Upon arrival in Sydney it seemed like a good idea to go for a drink with Zoe, the charming young lady with whom I’d been chatting on the plane. But as a result I missed the last shuttle to the International Terminal and had to leg it to the train station… The load I was carrying helped clarify that Contingency Number 1 was under way… Albeit no fault of Egypt’s, this sweat was all self inflicted.

By the time I reached International check-in I heard “final boarding call for Etihad flight 455 to Abu Dhabi, would the last passenger please get his tardy arse to Gate 61 Asap” it was there I began to wonder if I’m late…

At the Etihad counter, as I started to ask a question, the three anxious check-in staff asked me “are you Mr Avedissian?” I nodded dumbly as they quickly ushered me to run to the gate immediately. Doh! I realised I was really late. But as I ran the lengthy corridors I suddenly remembered I hadn’t cashed up yet, with no ATM nearby, I had to race off in the complete opposite direction to find one, urged on by continued final boarding calls which by now, to me, sounded like Daleks!!!

By the time I got to my seat in the plane, sweat was trickling down my face and I quietly berated myself for once again not arriving in a timely fashion. I guess I’m still a ‘last-minute-specialist’ as my mate Falkiner used to call me. As the plane quickly taxied off it suddenly dawned on me, I hadn’t cancelled my mobile phone account nor changed the message to one that stated I’d be o.s. for the next several months. Ever tried to make a quick call to Telstra? Let alone one while taxiing down the runway when all phones should be off? Massive fail.

To be honest I wasn’t much looking forward to 25 hours of air travel so was happy to discover Etihad’s service was excellent, possibly the best airline I’ve flown. Great food, that Lamb Biryani dinner was goood, movies galore to watch and the seat seemed for once to have ergonomics that make sense.

Before I knew it I was in Abu Dhabi going through customs where I had to empty my computer bag which had laptop, office and a host of other electronic gear and stuff, but it was my rack of harmonicas which caught the suspicion of the stern looking customs agent to whom I had to play an impromtu blues riff to show it was an instrument of music not war. Didn’t get the vibe he dug the blues…

Having hand-held the camera since leaving the Gold Coast, it wasn’t until Cairo Customs that it was scrutinised for the first time with interest. Two officers came over to inspect and discussed between themselves as they peered into my bags full of portable drives, microphones & stuff, poking through my gear like shoppers at a garage sale.

Customs officers inspect my camera

“Professional?” one of them asked of my camera.

“Nah not fully” I replied.

“What you do for work?” he asked.

“I run a website” I said.

“You can’t have that here” he said of the camera, “put it in bag” which he commandeered as he spoke.

“What’s this” he asked as he presented me my toilet kit.

“Toothbrush, soap” I replied as I unzipped it …. He seemed disappointed by its insignificance.

”Here you can’t have camera” he said finally, “put in bag”. I thought oh shit, here we go, they’re gonna confiscate it. But once I stowed it in the bag he and his colleague turned their backs to me, continuing the conversation they were having before I got there. I realised he meant I couldn’t have the camera in my hand, it had to be in the bag.

Without further ado I made a bee line for the exit doors which were flanked on each side by crowds of people, some holding signs with names on them and others scouting for customers to offer their wares and services to… I readied myself to meet Egyptian culture for the first time and strode forth…

Previous episode:

1. From Tweed Heads to Egypt

I have set up an e-petition urging the British Government to recognize the Genocide inflicted upon the Kurdish population by the former regime of Saddam Hussein.

If we get 100,000 signatures than they will debate this cause in the British Parliament, thus please sign and pass on your petition.

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/25526

I would like to thank you all for the support and for being a friend to Kurdistan.

