Anti-amendments video
Filmmaker and dear friend Sherif Sadek (whose video about sexual harrassment in Egypt was circulating in the Egyptian Blogsphere a couple of months ago) made this fantastic video of the NYC anti-amendments protest.
أكثر شيء مذهل في الفيلم هو الثلث الأخير الخاص بالنقاش بين المتظاهرين و السيدة المصرية (إلي لابسة نظارة شمس). أعتقد أن معظمنا سمع على الأقل بعض هذه الآراء من قبل لكن إصرارها على النقاش غريب، وكمان احساسنا إنها تعني ما تقوله بدرجة من الصدق، رغم إعتراضنا على منطقية آرائها. الفيديو بيقدم لقطة داخل عقلية عينة من الناس فعلاً مؤيديين لمبارك و جمال. ده بالإضافة لأطروحة إصلاح النفس والأخلاق أولاً (وأخيراً؟)، و كأن الإصلاح السياسي حيتم بشكل تلقائي بعد ما الناس تصلح أخلاقها (وطبعاً لا يخفي عليكم كم الإبهام المحيط بكلمة مثل الـ”أخلاق”).
شكر خاص لشريف صادق و كل من ساهم في المظاهرة.
Sara Ismailٍ said,
March 29, 2007 at 6:29 am
ما هي هي دي الحجة دايما. قال الناس هي اللي بوظت الدستور لان هي اللي بايظة من جوة و “جعانة”. جتها خيبة
Nora Younis » فيديو مظاهرة نيويورك said,
March 29, 2007 at 6:52 am
[...] شاهد الفيديو هنا [...]
Sherif Shafie said,
March 29, 2007 at 5:04 pm
That woman is typical and a perfect example of the scewed mentality that blames the egg for the chicken!
She blames the people for their ethics!? How about the education system? How about entering the Egyptian Ministry of Justice and being asked full-on for money to get things running? How about cops doing the same? Then she blames the people, how have no choice, for following the system, or never getting things done – or worse – being imprisoned.
Mubarak, yes directly Munarak, taught us to steal, to lie, to decieve, to cheat and to be lazy. HE IS THE PROBLEM. HE IS THE DISEASE. People are the symptom, and they can be set back on track, faster than you can imagine.
What happened to the people she asks?!… it’s the same ones that were classy, cultured, and civilized just forty years ago. So it isn’t the genes gone berserk all of a sudden.
So what’s changed? The economy, education, police, rules, the way things run: i.e The Government = Hosni
As for her comment that Gamal (son a of a mass-murdering thief) at least won’t steal since he’s ‘fed’ (shab3an)…Hmmm, is father hasn’t stopped in thirty years. And he follows in his footsteps. Son of a thief, trained to be one – w/out a shred of a doubt.
It is our money that made him speak English, look half decent. But he is a corrupt, dangerous, violent, greedy creature, just as his father is.
Typical to blame the victims…Israeli style. It must then be the Palesitinian (mekhablim = mokhribeen = destroyers, as Israelis call them) that are the problem. Not massacring them, stealing their homes, futures, livelihoods, that’s just life.
Somebody shoot that woman please.
satantango said,
March 29, 2007 at 6:35 pm
Sherif,
I think she exemplifies a certain class (not necessarily the same socio-economic class) of Egyptians who sincerely think that things are good the way it is, on the political level. For that reason I think it was good that she spoke (and actually spoke courageously in front of all of us).
I agree with you that it is just shocking that at the end she blames Egyptians, and their “bad ethics.” Her rationale is that now that we are living in a moral decline, any president is as good as another. We might as well have one who is “shab3an”.
One thing is that I would have really liked her to explain what she means by moral or ethical decline. I mean big words like corruption and moral decline are so vague. Also, why is it that moral decline is the problem that has priority for her, while political change is secondary (or even unnecessary)?
I do not normally sympathize with words like moral and ethical decline, especially when all what people have in mind is that people lie to each other and other such things. These are personal problems. However, if we start talking about corruption on the institutional level, then things become more interesting.
The government is enshrined in a regime whose very premise is that the security apparatus can always intervene in all institutions behind the scenes in order to further its own ends. It is built on the premise that laws can always be broken, when necessary, or even better, that laws must be enacted such that there is always a loophole to be abused by the government.
Corruption in this sense is an institutional feature. It becomes built-in. That you often have to bribe a bureaucrat or a police officer in order to get things done, or get out of trouble, is not indicative of the moral corruption of those people, but of a general atmosphere in which legality and transparency have ceased to be meaningful for people. That is precisely the problem. The problem is not moral decline; it is not also Mubarak himself, or his son, or even the entire government. It is the very structure of the regime (which is older than the government. Read the excellent article by Sherif Younis on this issue in el Bosla).
http://bosla.org/node/4
Video: NYC Anti-Mubarak protest at 3arabawy said,
March 29, 2007 at 10:35 pm
[...] Here’s another video of the NYC anti-Mubarak’s constitutional amendments protest, recorded by Sherif Sadek… (Thanks Shehab) [...]
Mohamed said,
April 2, 2007 at 2:52 am
It is really strange, was it for freedom or against freedom ?
I did not understand what is the point of attacking MB .
Instead of protesting prosecuting civilians in front of Military Tribunals
you are asking why letting them work ?!!
satantango said,
April 2, 2007 at 3:42 am
Come on Mohamed, Give us the benefit of a doubt!
I think you misunderstood his point. I gather that you are commenting on what Abdel-Aziz said (the guy wearing a coat, a hat and sunglasses). His point was exactly the opposite of what you thought he is saying. (or at least I think so)
He was saying that since the MB is already a de facto political party in Egypt, and since it is the largest political opposition group, it should be ALLOWED to have a political party. That’s way his statement began with “we OBJECT to the 5th article of the constitution,” which by the way does not allow establishing political parties with religious basis.
See the amended constitution here:
http://www.egypt.gov.eg/arabic/laws/constitution/chp_one/part_one.asp
So he is saying precisely that they must be allowed to work in the open, because they are already doing so and they are already somewhat tolerated by the government. In other words they should be given a shot at “legalizing” their status.
Ghanem said,
April 6, 2007 at 6:50 pm
It is a real nice video; these guys did a real great job. I wonder if every Egyptian living outside Egypt demonstrated against the amendments, it will make a significant change in the policy of our corrupted government.
I think this woman with space glasses needs to take off her glasses to see what is happening around her, she is completely blind. Really she is very very funny.
satantango said,
April 6, 2007 at 7:31 pm
Thanks Ghanem.
I don’t know if it is really possible that every Egyptian outside of Egypt will come out to demonstrate. Surely that would be significant. At least then we can attract the media, but I have a feeling that Mubarak’s regime will not be fazed by it. In any case, Egypt’s records of authoritarianism and human rights abuses are all over the media for those who want to see.
What we really need is that every Egyptian living inside Egypt to come out and demonstrate, that people insist on practicing their rights. We need pressure from civil society and various political actors in order to force the regime to be accountable and to give up illegitimate power. But that is a very long way. It won’t happen overnight!