Presidential Elections

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Al Sisi, candidates, Christians, circus, euphoria, excitement, fourth generation war, Hamdeen Sabahy, jokes, Morsi, security, songs, Voting

Tomorrow is the first of two days set for voting in our upcoming Presidential elections. The two people running this year are, the famous General Al Sisi, and the third runner up in the previous Presidential elections, Mr. Hamdeen Sabahi. Each of the candidates has had enough opportunities to show their strong points and to try to persuade the voting public to choose them. Yesterday and today are the two days of complete silence from both parties, to give the public enough quiet time to finally make up their minds.
I shall not talk about the pros and cons of each candidate, but will talk about what I see is happening in Egypt now. We are at the zenith of the war waged against us. The fourth generation war. The war where brother is set against brother. The war where Egyptians are recruited to kill Egyptians. The war where the Egyptian media through some who have been either persuaded or bought, work on planting the seeds of doubt and contention among the public.
Despite the fact that there are attempts at making trouble between Christians and Moslems through some very naive posters that were plastered on the cathedral’s walls, and although there are very strong attempts at splintering the vote, at persuading, especially the youth, to abstain; although there are huge amounts of money exchanging hands to ensure the success of these plans, yet, strangely enough, the general feeling in town, and seemingly all over the country, is one of euphoria. It has been a very long time since the Egyptian public has felt happy. These days people on the street are grinning from ear to ear. Music is blaring everywhere, especially the new, fast-beat song called, appropriately, “Good Omen”! The current running joke is that all women must start a crash diet to lose enough weight to enable them keep up with this much faster beat than that of the previous song “Teslam el Ayady” which meant “bless the hands” (of the army). Another joke is that queues for women will be divided into two, those over 35 dancing to Teslam el Ayady, and those under, dancing to Boshret Kheir (Good Omen). With a P.S. At the end that they should not forget to vote too!!
This feeling of happiness, of optimism, has nothing to do with the actual state of the country. Things could not have been worse, economically and even security wise. The continuous threat by the MB and actual assassination of police and army personnel, as well as the random threats of bombs and a few that actually go off, make for a rather insecure feeling, a threat to life and limb. The economy is at a very low ebb and unemployment is on the rise. The whole aspect is bleak. And yet, individuals that make up the whole, are inexplicably cheerful. The only explanation lies in the soaring hope aroused in the people by Al Sisi. The more the man talks, the more popular he becomes. A highly intelligent man, he is strongly tuned to the mood of the people. Very empathetic, cleverly demonstrative, he gives the people what they need. He gives, in turn, reassurance, protection, strength, tenderness, piety, common sense and pride. He strives, through his own behavior to set a precedent of good manners, integrity and respect. So many elements that have been missing in our public figures for so long. Also the last year of the MB rule was one where we hit rock bottom where all the above were concerned. Not only were flagrant lies the norm, but the very essence of integrity was inconceivable. Principles were a thing of the past and good behavior was laughed at. These were very dark days indeed, they left their imprint on the Egyptian psyche and caused a great deal of depression, both individual and collective. The very fact that we are now rid of these people from the government of Egypt, despite the fact that they still exist in the form of terrorists, this fact has lightened people’s depression. More importantly, that the people are about to go, vote in, the man whom they deemed saved them from the dark ages, is infusing excitement and happiness all over.
If these elections are anything like the referendum on the constitution which took place mid January, then I expect to find a circus. I am assigned to the same school where I cast my ballot last time. It is in a rather poor area but full of people and those adorable little Tok-Tok three-wheeled cars used in lieu of public transportation. So I expect again a cacophony of sound, a rainbow of colors and a roller coaster of movement and traffic. I shall try to go early to finish early so as not to have to stand in a queue in the sun and the heat.
Tomorrow we will probably be inundated by people holding up their fingers which have been immersed into the phosphoric indelible ink, denoting having cast your ballot, now a sign of proud patriotism. Then starting the day after, if voting is not prolonged one more day, the excitement of the exit polls, the counting, and finally, though not officially, an assessment of who won and by how large a margin. We shall not get the official results in till, I think June 5, giving enough time for any complaints to be investigated and reviewed. But a few hours after the end of voting we would be able yo have a pretty good idea how things went.
I am looking forward to casting my ballot tomorrow, and hope that my candidate wins.
25 May 2014

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Frustration

Tags

Committee of Fifty, Constitution, economy, frustration, Government, June 30, MB, Morsi, poverty line, security, the Army, vision

