4 Years For Kareem, What Now?
When I woke up this morning I grabbed my lap top and signed in to Gmail and my instant messenger when I was immediately inundated with links to articles about the Kareem verdict from friends, family and fellow bloggers followed by words of concern for my personal safety. The word was out, Kareem was found guilty, sentenced to a total of 4 years and destined for abuse by prison staff and fellow prisoners.
Concern for my well being, though appreciated, is somewhat misplaced. I have the luxury of criticizing the Egyptian Government from the Safety of the U.S. In fact I recall telling a friend, “whats the worst that could happen to me, are they going to arrest me as I re-enter Egypt through customs?” Which I suppose isnt inconceivable but besides my true identity being a complete mystery to most, the likelihood of Egyptian customs catching some one passing through is more unlikely than Gamal Abdel Nasser coming back from the dead. As a matter of fact Gamal Abdel Nasser could miraculously open his eyes, crawl out of his stone tomb, walk through customs and slap the officer on the forehead with his flaccid wiener without being recognized.
(By the way- I have walked through customs in Cairo Airport numerous times and seen the exact same guy sitting in the exact same booth for many years. If you’ve been to Egypt more than once I guarantee you know who I’m talking about. He is chubby with yellow skin, glasses, a light brown or reddish mustache, glasses, a bald head, a zabeeba on his forehead and a very grumpy facial expression….I might have just described half of the Egyptian population, male or female)
Those really at risk are bloggers using their real names and writing in Arabic, most notably Wael Abbas. Wael has been the victim of harassment and threats on numerous occasions and others who write in Arabic have had their blogs closed, apparently no one in the Egyptian Government reads English.
How ironic that those who write in English have brought the most attention to problems in Egypt. If not for Egyptian bloggers in Egypt and abroad writing in English, the main stream media may not have ever known about Kareem or the sexual harrasment in the streets during ramadan celebrations or Egyptian police torture. Maybe this guilty verdict for Kareem might succeed in dissolving the invisible wall between the Egyptian Government and Egyptian blogs written in English.
In the meantime the support for Kareem show no signs of slowing down, FreeKareem.org is still up and running, more protests will be carried out (maybe in Chicago) and Esra’a is still working hard to make Kareems story a worldwide cause. Hopefully she wont have to assemble another protest for more persecuted bloggers.
Personally I look forward to the possibility of being a wanted man, call me crazy! Maybe you’ll see these hanging around on light posts and telephone poles.
Cross posted Whisper of Madness
Join the Conversation
Unfortunately, Egypt that was once the glory of the Middle East has sunk beyond rescue. It really is a saddening thing to see that a country with so much potential, so much heritage, such long records of struggle against suppression just give in to the prevailing dictatorship. One might have welcomed such autocracy if it is for the better of the Egyptian nation, but on the contrary and as always, tyranny leads to nowhere but a dead end.
A few days back, the Kuwaiti parliament and nation witnessed an exceptional event in which the health minister, who was a member of the ‘unapproachable’ royal family, was being grilled by 3 MPs for violations and deteriorations in his ministry. I was there, and so was Egypt’s prominent Speaker of People’s Assembly the truly unapproachable Ahmed Fathi Soroor who observed the occurrence with extreme interest and overwhelm. Why wouldn’t he? After all, such civilized constructive interrogations of ministers never take place in his country!! Seriously, it’s a shame….
I too would like to be a politically pursued individual because it only indicates that your arguments have fell upon a concerned undead ear, and that you somehow managed to create a difference. That, I applaud Karim and his fellow supporters for doing, despite that I contradict with some of his opinions. However, does that slight difference that Karim and others manage to stir worth all the punishment and torture that he will face in a country like Egypt where human rights have narrowed down to mere slogans by activists, people’s delusions, and meaningless baseless promises made by leaderships?
Theoretically, I’m sure it does, but when we take the current passive conditions in Egypt, am not so sure. Activists in most part of the world face troubles and obstacles, but in Egypt they pay their lives and futures in order to make a change while millions others watch and later forgetting! Is that a good bargain? Are Egyptians worth it? Generally speaking, they do deserve it, but realistically, am not so sure!
I just realised how contradicting my comments were. But these are the thoughts that go on in the mind of every Egyptian. Only few manage to find the answer to these questions and resovle the puzzlement either by taking up the fight or fleeing….while the majority remain lost.
I’m lost