More and more Egyptians, including some really close friends and relatives, are turning against protesters in Tahrir Square. I hear complaints such as, "what else do they want?" or "Why are they not giving Shafik a chance?"
Well, if you are Egyptian and you can read and conduct online research, then you can easily find the answers to these questions. I'm not going to waste any time or effort in explaining why we can't accept Ahmad Shafik as prime minister; a prime minister that was imposed on us by Mubarak!!
But I do want to say to every single Egyptian who has turned his or her back on the Tahrir protesters this:
- You should be grateful and thankful to every single man or woman in Tahrir because we wouldn't be where we are today without them.
- While many Egyptians initially opposed or ridiculed Jan25, these determined protesters never gave up on us or on Egypt.
- Don't forget the hundreds that lost their lives for the rest of us to enjoy freedom.
- Take one look at Egyptian television and you will realize that the battle is still on!
What we accomplished on Jan25 was not simple, but it wasn't everything either.
We managed to cut off the head of corruption. Now we need to work on the rest of that body, starting with the current government and working our way to the lower ranking corrupts that occupy every single government office in the country!
So please, next time you want to complain about the Tahrir protesters, remember these words. And, if you don't want to join them in Tahrir, that's fine, but stop ridiculing them and stop complaining!!!!
Hi Nahed,
ReplyDeleteA Really interesting article and I will be more than happy to join your blog. But, don't you think we should address people in Egypt in Arabic. Your English is so sofisticated and I think your call is addressing those simple people who are day after day beeing affected by rumors and ex regime supporters. So please consider translating your blog to Arabic too. thx.
Dear Sideromania,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post and I really appreciate your advice. Two main reasons why I don't write in Arabic:
1) I am directly speaking to these Egyptians who in fact do understand English. I try not to stereotype, but I do feel that it is more of the privileged members of society than the masses who are increasingly becoming anti-revolutionary. It could be because their interests and businesses or just day-to-day activities are being disrupted or put on hold because of the revolution. So I hope that my voice can reach these people. I feel that the average Egyptian on the street still needs this revolution more than the privileged groups who have nothing major to lose either way.
2) As horrible and embarrassing as this may sound, I feel it's easier for me to express myself and write stronger opinions in English than in Arabic. I could write this same piece in Arabic but it will definitely include grammatical errors that I fear would be more of an interruption and an annoyance to readers and would take away from what I'm trying to say.
But I do promise to find a way to translate my entries. Hopefully, I can find an online mechanism to help with that. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thanks again!
Nahed