A Tale Of Two Squares And Two
Movements: Cairo In Year 2011
02 Jan 2012
By Franklin Lamb
This observer spent a good part of Christmas Eve
divided between two main Cairo Squares, Tahir and
Abassiya, while waiting for a Visa from the Libyan
Embassy.
A tale of two Squares and two Movements
Alexandria, 415 or 416
In the year 415 or 416, on the streets of Alexandria,
Egypt, a band of Christian monks seized Hypatia, one
of the last great thinkers of ancient Alexandria, beat
her, and dragged her body to a church where they
mutilated her flesh with sharp tiles and burned her
remains. Read more.
Cairo in year 2011
It is evident here that the "blue bra girl" or "Tahrir
Woman" whose assault by the Egyptian army has brought
intense wrath upon the ruling Supreme Council of Armed
Forces (SCAF) and similar attacks are much on the
minds of protestors in both Squares. But in Abassiya
Sq. the participants focus more on the provocative
demonstrators in Tahrir Sq. many of whom they claim
are baltagiy (hoods or thugs). Tahrir Square
demonstrators feel about the same way regarding the
pro- SCAF (Supreme Council of Armed Forces)
demonstrators over in Tahrir Square.
In Abbasiya Square close to Noor Mosque, the attitudes
and trappings are in opposition to what has been
happening in Tahrir Square. Same souvenirs, candy,
caps with the Egyptian flag on them, T-shirts, face
painting, but with a different political message.
At Tahrir Square, visitors are lectured about the
current protests focusing on "Reclaiming Honor" and
condemning the military for violence against
protestors while chanting slogans such as "Egypt's
women are a red line." Referring to women who have
been beaten by the military including the "blue bra
lady" demonstrators encourage each other with chants
like, "Raise you head high, you're more honorable than
the one who stomped you." Last week's violence at
Tahrir Sq. left 17 dead and more than 900 injured and
justice is demanded.
The ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) has
since apologized to Egypt's women for the infamous
incident, but it has also stepped up a campaign to
portray the demonstrators as vandals).
At Abassiya Sq. slogans about the dignity of women and
the value of martyrs tend include the not very subtle
message that those Egyptians demonstrating in Tahrir
Sq. are paid to be there and most are unpatriotic and
influenced by foreign elements. Is there are country
in this region that has experienced an uprising where
we have not heard essentially these same messages?
What I found interesting as I arrived at the Cairo
Airport was the huge bill board (s) proclaiming:
"American young people need to grow up more like
Egyptian youngsters." At the end of the quote is the
signature Barack Obama. I have no idea if it's an
accurate quote from Obama's June 2009 speech at Cairo
University but some here seem to think it is and they
ask about it.
But even more intriguing , and quite surprising, are
the number of young and older demonstrating Egyptians
who are very knowledgeable about current American
politics and even quite arcane details of US Middle
East policy. And their keen interest to discuss this
subject even with the maelstrom swirling around this
city of 25 million increasingly stressed citizens.
Maybe in the spirit of the holidays the current crop
of Republican candidates could be forgiven for trying
out various stump speeches on their audiences. But not
according to Egyptians I spoke with at both Cairo main
Squares now that the campaign for US president is up
and running.
The near unanimous opinions I heard included the
insistence that the messages of US candidates for
President as they tour Iowa and New Hampshire need to
be rejected by American voters for the good of the
USA.
One student told me, "They are reaching new lows—and
that is truly low--in American political discourse."
Before I could explain that I found Egyptian politics
these days much more interesting than American
politics, one young lady blurted out, "But Michele
Bachman, who rival Ron Paul tells us simply hates
Muslims told one Iowa audience that that she is
qualified to be President because of her grasp of
foreign affairs and that being on the House
Intelligence Committee, "I get the same intelligence
briefings that President Obama does."
Is that true?" She asked. Before I could utter a
syllable, the same female student continued, "Not only
is that not accurate what she claimed about getting
the same intelligence briefings as the US President
but Michele then announced that as President she would
close the American Embassy in Tehran, apparently
unaware that President Carter did that 32 years ago.
How can these candidate be so ignorant and still run
for our Presidency?"
Then someone asked why Mitt Romney is assuring
audiences in America and presumably Tel Aviv that his
first trip as President will be to go to Israel.
Next I received a quick mini-lecture on the subject
of, "and not to be outdone in groveling to Israel and
ignoring American interests, former history teacher
Newt Gingrich informs the world the Palestinians are
an invented people while Rick Perry sees no difference
between what Israel wants and what's best for America.
How is it possible they can say such things and run
for President?"
Stunned, I am dazzled by how well informed these
students are. In fact, reports just in from Iowa and
New Hampshire (12.24.11) suggest that this wannabe
Republican nominee quartet, among other candidates
this year, believe the issue they have been pushing
may be pure electoral gold: the fear which they
believe American voters have of Islamic Terrorism.
Nervous about losing Israel-lobby cash, given their
inclination to take the Bush and Obama administrations
assault on civil liberties even further than attorney
generals Ashcroft, Gonzales, and now Holder have done,
the right wing Republicans are touring the early
primary states vilifying, by innuendo, Arabs, Muslims
and Islam itself—not to mention Hezbollah, Iran, Syria
and Hamas.
Claiming that "the Democrats do not understand the
full nature and scope of the terrorist war against
us," the quartet tells their two audiences (the one in
front of them and much more importantly, the one at
the AIPAC HQ in Washington, the latter supplying
virtually all the Presidential candidates with reams
of position papers on Hezbollah, Iran, Hamas,
terrorism etc. and busy raising what they claim will
be the most money every distributed in the history of
the United States by the Israel lobby for a
presidential election) that, as candidate Bachman
likes to assure her audiences, "This war of terror
ends when they stop coming here to kill us! Never,
ever again must we be caught with our guard down."
All the current Presidential candidates insist that
American support for Israel with endless special arms
programs and evermore cash and green lighting crimes
against Palestine has nothing to do with the fact that
the US is being driven out of the Middle East and that
the American government has never been held in lower
repute.
Mitt Romney claimed to speak for all the current White
House aspirants when he said Arabs and Muslims have no
hard feelings from the nearly one million deaths the
Bush-Obama administrations have needlessly caused with
their wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and support for
Israel's fifth aggression against Lebanon, while
urging a sixth. At the same time the Obama
administrations violates international law weekly by
impliedly threatening Iran with a nuclear attack in
violation of Article 2 (4) of the UN Charter with its
"all options are on the table! hysteria.
Egyptian students ask: "Do these same candidates
expect American voters not to be concerned about the
projected two trillion dollars of US taxpayer money
wasted -- money that every one of your countries 435
congressional districts needs for education, medical
care, repairs to your deteriorating infrastructure,
and myriad other urgent needs?
Egyptians in Tahriri and Abasssiya Squares have a
better grasp of American politics and many of us have.
The precise authenticity of Barack Obama's quote on
the huge billboards at Cairo International airport is
not sure. But the insights and wisdom of the Egyptians
protecting at both Tahrir and Abbassiya Squares this
season are most impressive and worth heeding as
American go to the polls to vote in the coming months.
Franklin Lamb is doing research in Lebanon and
Libya and is reachable c/ofplamb@gmail.com
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