Laween Atroshi

- Half of the period of Kareem
Whenever I think of the length of my sentence (2 years), I remember that Kareem Amer was imprisoned for 4 years and he was ignored more than me million times… I was sentenced with half of the period which he spent, despite I was exceeding the limits a million times more than him… The universe isn’t fair! 2011/12/16

- The ones who kept silent
What did injustice to me wasn’t the military… What did injustice to me were the ones who kept silent on the societal racism against me for the past years and the ones who kept silent on the military’s continued violations against me. 2011/12/16

- Public debate
Military officers are capturing (making themselves as lions) and everyday the come in newspapers and TVs to say lies about me, they know that I’m imprisoned, I won’t be able to respond to their lies… If the military officers (and the leaders of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces) had the courage, I invite them to a live debate on air in any subject he chooses… What’s up then? 2011/12/16

- Maltreatment
There are many prisoners who treat me very badly… Many times I feel that there are many Egyptians who don’t deserve the sacrifices which were made for them. Many of the Egyptians don’t deserve anyone but Mubarak, Tantawi and Abboud El-Zomor… No angel is going to come by elections in a society of devils! 2011/12/16

- El-Ganzouri and the Chinese experience
All of El-Ganzouri’s interest is in economy and security, he has no relation with politics or political reform… This is the same line for the National Democratic Party which was repeating the Chinese experience which was built upon the economic reform while continuing in political tyranny! 2011/12/20

- Prison is
Prison under the rule of the militarist regime of July is a place where criminals restrict the freedom of the nobles! 2011/12/21

- Post in prison
I get so happy with the letters which reach me in prison, this elevates my morale so much… I don’t feel strange of the letters which reach me from Europe, America and Canada, but I didn’t expect that I would receive letters from countries such as Bahrain and South Korea. A few letters reach me from Israel, I feel delighted by them, despite that I am sad of their scarcity… Freedom must come. 2011/12/22

- The accused is convicted till proven innocent
The military keeps on stating in the media that the sentence issued against me was because I couldn’t deny the charges against me. Maximum impertinence! What are the principally?! Is the accused innocent till proven guilty, or is he convicted till proven innocent? Principally, the human is innocent and a sentence is issued against him if a proof was found proving his conviction, and if the proof was missing he should be acquitted even if he had actually committed a crime. But the philosophy of distributing the charges to the people without a proof and demanding them to find a proof of their innocence, it’s a legal futility which doesn’t exist in any respectable country. 2011/12/22

- I forgot the keyboard
I feel that because of the length of my confinement, I forgot the places of the letters on the keyboard… Damn. 2011/12/23

- The civilian judiciary isn’t less corrupt
My experience in dealing with the civilian judiciary says that the civilian judiciary isn’t less corrupt that police, military judiciary, State Security courts or any other corrupt establishment… The civilian judiciary was the one to imprison Saad El-Din Ibrahim, Kareem Amer and Ayman Mansour, also it was the one to imprison Ayman Noor and forfeiting of his political rights and refused to re-try him again after the revolution. The civilian judiciary is the one to confine Alaa Abdel Fattah right now, and it was the one to aid Mubarak and later Tantawi to manipulate the results of elections… Even in my presence inside prison, the public prosecution is colluding with the ministry of interior and is helping them to escape punishment of their crimes… A total revolution is needed to purge the judicature. 2011/12/23

- I need a lawyer
It’s unbelievable that I’ve been imprisoned for 9 months and I asked for a lawyer to visit me in prison and no lawyer practiced this mission came to visit me… I think that it’s my right for the revolutionary lawyers that they come to visit me and help me to take legal steps against the violations which are committed against me inside prison. 2011/12/23

- Against the judiciary supervision on elections
For all of my life I’ve been against the judiciary supervision over elections, this was the reason that I didn’t sign the statement for Baradei before the revolution… I knew that the Egyptian judiciary is Islamized and would give the country to Islamists. The Egyptian judiciary is racist, against women, it was clear from its refusal to appoint women in judicial positions. The Egyptian judiciary is racist against non-Muslims, it was the reason in the disgusting rulings against atheists, Bahais and sometimes Christians… In the respectable countries, there is a national council for elections, representing all factions of the society, and there is an essential role for the civil society, we should do that if we loved to be a respectable country and to have fair elections. 2011/12/23

- Defenders and opponents
I feel it’s strange of the people who defend me without having been read my articles. How come you defend someone without knowing what did he say? I also feel it’s strange of the people who attack me and swear-word me without having been read for me anything. How come you attack me and criticize me without knowing what did I say? Isn’t it possible that when you read for me you would be convinced with I say? All the issue reminds me of all the ones who defended or attacked Sayyed El Qemni, Nasr Hamed Abu Zeid and Farag Foda, without even reading anything of their writings… A nations that doesn’t read is a disgusting nation. 2011/12/23

