DON'T ATTACK ME
The Egyptian people have a right to protest.
They have found their voice but encountered a deaf Cyclops.
A Cyclops more terrifying than any unearthed party, one who holds the forces that still 'be' in place; one who rules with a ruthlessness that knows no compassion, one that embodies not an inkling of respect for its people but instead treats its children like foe; considering them an entity that is not only powerless before them but one to be tortured and coerced into submission with tables being turned right left and centre.
The Cyclops has its own agenda.
The people who march in protest, in rightful protest, free of violence, but imbued with demands cannot be silenced nor bypassed. Their cries for reform, for bread and all other provision, for peace of mind cannot be waylaid. People have suffered and continue to do so in the wake of economic crisis, one present well before those more comfortable in the world began to sense the present global difficulties. Egypt's people have endured so much hardship and with such dignity awaited patiently for justice to come their way and indeed for the fruit of their labour to find a tree to bear its seeds. The 2011 revolution was such a seed but its tree remains evanescent, untennable. Instead, all efforts are flipped off in the most barbaric ways possible and the aim is to create the illusion that all had it better before they revolted and to therefore give in quietly rather than persevere.
"When you overcome the barrier of fear it is irreversible." Alaa el-Aswany.
The people have indeed hurdled over the proverbial barrier and no longer cower under its iron grip nor are they disposed to retreating into a realm of deep slumber yet again, in spite of gravitation towards a limbo of bleakness and uncertainty.
The people whose light shone in January and still shines now, with the grace of our Maker, will be rewarded in time.
DON'T HURT ME
Every decent soul that shuns despair will feel that yearning of a hope.
Egypt's people have roots that are adamantly and deeply embedded in a fecund soil with the desert equally inductive to their perseverance and cactus-like resilience; a people who regardless of divisive influences are resolute in their quest for liberation from mule-reigned oppression, for freedom of choice: a quest innately linked to a people's very core of being over not only decades of despotic rule but centuries of exploitation and disempowerment where many another have sought to glean.
DON'T SELL ME OUT
Many parties may well be accentuated by ulterior motives discrepant to those of the revolution. Parties that call out in the name of religion, parties that call out in the name of military sovereignty, parties that do not recognise how inherent a faith Egyptians have in their own individual choices of adherence and practice~ all such parties indeed prevail, now all in plain view and inviting further memberships, not to mention those flighty fickle-natured individuals and inane groups, jumping on the band wagon of vicissitude angling at profitting selfishly wherever they feel a weak link to be.
Human nature embodies all and it is in essence no different anywhere under the sun.
But it should be noted that many of those parties visible can only be driven underground and that the present transparency is more of a blessing than a curse.
With elections due, elections that pose as both a hazard and a hope since little faith exists in its actual deployment or sincerity of approach have been yet another tool to divide the country further, albeit with lucid awareness of many an intellectual and modest free thinker. Should we vote or should we abstain? Although the answer to this question may seem pretty straight forward and clear to any outsider and would appear to be non debatable if only for the purpose of keeping apathy at bay, there is the niggling thought behind those who decide to vote that their vote may not only be discounted but that their very name be used in a complicit manner to hold up the grounded apprehension of a rigged outcome.
The peaceful protesters have the right to persevere in making their voices heard but the ensuing violence has resulted not only in serious bodily injury and mental anguish but in the most poignantly felt fatalities.
The proverbial spanner in the works has been cast or as it is known in Arabic:العصا فالعجل ~ as alluded to in an interview with both el-Baradei and Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fettouh.
A shadow looms over a people who know not- how much more blood will be shed - but whose courage and determination know no bounds.
May we all appeal unreservedly not only for respite but for merciful minimisation of a price yet to be paid in the quest for justice, equality, tolerance of one another and even of faith itself; the latter being an Egyptian treasure adhered to for centuries without the superficial tags of a particular exhortation, denomination or persuasion.
DON'T DESTROY ME
The fountain of hope cannot run dry
The adverse tentacles reach out wherever we turn
but in Egypt
they will find
an elusive prey.
POSTERS
©
Bassem Yousri
With the release of high profile activist Alaa AbdelFattah a new phase emerges. Although the charges have not been dropped, his release nevertheless contributes considerably to overall morale, especially that of peace-loving protestors and hopeful citizens. With so many more still awaiting release from incarceration and respite from military sentencing the end-game has not even begun to play itself out. The release of Alaa however, whether a mere tactical ploy or not can only give hope to all who remain adamant and true to the general ethos of the revolution, to the ideology of 'change'~ change which is steadfast in its pursuit for radical improvement; change embracing the complexity of the Egyptian plight in general.
