Egypt Today..
I just came back from an overdue visit to Egypt, since my last visit, I missed the funerals of three of my brothers. However, when I heard about my nephew’s wedding, I got my passport and ticket ready. Hussein is the twin of Hassan, who was kidnapped from the square during Rabaa’s disburses crackdown in 2013; he has been in prison ever since, Hassan was 17 years old. Hussein’s father died a year ago; Abdraafea would have loved to see his son out of prison and attend Hussein’s wedding. I have been actively campaigning to release my young nephew Hassan for over 10 years, started the Let My Nephew Go petition, calling congressmen and representatives, human rights organizations, and activists to no avail. So, attending Hussein’s wedding was, in a way, a homage to his imprisoned twin brother and his father’s wish.
I tried getting a 24-hour furlough for Hassan to attend his twin brother’s wedding, but all advised against it, “You will open a can of worm, Ahmed.” Egypt is no country for humanitarian gestures. I left before the election, so I did the early voting thing. Although over 150 million Americans voted for a candidate who supported an apartheid state that committed genocide, I didn’t vote for either one. “avoid any political trouble” was my wife’s only condition for letting me go to Egypt. I tried my best to follow her advice, be anonymous, and avoid political places and conversations, which wasn’t hard, Egypt is in a post-politics era; Egyptians stopped talking about politics altogether. General el-Sisi strengthened the police state and weakened the people, eliminating all political life and institutions. The state thinks they work for el-Sisi, not the people, defending him and enabling his undemocratic policies. The executive, legislative, and judicial branches, Supreme Court, Judges, Media, universities, wealthy businessmen, military, and police work for the general. El-Sisi abandoned the people, and people abandoned him. He is building more prisons than schools, shopping malls than shoppers, more bridges than streets, and a fantasy $60 billion new capital in the middle of nowhere that will bankrupt the country. In Egypt, the wealthy live in gated communities away from slums and the poor. Police on every corner around the squares, armored cars with big “EGYPTIAN POLICE’ signs in English that are too specific, “Egyptian” and why in English, nobody knows, most people ignore them. After arriving in Cairo, I lived not far from Tahrir Square, as a youngster, walking from my home to the square had been one of my old nostalgic things. On the second day of my arrival, I took a stroll in my old neighborhood, I found myself drifting by Tahrir Square, the Square was almost empty, with trash everywhere, resting in potholes and broken sidewalks, dead grass, broken trees, dogs everywhere, gathered in packs in the Square. In Egypt, only dogs have the right to assembly, even climbing the pyramids. The Last time I was at Tahrir, hundreds of thousands of Egyptians occupied the square, it was full of energy, unity, high spirit, optimism, and hope. Now, the Square is dead, a few people scattered, walking aimlessly, a couple sitting on an abandoned bench, and consumed by the harsh life. Beggers sitting on the sidewalk, people selling Napkins matches. Nobody is talking, avoiding conversation with strangers, trying to steal a few private moments alone. The al “Mogamma”; “Civic Center”, a Tahrir Square landmark building, the tower of Babel of Egyptian bureaucracy that has served millions of Egyptians through the years, is now abandoned, dark and empty, with lots of shattered windows and memories. I took my phone to take a video of the tragic Square, where millions of people during Arab Spring chanted Bread, Freedom, and Social Justice, now silence, except for police cars and barking dogs. As I was consumed by the tragic transformation of the Square, a voice came from behind …
-“What are you doing? I wasn’t sure it was for me, so I ignored the undercover police -only undercover police asked this kind of question. I looked at the young man with a gun tucked under his shirt…!
– What are you filming…, he asked
– I’m taking a few pics, It’s a public place!
_ Who are you.. he shouted in a nervous voice
_ I live here, who are you!.. I fired back
_ Let me see your phone, as he tried to grab my hands.
_ Don’t touch me, as I pulled my phone away
_ I need to see your video
_ No you don’t …
Not taken by his bullying,
_ I’m not going to touch your phone, just show me what you filmed, he pleaded.
_ It seems that we both have a lot of time on our hands; I’ll tell you what, you show me your videos, and I’ll show you mine…I sarcastically said
The man smiled, relaxed a bit, and asked me where I was going,
I told him I had been away for years and was coming back for a short visit,
_what are you guys afraid of here… I asked the man in a conversational tone.
He didn’t answer, then asked me if he could be of any help., and walked away to a nearby police car parked on the corner..
My Tahrir Square visit was ruined by then, I spotted a “Hantoor,” a horse Buggy I jumped in it,
_where are you going? The coachman with a Tarboosh (Fez) asked!!
_ I have no idea, just take me out of here, please!
Ahmed Tharwat
Host and Producer of Arab American TV
BelAhdan
WWW.ahmediatv.com
Working on the film documentary
The Coptic Grave
Minnetonka