- The girl whom they stripped
It pained me so much to see the picture of the girl who was stripped by Tantawi army during the breaking of the sit-in of the cabinet… I tell her that nudity isn’t a sin, the body isn’t a shame, many girls around the world recuperate on beaches with bikinis without any problem… But, the shame, the scandal and the disgrace have to be attributed to the soldiers who take their salaries from our taxes to protect us, but instead they betray the trust and direct their weapons to their citizens and rape the nobles… All the shame and disgrace on the Egyptian military and all who is in it while keeping silent on what happened. 2011/12/24

- The military elongated its period of conflict with me
I was supposed to travel to Europe in the last June, and I would have started a master, then a doctorate, I would have been out at least 5 years outside Egypt… But, the military’s stupidity confined me and made me free to write against it, it confined many people against the military and is contributing in taking-off its legitimacy gradually… The one who takes the decision inside the military holds a doctorate with an excellent rating in folly. 2011/12/25

- My hunger strike and Nahhas Pasha
I just knew that Mustafa El-Nahhas Pasha died in 23 August… It was the same day I started my hunger strike… I’m happy with this coincidence, because Nahhas is almost the only political personality that I respect in the contemporary history of Egypt… A rose on your grave, the leader of the nation. 2011/12/25

- The dentist
I almost wonder of my bravery in confronting death and my strong frighting of the dentist… How weird are humans! 2011/12/26

- How many members of the Muslim Brotherhood died a martyr in the revolution?
We know that many Christians and Muslims died in the revolution, men and women, old and young people… But, the vital question: how many member of the Muslims Brotherhood was killed! 2011/12/26

The Artellewa Arab Collaboration Project will bring together six artists and writers from countries of the Arab uprisings in Cairo to collaboratively develop a creative project over a ten-week residency, from March 15 – May 31, 2012. Artellewa aims to create a space for reflection during this time of transition; a space for rejuvenation of ideas and progressive thought; a space for dialogue and exchange between artists who have experienced different modes of uprising and resistance. The project aims to strengthen a network that can envision a new Arab World in which cooperation and collaboration across national borders is normalized.

Artellewa Art Space believes in artists and writers as essential agents for change. Artists, when best performing their role as citizens, pose imperative questions about societies and their environments. It is our belief that these questions about change in the Arab World will most successfully be developed within the region itself. As in other sectors of political, social, and economic development, the most effective development is self-determined and sovereign. Thus, Artellewa Art Space has developed the Artellewa Arab Collaboration Project as an open platform for six Arab artists to realize a project of their own design, in collaboration with each other.

About the project

Artellewa Art Space will provide the team with the space, tools, and network to develop a collaborative art project with a popular impact. A group of six Arab artists will utilize the live/work studios and exhibition space at Artellewa Art Space for collaborative work. The project is executed in a ten-week period, during which each artist will record her or his personal reflections on the process on a shared blog. The group will participate in a series of public events sharing their process and project. Finally, the artists will produce an exhibition and publication.

Artellewa chooses to leave the concept of the project open-ended, to encourage an unrestricted collaborative experience between the artists. As the Arab World is facing the future of its states and societies without a clear roadmap, the team of artists will approach their project with a clean slate. The only parameters that Artellewa sets are that the process be well-documented and the final project has contemporary socio-political relevance. The team is provided with materials, the means to produce a publication, and space to install an exhibition at Artellewa . With guidance from a project manager and a mentor, it is up to the artists to decide how to configure these elements within the project.

Four artists will be selected from different Arab countries, as well as two Egyptian artists. Artellewa covers the cost of airfare to Cairo and residency for artists residing outside of Egypt, and a modest stipend during the project for all artists.

This project is made possible with support from the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture and the British Council in Cairo.

Participants: Who are the participants we seek?

