Dubai, overdoing it again

Dubai is well known for its extravagance. Its visitors appreciate the opulent buildings and upscale restaurants. They've done an amazing job in creating a city in the middle of the dessert. It's an oasis of materialism, and capitalism at its finest.

When I went there last year, I wasn't impressed. It was too much in a world where people have too little. Now Dubai has, once again, wowed the world, and proved its ability to waste valuable material. In conjunction with Sedar, a textile company, they have created the biggest flag in the world. They are proud, and their commercials are all over TV.

I am angry.

The flag is about 250 million square meters. Now I don't know much about textile, and I don't know what the import/export market for textile is like. What i do know is that I am in Cairo right now and it is cold. I see homeless people all over the streets that are cold and in need of clothing or at least a blanket. How many blankets could that material make? How many people could it have kept from the cold? How many good uses could it have been put to?

I know that us Arabs have a desire, no a need to put ourselves on the map. Yet, what we have proven time and time again through our history is that our arrogance has oftentimes come in the way of doing what is right.

Creating a flag of that magnitude is nothing to be proud of. Making a difference in a world that is in dire need of social, economic and military assistance is. Putting your name in the Guinness Book of World Records won't get you remembered. It's just a name in a book that most people don't read. Sending blankets to those in need, whoever they may be, will put you in the history books. It will give the United Arab Emirates a name that not will not only be remembered but respected.

April 6

Sunday April 6 was a gloomy day all around. I wore black like I said I would, and went with the full intention of participating in what I felt was a unified voice against corruption. I was happy to see the streets empty. To me it meant people were taking a stance. I got out at Tahrir Square on my way as usual. Yet it was dark, because of the coming sand storm, and it was quiet.

Naturally security forces were everywhere. Dressed in their riot gear, they were prepared to strike at anyone who crossed the line. As I walked by, an obvious protester, I got menacing looks from all of them. I was frightened.

Students in the American University in Cairo pretty much stayed home. A lot of the professors didn’t want to deal with whatever the strike was, and decided not to hold classes that day. Many didn’t want to stand in the way of their students speaking their minds. Yet there was a fear that day that someone was going to get hurt. Of course there’s always the government you have to worry about too.

Some kids didn’t stay home. Some came to school, and protested in their own ways. Students went to Tahrir Square in hopes of making their voices heard, but their voices echoed in the silence around them.

The protest was thwarted by threats of imprisonment from the Egyptian government. People were scared, and the few that weren’t were stopped almost immediately. While I applaud the efforts of the strikers of April 6, this is not the way.

The last thing the Egyptian people need is to loose their young educated minds to the system of corrupt governance. When students from the Universities are arrested for lone acts of emotional outbursts it doesn’t help the cause. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying University students are useless. The South Korean regime was overthrown by University and High School students. I’m saying, if we want to do this, we need to do it right.

The government may have a lot of power, but history has shown that mass numbers makes a difference. Yet millions mean nothing if they can’t mobilize. So when my usually 20-30 minute ride took 8 minutes on Sunday morning I felt hope. Egyptians are starting to agree they can’t take it anymore, and they are agreeing to say something about it.

Tomorrow I Wear Black

A textile company in Egypt has had all they can take from the government. Low wages and higher prices mean that many can not feed their kids. The people in Egypt are finding it harder and harder to live, and they finally can’t take it anymore. These workers called a strike in their factory for tomorrow April 6. Judging by the 50,000 member group on Facebook, people are following suit.

I spoke to the organizer of the group about what they hope to accomplish. Obviously this one strike isn’t going to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Rather, strikers and protestors in Egypt put themselves in a precarious position since they are breaking the law. Her response is that she simply can not sit back and watch what is going on in her country without speaking. She is not calling for a violent protest, nor is she asking that people disrupt their day. Rather, the strike calls for people to do what they can. If you can stay home from work or school without being penalized, do so. If not, then don’t purchase anything tomorrow. If not, wear black.

The protest isn’t going to change anything tomorrow, but it has captured the government’s attention. Security forces will be outside ElMahallah textile factory tomorrow morning in anticipation of the strikes. There have been rumors that downtown Cairo, where the American University in Cairo is, will be closed down with no one able to get in or out of Tahrir Square. AUC is still open and the government offices, also located downtown, are operating on a normal schedule. Political parties such as the Labor Party, the Karma Party, revolutionary socialists, Kefaaya and the Nasserist Socialist Party have joined in the protest, and have given their support to the day. When I called the NDP (National Democratic Party), the ruling party, I couldn’t get anyone to answer the questions.

