heart that bears any semblance of compassion for such a daunting position and moreover for such crucial times will be rooting for Morsy to come through, step by step and inch by inch. Wishing him to accelerate his stand for the people by antagonising the army, known to dictate the rules and dole out the penalties, would probably be a mistake; thus, with this one direct step of launching an address in the revolution's square, Morsi appears to have lept several steps ahead, whilst simultaneously avoiding a hasty uncomfortable confrontation.
The process will take time if it is to be a smooth transition. The military's integral  role in the country is not only nationally relevant but sensitively linked to significant sectors of the nation's society. Those affiliated with the police force and army will only gradually recognise that no military rule over civilians is necessary if the military sticks to its job of serving the people. That in short is the crunch of the matter.
https://vimeo.com/44621320 'One day you will find' 
'Every day is a new day' & 'hope springs eternal' and if those are clichés, which they are .. then long may they live!

 
Image from facebook's  'Officers but honourable' ضباط لكن شرفاء

Sunday 24 June 2012

'Travelling Back' عودة ~ ستجد في يوم ما


 Post Election Results
"When we give it our all, we can live with ourselves ~ regardless of the results"
~William Wordsworth~

                                 an Ernst Stückelberg painting                  Song temporarily withheld


"Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels bending beneath her, still she sings away all the same, knowing she has wings"  
~Victor Hugo~ 
   
 ~ كن كعصفوراً ~
~ واقف على غصن ضعيف مغردا لان لديه جناحان - بالرغم من ان الغصن يكاد يهوى من تحته ~
 ~ ( فيكتور هيجو ) ~

Whether we can or cannot forget, whether we believe it can happen or not
~
we hope for change, for a better life
May the MB who has struggled for so long with conviction now begin to deliver and not let anyone down whatever their creed, a tall order perhaps but the only one we can all possibly wish for as a nation who values its ethos of old simultaneously as it does the spirit of the revolution with its vehement wish for reform. May we not be let down. Our hope is what keeps us rooted and grounded and looking forward rather than backwards. 
May no backward thoughts within and without dim our lights.




 

Friday 15 June 2012

THIS is it.

flattened pre-culmination of final election
Drawing by Amr Okasha
"The oppressed are allowed once every few years to decide which particular representatives of the oppressing class are to represent and repress them."
Karl Marx
"But let not the feeling of national love and pride be confused with politics"
 ~ a 'Sh.elS' quote~
     simple and straight forward yet   profoundly significant
 

Tuesday 12 June 2012

It Is What It Is

See: http://patdollard.com/2012/05/the-disturbing-list-of-egypts-current-presidential-candidates/
 egypt-protester-flag

A year and two months later ~ this very first blog post below remains almost entirely relevant~  with morale, perhaps momentarily, teetering on the brink of actuality.


Monday, 11 April 2011

Egypt~
in the aftermath of furore and exhilaration,
the picture shaken, a rosy regard for the main ruling force in Egypt, the army, becomes inevtitable; wishful thinking protective of an effusive and genuinely pure uprising, to blot out the otherwise unbearable unease.

When dictators are propped up and supported so is the country's army; the Egyptian army is now viewed as a ruling unit independent of the ousted dictatorship but how independent is unclear. Egyptians without leadership, formations of youth groups with varying and at times conflicting agendas strive for radical change; all the while however, necessarily subjugated to the military rule which is now the gathering force.
 

The apparent stance of the army was never a straight-forward one. It would be rational to assume the army is always either overtly or covertly dictated to. Its funding is crucial. The military will naturally obey step by step whatever is advocated and outlined, whatever the circumstances. If a military force has backed up a certain regime it is unlikely to be dispersed or weakened when the regime crumbles. Soldiers are specifically trained to do as they are told and not to think for themselves. Any soldier who disagrees with the outlined strategy automatically risks facing inevitable ultimatums. As for the soldiers' seniors their motivation is intricately enmeshed with the overall fringe benefits; chief and eminent positions are conditionally attained. Cognizance not necessarily shared with those under their command. Individual integrity is rarely, if at all, independent of the general framework of the army's structure. The paramount objective for the army is to preserve its basic skeletal strength. That is its duty.
But most significantly: Whoever funds has puppet control.


It would be more than a little naïve to think that reform will just happen. Sadly and inevitably backlash is palpable. The unleashing of hard-core criminals demonstrates the extent of insidiousness involved. Every lunge towards change is counteracted by some discernible hindrance. This can only denote the regime, referred to as 'former', is indeed still ostensibly prevalent. Those individuals who were either ousted or feel presently under threat of being overruled have no intention of changing their ways but do have options unlike the majority of impoverished populace. The fact that Mubarak left office was only ever symbolic at best. There are those who imbued him with power, some who have no intention of exiting the covert yet luxuriously furnished seams of corruption they occupy. Rather Egypt were to crumble than their ill-gotten gains be scrutinised. Obscene affluence glares out vividly amidst broken pavements & broken spirits.

Reform is an uphill struggle. With no police force offering security the only answer is 'vigilantism' and that cannot be risk free. And yet, alongside such complications the tides of change have nevertheless furnished many Egyptians with a new-found sense of identity, a sense of national pride and a sense of accountability as contributing members of a society. These are valuable assets, once apportioned not lightly relinquished. Nothing is certain; there is no clear target to propel towards. Democracy is a concept that at best can only be semi-realised and even in countries where it is prominently more present its validity would soon expire without a people's aspiration & their willingness to test its boundaries.

Egypt will never be the same as it was before the popular uprising. This lists high on every individual's chart of aspiration. Something to cling onto with hope. However undercurrents are severe and the tide is high; up a river without a paddle, confusion and bewilderment every step of the way. Corruption is indeed on many a level and intricately woven into the fabric of society on a varying scale; some of it is 'a way of life', nothing more. The relatively recent profusion of unaccountable wealth establishing itself in all aspects of society is highlighted by a similarly recent impoverished multitude of a nation; a contrasting anomaly in the wake of the uprising's high expectations and idealistic aspirations.
 
The fabric of an endgame has yet to unfurl itself.

There are no guarantees, no terms and conditions, no small print, however every ounce of integrity and resolve could prove crucial and a necessary prerequisite for a brighter future.