Qualifications:

1. Artellewa seeks applications from artists and writers from countries of the Arab uprisings for a ten-week residency in Cairo, from March 15 – May 31, 2012. Artists must be available to reside in Cairo for the entire ten-week period.
2. Artellewa seeks individuals artists who are active in their local culture scene. and who have made meaningful contributions to social and political change in their home countries through artistic practice. Artists may demonstrate significant activity as active participants in local institutions and/or as activists using creative strategies.
3. Artists should demonstrate the ability to communicate and collaborate with other artists or local populations through community projects, artistic collaborations, or membership in artist collectives. The strength of each applicant’s portfolio will also be an important factor.
4. Artists and writers may be working in any medium to qualify.

How to apply

Please send the following materials in one email to artellewa@gmail.com with the subject heading “Arab Collaboration Project”:

1. A letter introducing yourself, indicating how you are active in your local culture scene, and what skills and knowledge you can bring to a collaborative project with socio-political relevance. Please detail any previous experience in artist collectives, collaborations, or community projects.

2. Your CV

3. Portfolio in one of the following formats. Artist’s website; 10-15 images (jpeg) accompanied by an image list; A PDF of a maximum of 15 pages; Maximum of 20 MB of video or sound files accompanied by name and description.

Deadline

February 5, 2012

* Artellewa Space for Contemporary Art is located in Ard El Lewa, an informal residential neighborhood in the northwest of Giza, Egypt. Situated between the two great squatter settlements of Cairo, Boulak El-Dakrour and Imbaba, Ard El Lewa is a labyrinth of crowded dirt roads housing grey concrete buildings.

Hamdy Reda website.

- Vegetarian
I seriously think of becoming vegetarian and stop eating any animal foods, but I feel that I need to read to read more in this subject… The point which I still can’t be convinced with is, vegetarians say that it’s not because we are evolutionarily superior from animals that we eat them, so does that mean that if we are evolutionarily superior to plants that we also won’t eat plants? OK, what are we going to eat if we didn’t eat animals or plants? I’m not happy with killing animals, but what’s the alternative? 2011/12/4

- The kiss and Freud
I dreamed that I was kissing her. I felt anger when I woke up because she is the most female whom I hate on the face of the earth… I remembered what Freud said and I cursed it… How much you are honest, Freud! 2011/12/6

- Threatening Mark
Today, after the session, an army officer told me “why don’t you let your brother sit with us for a week”. They threaten me for the millionth time to arrest him… I don’t know why do I feel that if the army kept on dealing that way, we would enter the ministry of defense on the tanks of 78 while chanting “the people and the UN are one hand”. 2011/12/7

- Khaled Alaa
I knew that Manal Bahey El-Din, the wife of Alaa Abdel Fattah, gave birth yesterday to Khaled, while Alaa was continually confined, the same happened to Alaa’s mother when she gave birth while her husband Ahmed Seif El-Islam was imprisoned… If I had an authority, I wouldn’t have left Alaa, this isn’t a country where the one marries in, this is a country where the one dies or his eyes are pierced 2011/12/7

- Imprisoned in Ganzouri’s era
After Ganzouri made the oath today in the morning, Ganzouri became the second prime minister that I’m imprisoned at his era. I was imprisoned in the era of Sharaf’s first and second ministries, as well as Ganzouri’s ministry. I lived during ministers of interior holding their office, I was imprisoned while “Yehia El-Gamal”, “Ali El-Salmi”, “Hazem El Beblawi” and “Gouda Abdel Khalek” were holding office, none of them objected my imprisonment… The interim period undresses many of the faces. 2011/12/7

- Lisa Simpson
In a show on the radio, talking about which cartoon character people love to be real… They reminded me of my big love story: Lisa Simpson… Waaa! 2011/12/7

- America and the conflict in the Middle East
I don’t antagonize America nor that I suffer of paranoia nor that I’m a conspiracy theorist, but there are facts that are important for us to know… It is in the interest of America that the Iranian regime continues to exist, in order for the gulf to have a security threat, therefore the gulf countries would keep being in an alignment with America, therefore America would secure petroleum sources for itself, along with that it benefits of arms sales to the gulf countries, so that they empower their armies against Iran… It is also in the interest of America that the conflict between Egypt and Israel continues, in order for Israel to keep being its ally, and the Egyptian regime to be its agent, and so that all the sides of the conflict keep buying arms from America. Notice that all the sides of the Arab-Israeli conflict buy American arms (Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey), only Syria is left which would start to buy the American arms after the collapse of Assad regime…
Churchill didn’t lie when he said that “politics is a dirty game”. 2011/12/8