So tomorrow I will wear black. As people die all around me from unnecessary hunger and preventable disease, I will wear black. I will mourn the young minds lost in a lacking educational system. My fellow Egyptians and I will protest political torture, press imprisonment, police abuse, low wages and rising prices. Tomorrow we will speak out.

Everyone should know

9/11 had Americans asking why people on the other side of the ocean hated them so much. Thus they have taken the initiative to “learn thy enemy.” Yet the American media and literary press leave much to be desired. The United States is a democracy; therefore the press is free and informative. On the other hand, Noam Chomsky in Media Control, The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda, indicates that “an alternative conception of democracy is that the public must be barred from managing of their own affairs and the means of information must be kept narrowly and rigidly controlled. That may sound like an odd conception of democracy, but it’s important to understand that it is the prevailing conception.”

For example, Americans are unaware of the violent impact American Imperialism has had on the entire world, including the Americans themselves. Leuren Moret in her “Depleted Uranium: The Trojan Horse of Nuclear War”, published in The Journal of International Issues July 1, 2004, states:

“The use of depleted uranium weaponry by the United States, defying all international treaties, will slowly annihilate all species on earth including the human species, and yet this country continues to do so with full knowledge of its destructive potential.”

Moret has been banned from speaking at particular events such a The Physicians for Global Survival. Her story is on of the top censored stories in the United States by Project Censored. So it’s not surprising most Americans don’t know that the amount of depleted uranium released in the atmosphere is the equivalent of 40,000 Hiroshima bombs, with the effect lasting approximately 4.5 billion years, and no way to reverse or stop the spresd. As Dr Rosalie Bertell, an international radiation expert and one of 46 authors of the European Parliament by the European Committee on Radiation Risk (ECRR) states in Moret's article:

“The concept of species annihilation means a relatively swift, deliberately induced end to history, culture, science, biological reproduction and memory. It is the ultimate human rejection of the gift of life, an act which requires a new word to describe it: omnicide.”

Moret declared the ’91 Gulf War as on of “the most toxic and environmentally devastating wars in world history.” Between the destruction of the desert ecosystem by attacks against oil wells and tankers and the dispersal of 340 tons of depleted uranium weapons, a serious problem was created.

“Smoke from the oil fires was later found in deposits in South America, the Himalayas and Hawaii. Large annual dust storms originating in North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia will quickly spread the radioactive contamination around the world, and weathering of old depleted uranium munitions on battlefields and other areas will provide new sources of radioactive contamination in future years,” reported Moret.

The ailments as a result of DU range from headaches, to homicidal tendencies, alimentary disorders, cancers, reproductive issues, skin eruptions, deafness, dyspraxia, paralysis, blindness, birth defects such as malformed legs, arms, toes and fingers, just to name a few. With a list this long, and effects this lasting its no wonder a lot of people on this side of the world really don’t like America.

Smile

Zamalek is not your typical spot in Egypt. There is Diwan (the Borders of Egypt), Drinkies (the ABC of Egypt), random joggers, and lots of trees. A lot of khawaga (non-Egyptians) walk around with their shorts and backpacks. On the outside it could be mistaken for pretty Americanized city.

When I get a couple hours break from school, I go there. A friend of mine showed me a quiet spot right on the Nile. You can go have lunch and a smoke before having to head back to class. It’s relaxing being away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

As is typical in Egypt, we were approached by beggars. They were children, but didn’t have that hardened look of Egyptian street kids. They asked for change and we said we had none. They were persistent, and stayed for a little, still begging. At one point I thought to myself, “I wish they would go away.” I really had no change and guilt was beginning to settle in. Finally my friend yelled at one of them. As the kid walked away away he turned around and snorted at my friend.

My friend chased after him, and left me with the other boy. I looked down and asked, in Arabic, what his name was. I figured if a smile is charity, then a good conversation must be worth something.

Their names are Abdel-Rahman and Seeka. They live in Agouza, a province not too far from Zamalek. They come to this bridge every day looking for whatever change they can find. At the end of the day they go home to their parents to divide up their earnings. Abdel-Rahman’s father is blind, and his mother works selling bread for a living. Seeka’s father died in prison and his mother works cleaning carpets, houses, and anything else you can imagine.

