As my Baba always likes to say, "Complacency leads to extinction."
February 24, 2005
Because I am lazy, but because I also like to please my (very few) readers, I will respond to Mr. Inkwell's query in the comments of the last entry about the so-called demonstrations against Mubarak that are taking place in Egypt by cutting and pasting an edited version of an ongoing email conversation I am having with an old high school friend.
Feel free to ask questions, start a debate, or tell me I'm dumb. (please note, I have a new email address dedicated solely to this site, so abuse it.)
Without further ado:
From my buddy--
Hey Newgy,
Was just reading about the Kifaya demonstrations in Cairo on one of the many (too many! I am addicted) blogs I peruse daily. Curious to know what the story is on the ground. Is this a big deal? Do people care?
Hello Friend,
As with many things I read about in the "foreign" press, this Kifaya movement/ the demonstrations are not as big here as I think they are made out to be. I mean, there has been a lot of talk lately about opposition candidates running for presidency, and there has been a lot of...discontent over recent trade deals, especially with the US and Israel, which is all tied in with the desire to oust Mubarak. BUT, it doesn't seem (to me at least) that there is really this large, unified movement, and as far as I'm concerned these protests have been negligible. There were larger protests six months ago when they raised the price of wheat--> bread, and bakeries across Cairo went on strike until they lowered the price again.
In the arena of Egyptian democratic reform I think that more attention is being paid to the arrest of Ayman Nour.
And the general Egyptian population is really complacent. They are< content to read the papers and discuss/complain, but either have no idea or no interest in any actual reform. I mean, I could be wrong or overly pessimisstic, but I think that this Kifaya thing won't even make a dent.
Who knows?
Newgy,
That's the sense I got. The numbers being thrown about were 250-500 people for the Kifaya demonstrations. Which is funny. 'Cos in Bangladesh a random person with a colorful placard shouting some slogans would probably gather at least as many people out of curiosity. I guess the context is (a little) different though...
End correspondence
Of course, this is not to say that these demonstrations are not taking place, or that people haven't actually seen them. But, there are probably more police at these demonstrations than actual demonstrators, and I don't think these demonstrations can be taken as a sign of any serious or long-lasting changes in the country. (So, you see Mr. Inkwell, I would go take pictures of the demonstrations like an intrepid reporter if I could just find them. To be fair, though, I am usually at work when they supposedly take place.)
Okay, though, in addition--there is a lot of talk about the desire to oust Mubarak. A LOT. But there isn't that much action, which is why, I guess, I don't understand why a sort of big deal is being made of the issue now. People have been talking about ousting Mubarak for years. Just because some prominent figures have decided to actually do something about it does not mean that any such change is forthcoming. Did I address your comment Mr. I?