- A march of million against conscription
I dream of the day when a march of millions goes out to Tahrir square against the system of conscription… Can this happen? 2011/12/9

- Over-expectation
I’m very happy with all the letters which people send me in prison, they encourage me to get rid of frustration and depression that surround me here in prison… But, I think that people (or many people) see me as a legendary hero, and they exaggerate in their expectations from me. That reminds me of a story which Tawfik El-Hakim wrote about a reader who loved him very much, but when that reader met Tawfik El-Hakim, he figured out that he’s a normal person, not as the exaggerated image he painted in his mind, and he became very sad… I don’t want to lose people when they exaggerate in their expectations of me, then find me just a normal human who decided one day to make what’s correct. 2011/12/12

- Would that black day come?
Very usually, I see a nightmare these days, I see it while awake, not asleep… I fear that what happened in January 1953 and September 1981 be repeater… I fear the day that at its dawn, military police vehicles park under homes of all activists, and arrest them all with their night clothes, and Egypt wakes up seeing the revolutionaries in prison and militarists stuck on their chairs… Many sources confirmed to me that the plan is ready from a long time, and the list of activists is ready, only the instructions remain! 2011/12/13

- I was the one to choose
Today, the officer (who is said to be a military judge) sentenced me with 2 years imprisonment… I wasn’t sad, I was the one to choose that… I was the one to choose that when I published my article “the Army and the People were Never One Hand”, at that time I wrote on my profile on Facebook, “I feel that by publishing this article as if I am publishing my death certificate, but I didn’t do that I would be Maikel Nabil”`I was the one to choose when I refused to apologize, before that when I refused the office positions which were offered to me when they wanted to recruit me… I was the one to choose when I refused to emigrate and didn’t accept political asylum… I was the one to choose when I refused the military service, I wrote, “I refuse the military service and I Bear the Consequences”… Mr officer, I was the one to choose, not you. 2011/12/14

- They are punishing me for my refusal to recruitment
The date for my release in the new sentence (2013/2/25)… What’s tragic, yet comic, is that if I had entered the army, I would have got out in (2013/1/25), in other words they force me to spend my military service in prison instead of the army… But that doesn’t sadden me, I would have been recruited in the army of shame which opresses the revolution. The prisoner is now more honorable than the army officer. 2011/12/14

- A letter from a youth who lost his eye
Of the most letters to touch me inside prison, a letter from someone called “Mostafa Ramadan”, telling that he lost is left eye at the massacre of Mohamed Mahmoud, and he is encouraging me to face prison… I felt that I’m small. In the end I lost 2 years of my life and will be free again, but the one who loses part of his body will continue without it for the rest of his life… Damn the militarists who left us as prisoners and wounded. 2011/12/15

- My thoughts are more important than my personality
It’s beautiful that there are many people who started to speak out about me after long months of silence and ignoring, and it’s beautiful that many people care to know more about me… But, I think that people should care for my thoughts more than my personality, because in the end I’m confined because of my thoughts, not because of my thoughts. My thoughts are what I sacrifice for. 2011/12/15

- Ahmed Spider
Wael Ghonim sued (or made a complaint) against Ahmed Spider, then spider guy said in the interrogation of the prosecution “that Washington had taken Wael Ghonim, Esraa Abdel Fattah and Maikel Nabil as agent to implement its plan inside Egypt”… Honestly, I became confused. For a long time they convince me that I’m an Israeli agent, now they change their words and say an American agent. Don’t confuse me with you, OK! Infiltration isn’t shaking shoulders 2011/12/15

- Two types of migration
The alignment between the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis in the next parliament will make two types of migration in Egypt… The first is migration od Christians to Europe and America… The second is migration of Muslims from Islam, or more accurately they would disbelieve from what they are going to see by the hands of Islamists, and we will witness at the era of the Muslim Brotherhood the biggest wave of atheism in the history of Egypt. 2011/12/15

