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{ LINK: Egypt is burning and most western pundits have no idea why | Mondoweiss }

androphilia:

By Parvez Sharma

January 28, 2011

Cairo is burning. So is Egypt. Twitter is exploding. Everyone seems to have an opinion—many who do have never even been to Egypt but feel a strong sense of solidarity with the most remarkable revolution in a generation, perhaps. A revolution which importantly is not really caused by Twitter or by Facebook—as much as the self congratulatory social networking types in the West would like to believe.  

Full disclosure: Sleepless but still sitting in relative comfort in my Manhattan apartment I am one of those relentless tweeters. However my obsession stems from a long love and association with Egypt and the presence of way too many friends who have jumped into the chaos not really knowing what consequences their actions might have for themselves or their friends and families. 

I must also be clear. At this point, on this the longest Egyptian night in a generation, perhaps longer—most Western self professed Islam/Middle East and other assorted pundits have no clue about the harsh reality of Egyptian life. Many have probably never taken a walk down Mashriet Nasser, the largest slum in Cairo. This is why the do not realize that this “revolution” is not about social networking and its success. The majority of the 80 million people of Egypt live in abject poverty. They do not even have cell-phones let alone smartphones like the iPhone or the Droid. They go to kiosks to make calls. A pretty substantial number of them have NEVER used the internet and do not have email accounts: the complicated mechanisms of self-promotion and information gathering and sharing on social networks is not a part of their lives—they have never had the money or the resources to get access to this other world which often lives in the relatively more affluent neighborhoods like Zamalek or Garden City or Mohandaseen—all within some walking distance of where the dissent started in Tahrir Square. 

The majority of the protesters in Cairo, in Suez, in Alexandria, in Luxor, in Mahla, in Manoura and all over this ancient land which is the very heart of what it means to be Arab—are not “twittering” or “facebooking” or “emailing”  or even watching the landmark live coverage that Al-Jazeera is providing. They are out on the streets—and yes, without phone access—risking their lives and giving vent to three decades and perhaps more, of anger. 

They are fighting for very basic human rights. They are fighting for affordable food. They are fighting for dignity. They are fighting for accountability. They are fighting to somehow improve the non-existent financial opportunities in their lives. 

They are not interested in Mohamed AlBaradei’s Nobel prize or his rather recent and opportunist political ambitions. Most of them have not really seen him and have no idea of what he has been up to for the last three decades as they have suffered. They are angry that he decided to show up just last night and started posturing immediately as the potential savior and the best person to lead them into their uncertain future. Many here in the West would be surprised to know that a lot of these simple folk would actually prefer the “Muslim Brotherhood” taking over. Atleast they recognize the “Islam Light” the Brotherhood has honed to perfection after a pretty radical and conservative beginning with an idealogue like Banna. 

My friend Fouad Hani though has had access to all of the above including a very nice smartphone. That has not deterred him from stepping out every night and after about six hours of trying I get him on the phone. 

As always here are his primary bullet points unfiltered in his voice from a brief phone conversation (and yes, he has been dodging very real bullets today) 

• My beloved city is on fire. My country is on fire. But each one of us on the streets is also on fire
• I am exhausted. Mobinil is down. So is Vodaphone. I have no idea what is happening beyond what I have seen myself. Facebook and Twitter seem like a joke right now
• I live in Mohandaseen and decided not to go the big Mostafa Mahmood mosque near my house, because I know that “they” would be there.I went to pray at a smaller mosque. It was beautiful to pray. I had tears
• But as soon as we stepped out they pelted us with tear gas and with tear gas canisters. We threw them back. But my hand got burnt
• They tried to separate all of us as we walked towards Tahrir square
• Police were throwing rocks at us
• There are bruises and bumps all over my body
• I saw two bodies on the ground in Tahrir. Like an animal I just kept on walking past them
• We threw Molotov cocktails at the police
• Is there a curfew Parvez? Really? I had no idea—it certainly did not look like a curfew when I was just walking home
• Has Obama said anything? I don’t expect much from him anyway, this Mubarak is his “puppy”
• Mubarak should go and share a room with that asshole Ben Ali in his Jiddah hotel! We were chanting that in Tahrir.
• This is a joke. Btw can Obama find a working fucking phone in this country? I guess Mubarak’s phone is working rt?
• Pray for us.
 