This seems to be the bane of our times. The Government is frustrated, the Committee of Fifty for the Constitution is frustrated, and the people in general are frustrated. This is the result of each wanting something that cannot be done except through compromise, and compromise is a very dangerous game to play when you are trying to establish a new country, after a revolution that was supposed to fulfill the dreams of the majority. How far to compromise, and what is up for compromise and what is non-negotiable, these are the matters causing all the frustration.
The Government :
The pressures under which the Government is operating are tremendous, not only internal pressure but external pressure as well. The internal pressure is in trying to accommodate the needs of the population. The first factor being a sense of security and safety on the streets. Running a close second is the economy and the millions below the poverty line who are barely subsisting now. A very close third is the lack of an all encompassing vision that appeals to the general imagination and which could be a unifying factor.
The first of the three frustrating factors is the safety and security of the country which are compromised by an enemy within and one without. We have the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and their supporters within, and then we have Hamas and their Mujahedeen without. These are the physical threats to our safety and security. However, there are even bigger threats in the form of pressure by the United States and the European Union. The way public opinion has been mobilized against what is taking place in Egypt is very, very frustrating, especially when facts are twisted and given a totally fictitious spin to suit the point of view of the writer or the Administration. Those first few weeks after the revolution of June 30, 2013 were extremely frustrating. We are the ones living here. We are the ones who went through the hell of Morsi’s rule. We should know how we all felt – that Egypt no longer belonged to us, that it was kidnapped by a terrorist cult that was systematically and ruthlessly dismantling all foundations of the nation and demolishing all social and cultural icons. Our only hope was the one entity that had not been affected yet, and which was armed, to enable it face the terrorists imported from Gaza. That entity is the army headed by General Abdel Fattah El Sisy.
The second factor, the economy, is a very complicated and difficult problem to solve. More than 40% of the population is under the poverty line. Not only can they not earn a decent living, they don’t even have the services supposed to be rendered to them for survival. This has caused unprecedented anger, desperation and frustration to the people; but just as much frustration to the Government in trying to help these people who are nearly half the population. Lack of monetary resources, and even the cadre of managers needed, is what is frustrating the Government in trying to alleviate such poverty and deprivation. Loans are not the answer, work is. But again, this is a vicious circle. To start a project that would generate jobs needs financing, and this is lacking. There are a few rays of hope where financing is concerned, but nothing earthshaking or fundamentally helpful.
The third factor contributing to all the frustration is the lack of a coherent, universal dream which should be interpreted into a concrete goal with measurable achievements. Although whenever aspirations are discussed, there is no lack of demands, yet none of those to-date have been very clearly set out in a practical, doable fashion that would catch the general imagination and get the public all behind it. The lack of such a concrete goal gives the impression that this government is indecisive and scared to take any radical decisions. This might not be quite fair considering that it is an interim Government, but there are so many decisions that have to be taken and taken immediately, for survival, that hesitancy at this crucial juncture amounts to failure in the eyes of the people.
The Committee of Fifty :
The second entity that is frustrated and causing a great deal of frustration to the people in general, is the Committee of Fifty which is undertaking the amendment of the highly unpopular constitution written by the MB Committee in 2012. The Committee is being frustrated into its efforts to write a good Constitution by the Nour Party, a Salafi party that had been an ally to the MB during the previous year, but who were, as well as everybody else, betrayed by the MB when they came in power. The Nour Party has taken up the mantle of the Defender of the Faith and that they, and they alone are the ones who know the righteous path to religion proper and how it should be applied. They are even more restrictive and exclusive than the MB. Salafi means someone who is a throwback to the ancestors. To them life should be modeled on that which was practiced 1400 years ago. Thus the short white galabeya for men, growth of untrimmed beards, and the application of all penalties as they deem were applied then, like dismemberment of limbs and stoning. The women should go back into the home and be used only as vessels for procreation and for the pleasure of men. They should not be seen or heard and could be easily given corporal punishment by the dominant male of the household at his whim. This party, with these ideas, wants to impose their views as part of the constitution. This is causing the members of the Committee of Fifty a great deal of frustration in trying to persuade them to agree to a compromise that would be acceptable to the majority of the people, and which they could live with. The compromise is to put all controversial items in a chapter considered as articles of transition. This means that these are temporary till the country settles down and starts on the road of recovery. This, of course, means postponing the problem not solving it, which might be a right decision for the time being when feelings are so intense that reaching an acceptable compromise might be impossible. Although we have just had a resignation of one member of this Committee because of an attempted compromise with the Nour a Party, yet the actual approval of this alleged compromise has not taken place, nor the actual acceptance of the resignation has happened. So tension is very high, but so are the stakes.
On the positive side, discussions of the progress being made in the amendment of the Constitution are taking place everywhere by the people amongst themselves, on Facebook, in the media, and even in the evening gatherings in the little villages in the countryside. This was never the case before. People were never so aware of the importance of actually being involved in the setting up of the constitution that will rule our lives for the foreseeable future. Acknowledgement and thanks have to go to a few media people who have taken it upon themselves to clearly educate the masses by presenting problems in understandable details and bringing in experts to give alternate solutions.
The People :00
The frustrations people are feeling is mainly for lack of perceived progress. Security and safety on the streets are not back one hundred percent, although they definitely are better. But this is a case where even a small percentage of insecurity is still unacceptable. Prices of basic goods and commodities are still on the rise, but at least a decision to put into effect minimum wage for civil servants has been taken, to be implemented January 2014. This gives a ray of hope. Another ray is the investments by the Emirates in development enterprises in Egypt, not loans anymore, but actual development which means employment and a slight movement in the stagnant economy. Tourism is tenuous but beginning to come back, especially to the Red Sea. These are all indicators of optimism, but are not enough for people who are starving for drastic measure to improve their lot in life. The reason behind this frustration is that hopes were so high after the 2011 revolution, that consequent delays in achieving such hopeful goals for two years of the most difficult rule, first apparently by SCAF, but actually by the MB, and then by the MB in full force, have left the people disillusioned and frustrated.
Frustration is still the predominant feeling among the people, as well as a fast disappearing patience and tolerance of any hesitation or delay on the part of those in authority. It is a still fluid, and rather volatile situation where the MB are concerned, especially with Morsi’s trial coming up in less than a week. The number of violent acts, especially against the police and the army personnel is escalating. Not a day goes by without the assassination of three or four soldiers in either drive by shootings or through explosives. If these are not terrorist acts, I would like to know what is.
Frustration is still the name of the game.