Related links
* Statement: I Would Not Serve in the Egyptian Army and I Bear the Consequences (21 October 2010)

At a press conference last week, SCAF’s Mukhtar Al-Mullah issued a number of statements that revealed the hidden intentions of the military to kill the nascent democracy in Egypt. When towards the end of the conference he was asked about me, he refrained from answering. And when asked about Alaa Abdel-Fattah, he tried to justify the detainment of Alaa, and then concluded by a very telling sentence, “Maikel Nabil and Alaa Abdel Fattah are Egyptian citizens, and we are very keen to protect all Egyptians, but we’re talking here about one citizen out of 85 million”.  Al-Mullah did not say who that “One Citizen”  was, Alaa or myself but what difference would that make?

-     The Military in their stupidity think that One Citizen is without value and easily marginalized… Their minds do not comprehend the fact that One Citizen put an end to Mubarak’s regime, one citizen: Khaled Said.

-     The first thing that came to my mind when I read Al-Mullah’s words was a quote by John Stuart Mill: “If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind”…  This is precisely the difference between fascism and freedom. Fascists claim that there’s no harm in sacrificing One Citizen for the good of the community, and it was under this banner that people in Germany, in the Soviet Union, in fascist Italy, Nasserist Egypt, Baathist Syria and Maoist China, in Cuba and Milosevic’s Serbia, lost their freedom to tyrants who massacred whole communities while claiming each time that it’s just One Citizen, sacrificed for the community.

      In my lectures on liberalism I always said “that if the individual was at odds with society, as liberals we should take the side of the individual against society.”  Protecting the individual (the One Citizen) means protecting the values ​​of individualism and individual liberties. Those who claim they can build a society made up of oppressed members are deceiving themselves, for if the individual is the building block of society, how do you construct a building out of stones that are crushed and broken?!

–     Neo-fascists forget that all great deeds in history were done by “One Citizen”.  It was One Citizen named Galileo who maintained that the earth was round, while all the inhabitants of the planet denied it. One Citizen named “Muhammad”  who brought Islam to humanity; the message was not revealed to 85 million people, but to One Citizen… Throughout history, human creativity has always been individual creativity: Plato, Aristotle, Newton, Nietzsche, Darwin, Edison – great deeds were always carried out by individuals who stood out, even while the rest of society did not go far beyond their natural instincts… The sacrifice of one individual for the good of the community is the argument put forward by tyrants to enable them to persecute thinkers, philosophers, scientists and all others who offered their services and their creativity to humanity.

-     I am not addressing myself to the military, for they are advancing toward their end like the enchanted, ignoring all indications of their fate. I am addressing myself to society, a society that was taught to accept the violation of One Citizen’s rights for the greater good of the community, as if the power that oppresses one will be able to later respect the rights of the community. This society that has accepted the displacement of the Nubian community in the name of national interest, that has accepted the expulsion of Egyptian Jews, the confiscation of their property, the revoking of their nationality, in the name of the interests of the majority. The same society that has sequestered homosexual rights, that has limited the individual freedoms of individuals under the guise of maintaining the family system and the interests of the greater society. It is time for the 85 Million to understand that their freedom is tied to the freedom of that One Citizen, that all freedom is lost once they allow the wolf to choose the first victim from amongst the herd, that they cannot regain the freedom of society unless every One Citizen is free.

Immediate freedom for Alaa Abdel-Fattah, for myself, for Ayman Mansour, for Amr Al-Beheiry, for each and every One Citizen in Egypt. Not because that would be the moral thing to do, but because you will never be free as long as the “One Citizen”  remains captive.

Maikel Nabil Sanad
El-Marg general prison – prison hospital
2011/12/15

SCAF leader Mohammed Tantawi has apparently been looking to Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad for tips on how to suppress peaceful protesters rather than look to Mubarak for a reminder about where he will one day end up. As the violence in Tahrir gets worse, it is highly likely that the on-going elections will no longer satisfy the majority of Egyptians as sufficient progress towards freedom and democracy.

