Why I stopped believing SCAF

This is a translation of the Arabic version of this blog entry in support of May 23, NO-SCAF day:

   This is the first time for me to write a blog entry in Arabic and the only reason is that I truly want my words to reach as many of my Egyptian brothers and sisters as possible.Today I am writing to tell you the truth about SCAF, which rules us now.

Let me start by admitting that I was one of the millions of Egyptians who, for a while, believed in this idea of "El Geysh wel Sha3b Ed Wa7da," or the Army & the people are one. Why, you might ask?

Because I was raised in a household that had the utmost respect for the Egyptian armed forces. My father is a former army general and he would always tell us great stories about the army's victories during wartime.And so, I had absolutely no doubt that the army's first and foremost role was to serve and protect the people.

But, bit by bit, I slowly started to come out of this coma. I believe it all started on the night of February 26 when the army attacked protesters, beating them up, electrifying them with Tasers and insulting them.

That night I was so shocked; I couldn't for a minute believe that our dear army would do this. And then SCAF came out with a statement denying their involvement and I felt so relieved. I convinced myself that the attackers were pro-Mubarak thugs who dressed up as army officials so as to break the trust between the people and the army.

But the same tragedy repeated itself on March 9. Only this time, the humiliation of protesters was far worse. In fact, many of us have watched the YouTube video of singer & activist Ramy Essam, where he explains and shows us evidence of the brutality of the members of our beloved armed forces.

Things went downhill fast after that and army brutality and humiliation became a normal part of life in Egypt. Everything from virginity tests on females to offensive insults & name-calling, to military trials of civilians and even the shooting of civilians with live ammunition, as we all witnessed during last week's protests outside the Israeli embassy.

And this is nothing compared to what is happening in the political arena. First, we find our respectable SCAF leaders appearing on various Egyptian television networks, promising the people that all corrupt officials, including Mubarak and his family, will face fair trials. The next thing we know is these same corrupt officials are being released one after the other!

Isn't it enough that several of Mubarak's corrupt officials still hold government posts today? And then of course, there's the governors appointed by SCAF all across Egypt; indeed something we should all be so proud of!

What else? Oh, I almost forgot to mention our dear Salafi brothers, who miraculously appeared out of no where to instill religious strife across the country. One time they cut off a Christian man's ear, and then another time they want to invade a church to save princess Camilia, followed by the burning of yet another church to rescue madame Abeer! All of these attacks take place as the police and army stand idle, watching! Why dear SCAF do you exercise brutality & military trials with some people and not with others who really deserve it?

I'm sure I could sit here till tomorrow morning listing other accounts and examples of SCAF's wrongdoings. But I'm sure that those who were in Tahrir on Jan25 and others who truly love Egypt know what I am talking about here.

I'm truly heartbroken SCAF, because you are slowly stealing away our pride and dignity that Jan25 finally restored after years of humiliation, oppression and terror.

And I would love to ask SCAF members and all of those who blindly defend SCAF, who is benefiting from all of these events? Who is benefiting from the chaos and lack of security all over Egypt? Who is benefiting from the lack of seriousness in the trials of Mubarak and his corrupt officials? And, who is benefiting from the humiliation and degrading of the Jan25 youth who restored our pride and allowed us, for the first time, to feel that an Egyptian person's blood is worth something?

Unfortunately I have no more confidence in SCAF. I no longer believe their empty promises and I have completely erased from my mind this joke that the army & the people are one! The people's path has been clear all throughout Jan25; they chose to bring down the corrupt regime. But the army's path has been mysterious and dark. Seriously, I fear that if I walk the army's path, I will find myself under the rule of a new Mubarak, or worse, Mubarak himself!