I know street kids aren’t a new thing in Egypt. Hell, Seeka and Abdel-Rahman have each other and at least one parent. I went back though a couple of weeks later, and I was really happy to see them. I think the most enthralling is these children are smiling. I keep hearing that in Egypt life is difficult and the woe is me stories. Even I’ve lost hope in the Egypt I once imagined. Life is hard here. It is for these kids. They're smiling.

Mind, Body, Soul....War

In the United States the feeling of Jew vs. Arab is voiced but not seen. Arab-Americans are concerned for the well-fair of their people, and they worry about the Palestinians. Demonstrations against government actions, and attempts by non-profits to show dissatisfaction with US foreign policy are commonplace. However, since it is America, and Israel gets the largest amount of international aid, there isn’t much said about human relationships. The concentration is political.

In Egypt it’s a different story. There are people alive today that were directly effected by the ’56,’67, and ‘73 wars against Israel. Families were in mourning over those lost in battle, and a country felt defeated even when they won. So, Anti-Semitism runs rampant. Yet the ties between Egypt and Israel have not been severed. Not by a long shot. Nadia Kamel, in her documentary Salata Baladi (Country Salad) shows just how strong this tie can be.

Kamel’s mother, Naila, is the daughter of a Christian mother and Jewish father. Naila converted to Islam after marrying a Muslim Egyptian, and has lived in Egypt ever since. So what kind of trouble could a little old grandmother create? Well when she decides she wants to visit her family in Israel, shit is bound to hit the fan. Both the Jewish and Muslim communities have been in uproar about the documentary. Both sides reject the idea that actual humans live across the border. As a result this award winning film is being attacked from all angles.

I wasn’t sure what I would think when I was told about the film. I like to think of myself as a humanitarian. I love everyone and don’t want to see anyone hurt. If you have family in Israel or anywhere else for that matter, you should go visit them. That is what Islam teaches me, that is what I want to believe. It was difficult though. Naila’s in-laws, when they learned she was to take the journey, showed sadness, confusion, and said “something died inside.” Although my reaction was not as intense, I felt the same way.

Naila takes the journey, and visits her family in Tel Aviv. Her cousin is happy and excited to see her. Tears of joy and shouts of enthusiasm fill the senses. Both women are excited to see the family they had given up hope on. Yet if you take a look around, at the rest of the Jewish family, animosity can be seen clearly in their faces. At one point, a woman in the background looked like she wanted to slam the camera into the camera-man’s face. It was then that I had an epiphany, kind of.

I hate the Israeli state just as much as any Arab and Muslim. For whatever reasons, some my own and some shared by the rest of the community, I do not want them there. Yet the film showed that bitterness against the state needs to be put aside for the moments when people come together. If we hate Jews and Jews hate us, there will be no peace. My religion tells me that we will never be in alliance. I believe it. My religion also tells me to treat everyone with respect, regardless of whether they are your enemies or not. This is what I, and my Arab and Muslim brethren, need to do.

Salata Baladi opened my eyes to my own prejudices. I’m not over them, but now I know they are there.

Al-Qaeda

Al-Qaeda, within the Muslim world, is a confusing organization. On the one hand they are fighting for Muslim rights. They are calling for Jihad. Most importantly they are doing it in the name of Allah. It just seems wrong to stand against them.

Yet their strength of membership comes from “marginalized youth.” People who have had difficulties assimilating with Western surroundings while trying to retain their culture and heritage. So Al-Qaeda feels right for the best and the brightest, and loneliest?

It would make sense that those joining Al-Qaeda are the ones that are attempting to gain a spirit of belonging with a group. They have no place in this world, so why not something extraordinary to make sure the next one is better? Look at Columbine, and they didn’t even think they were going to heaven! They just needed to feel like they were part of SOMETHING.

Al-Qaeda, and other like organizations, offers something that our own governments could not offer, a sense of security. No matter what happens within the next few years if you do what they say, and fight the way they tell you, you go to heaven.

Perhaps it is now time that we take our security into our own hands. The government is obviously more concerned with other things, like its own security. So we need to take matters into our own hands. Wright advocates for change, for a Great Generation. Yet he warns against Egypt’s biggest enemy.

“Get rid of the cynicism,” he says.

The Muslim world will only be able to combat terrorism, imperialism, and all the other –isms that are thrown at them when they decide its time for a change, and that they will make that change. It’s the old paradox of the little train that could. “I think I can, I think I can”, and he did.

I think we can, I think we will, I just want everyone else to think the same way.