What is clear is that SCAF is a roadblock, not a facilitator, to that freedom, and that all support to SCAF must end so that Egypt’s path forward may be cleared. As a Syrian, I recognize that our own revolution will be severly compromised if our Egyptian brothers and sisters aren’t able to lend us their support as a truly democratic country. As an American, I recognize the crucial role the US plays in supporting SCAF and suppressing true democratic reform in Egypt. All Syrians must recognize the negative role the US plays, and all Americans, especially those in the Occupy Wall Street movement, must make the end of US aid to Egypt a top priority. Not only is the US’s corrupt foreign policy funneling badly needed funds out of the US, but it is also subsidizing the worse brutality and oppression on behalf of the Egyptian military.

Crowdvoice has collected some of the latest videos, pictures, and articles from the latest uprisings in Tahrir. Now more than ever it is important to shed light on the crimes of the Egyptian military, and to spread awareness of the dedication and courage of the Egyptian protesters.

Yesterday’s parliamentary elections in Egypt is a case in point. Certainly, there was a sense of hope written on the faces of Egyptians who voted, as perhaps a first step in reclaiming their country. But who did they vote for? Undoubtedly, the Muslim Brotherhood will garner a strong position in the new government. But does that necessarily mean an end to democracy even before it starts?

It came as a surprise to some to find out that in recent months, the Muslim Brotherhood has advocated strongly on behalf of foreign investment in Egypt, and on behalf of job creation. Even though there are fears in the air that women’s rights are in danger, and that a return to religious fundamentalism is in the offing, still, the Brotherhood, at least for now, doesn’t seem to dwell on such things, but focuses its rhetoric on jobs. Is this just a ploy to win elections, or is it the real deal?

There is no doubt that ordinary people on the streets of Cairo, and throughout the region, yearn for many of the same things that are sought after the world over, like freedom, dignity and economic security. It would seem to make sense, therefore, that these causes should be at the heart of any successful political campaign, even campaigns conducted by those with leanings toward religious fundamentalism. In other words, to the extent that the people on the street are deeply committed to such things as freedom, democracy and jobs, then to that extent, any political party, regardless of its ideological inclinations, will have no choice but to speak about, and deliver on, the causes which are most important to the people, in order to win elections, and most importantly, to win hearts and minds.

That, at least, is the hope for the revolution that some call the Arab Awakening.

Of course, there are no guarantees, especially when you’re talking about political revolutions. In fact, most times things go badly, before getting any better. But there are things, three things in particular, that may help to move a revolution in the right direction, in a direction that is in line with the aspirations of the people.

The first thing that can help bring success to a revolution is to embrace a vision, a vision of hope, that calls for change which is positive, realistic and attainable. For example, if it is freedom and jobs you want, then advocate on behalf of these, because they are within the realm of possibility. And in fact, personal freedom and job creation go hand in hand. Any regime which strives for economic growth and job creation in this globalized world of ours, will  have no choice but to allow some measure of freedom, as a way of instilling a sense of trust among prospective investors. These freedoms may be limited somewhat, as in the case of China, but greater openness is indispensable to economic growth.

The second factor that helps to bring success to a revolution is to bring life to a vision of hope using the right tactics, and this involves a strategy of non-violence. You don’t want to demonize certain individuals, or certain groups, because this will cause such groups to retreat into their own corners, in preparation for civil war. You want to be inclusive of all people, and advocate on behalf of a vision which is welcoming to all, and which inspires everyone to come together in common purpose. And you want your voice to be heard throughout the land, while shying away from violence, even in the face of violent attacks by the opposition, which for the most part has been the case in places like Egypt and Tunisia. Syria is another matter, but the violence there by the government is so overwhelming, that some violent resistance is inevitable.

The third, and perhaps paramount aspect of a successful revolution is to pick leaders in the mold of visionaries like Gandhi, King and Mandela, who inspired their people, and who used non-violence to give substance to the aspirations of the people. They were not motivated by revenge. Gandhi could have turned the people against the British, but he didn’t. King had reason to turn against his country, but he didn’t. And Mandela could have launched a campaign to turn against the whites, and confiscate their property, but he didn’t. Instead, these leaders chose a different path: to advocate on behalf a vision of hope, to give substance to their vision using non-violent means, to be all-inclusive in their approach, and to deliver on promises made so as to give hope for a better future.