Fouad is one of the smartest young Egyptians I know. He has a ready wit. And I have always had a crush on him. He doesn’t know. Maybe he will after this? (if he can get online again).

As has happened with every one of my phone conversations with my friends in Cairo, I get disconnected. Silence again.

One more friend, for me to pray for.

Mubarak meanwhile stays in hiding somewhere possibly in his presidential palace in Heliopolis. The army is rolling through Egypt’s battered and smoky streets. Al Jazeera continues to televise this “revolution” like no other network has ever done before. Perhaps the pro-Israel lobbies in the US will start to respect this amazing network and allow it to broadcast freely in this nation?

Last night I said—Will it be the scent of Jasmine or the smell of blood in Egypt today?

I now have my answer. We all do.

(via genderbitch)

{ LINK: Vivir Latino: Tear Gas, Rocks, Rubber Bullets. Egypt? No, in the U.S. }

As we have been writing about, in Puerto Rico protests continue against rising fees in the university system but there are also protests against the violence being used against students and journalist attempting to do their jobs and cover the struggle.

Yesterday about 30 students were arrested during acts of civil disobedience carried out by the colonial Capitol Building. Originally students sought to present a plan whereby the Govt would allocate $50M from a surplus fund, eliminating the need for the $800 fees that sparked this latest round of protests. Riot police said they were forced to use tear gas because some of the hundreds of students that were protesting were throwing rocks.

(Source: onetinycorner, via atapestryofdisasters-deactivate)

{ LINK: Cairo: 32 dead and at least 1,030 injured after day of protests }

Thousands of protesters defied a curfew and stormed government buildings in another day of bloody rioting in Cairo yesterday.

Police and the military clashed with rioters as President Hosni Mubarak sent the army on to the streets and demonstrators burned government buildings, including his party’s headquarters.

They also targeted the foreign ministry and Egypt’s state television HQ.

The death toll rose to 32 with at least 1,030 injured in Cairo alone as security forces and protesters fought running battles across the country.

Last night President Mubarak appeared on TV for the first time since the protests erupted. The embattled leader announced he was asking his Cabinet to resign in an attempt to calm the violence.

But he defended the security forces’ brutal crackdown on protesters and insisted he was committed to reform, showing no signs of stepping down after 30 years in power.

“I have asked the government to present its resignation today.” Mubarak said.

As the violence raged, America’s former president Bill Clinton urged the country’s leaders to adopt reforms and allow peaceful protests.

Security officials admitted that there were protests in at least 11 of the country’s 28 provinces.

President Mubarak sent tanks on to the streets and announced a 6pm to 7am curfew to support riot police as the fourth day of demonstrations spread.

Water cannons, rubber bullets and tear gas were fired into crowds after the government banned access to the internet and restricted text messaging, which was being used to organise protests. Internet monitoring firm Renesys said the total shutdown of the web in Egypt was “unprecedented in internet history”.

It said: “The Egyptian government’s actions tonight have essentially wiped their country from the global map.”

(Read more)

(via notforallthewealthofcaesar-deac)

{ LINK: Yet Another Kiri Bloggish Thing: We don’t ask for much, just broadcast what is happening }

soupsoup:

To all the people of world

The people in Egypt are under governmental siege. Mubarak regime is banning Facebook, Twitter, and all other popular internet sites Now, the internet are completely blocked in Egypt. Tomorrow the government will block the 3 mobile phone network will be…

reblog. reblog. reblog. reblog. reblog.  circulate as much as possible.

(via blackamazon)

{ LINK: Don't Forget the Sudanese Start Protest Movement (NYTimes) }

(Source: carpe-cerevisi, via juthikaforpresident-deactivated)

{ LINK: Sudan: Demonstrators detained in Khartoum }

fyeahafrica:

At least 15 protesters have been detained overnight in Sudan’s capital, activists say, as demonstrations over high prices spread to other towns.

More than 100 people have so far been taken into custody since protests began on Sunday, rights group Africa Centre for Justice and Peace Studies says.

Police deny that one student was killed in a demonstration earlier in the week.

Correspondents say the protests tend to be organised on the internet, inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt.

‘Trap’

On Tuesday, dozens of protesters gathered in Jackson Square, one of the main bus depots in Khartoum, when security forces moved in to detain people in the crowd.

Human rights activists say as many as 30 people may have been arrested.

They believe it could have been a trap by the security services, accusing them of placing messages on Facebook calling for the demonstration.

[Read more at the link]

(Source: )