The Arab Awakening is at a crossroads. We can become entrenched ideologically, and consolidate political power by demonizing one another. Or we can choose instead to embrace a vision of hope, and deliver on that promise with real change, change that capture hearts and minds, and that gives life to the aspirations of the people. The choice is ours and everything we love and hold dear hangs in the balance.

Please visit us at www.sellingavisionofhope.org

These are things you can help us with and that we wish that everyone does it in order to achieve our goals.

1- Personal publicity
Tell the ones you know and you friends about the ide… Try to convince them with it. Try to introduce them to us and introduce us to them… We need to reach everyone in Egypt.

2- Electronic publicity
Tell your friends and the ones you know about the website or the groups of the movement… Advertise continuously for our website and our articles on your blog, your group or your page… Encourage people to visit our website and to interact with the articles published in it.

3- The book
Help us that the book reaches each house in Egypt… Discuss the ideas of the book with the people around you.

4- Political and media support
If you have relations with journalists, politicians or parliamentarians, you may convince them to be concerned with our movement… Or at least give them a copy of the book and link us to them.

I hope that we all do all of these things in order to be able to achieve our goal and abolish conscription.

Map for conscription in the world:-

Green: No armed forces
Blue: No enforced conscription
Orange: Plan to abolish conscription in the near future
Red: Conscription (notice that European countries which have conscription don’t mistreat recruits and acknowledge conscientious objection to refuse recruitment)

Primarily we want a law having the following specifications
1- A law which doesn’t discriminate between the boy and the girl, the Christians and the Muslim, the physician and the peasant, between the one who has brothers and the one who doesn’t, between the one whose father is older than 60 years old and the one whose father is younger than 60 years old… We want a law treating all of us without the method of divide and conquer… A law which applies on everyone without discrimination.
2- We refuse any authority for militarists over civilians.
3- We refuse all the forms of forcing, subjugation and forced labor… We totally refuse that the state forces the citizens on anything they don’t want.
4- We refuse forfeiting of the right to travel and the political rights for citizens (who did commit any crime) under any excuse, even if it were conscription.

That’s why we want
1- Amending the constitution, making recruitment voluntary (optional).
2- Replacing the current law of the military service with a new law, which would abolish all types of general service and the recruitment becomes voluntary for both genders, also the recruit receives a fair salary appropriate for the riskiness and the importance of the military service.
3- Abolishing the law banning publishing any news about the armed forces, allowing citizens and recruits to carry mobile phones and camera inside militarist area.
4- Amending the law of the military provisions, and to tightening the punishment on any officer insulting or assaulting recruits.
5- Won’t the military establishment (with all its branches) any relation with travel permits and that no one be prevented from traveling except the guilty ones who are decided by the general prosecution to be prevented from traveling.
6- Amending the law of proceeding the political rights. All the articles related to military service are removed, so that there won’t be any relation between the military service and proceeding the political rights, the previous banning for the right to candidacy be dropped for the Egyptians who didn’t do the military service and to also allow military and police officers to vote in public elections.
7- Amending the laws of military provisions, so that it absolutely prevents militarily trying civilians before military courts and that no one is tried before the military judicature except the military officer who is graduated of military colleges and the voluntarily recruited (in the states of war only)… Additionally, developing the military judicature, in order to have means of appeal and resumption as well as all the means to guarantee the fairness and integrity of the military judicature.

Related links:
* No to Compulsory Military Recruitment – an overview – (page)
* Series of “No To Compulsory Recruitment” articles – Part 1: Conscription System and it’s Legal Framework
* Series of “No To Compulsory Recruitment” articles – Part 2: Why are we Against Conscription?
*

Map for conscription in the world:-

Green: No armed forces
Blue: No enforced conscription
Orange: Plan to abolish conscription in the near future
Red: Conscription (notice that European countries which have conscription don’t mistreat recruits and acknowledge conscientious objection to refuse recruitment)