Nationalism VS Patriotism

To claim moral superiority or believe that one way of life is superior to another is to pay disservice to the notion of diversity. How can one genuinely respect another’s beliefs if you feel inherently better then they are just because of an accident of birth? It’s one thing to take pride in who you are and what you believe in. It’s another altogether to think that yours is the only way.

This attitude has led to the extermination of whole nations of indigenous peoples throughout the world. Vibrant and living cultures that could have contributed thinkers and ideas were cut off because “they were not like us”. Through literal and cultural genocide our world is being homogenized to a point that will soon reach no return if we are not careful.

Look at Orwell’s definitions of nationalism and patriotism again. Think about the differences. Which do you think would contribute to a better world?

Text copied from here: Nationalism VS Patriotism (read full article)

And I’d like to add here a very well thought out comment someone wrote on the original article. It analyses more in depth the subject:

Mik – Nov 19, 2007 at 10:49 pm

I have been studying various internet authors over the past week on the subject of nationalism vs. patriotism. It seems that most (including this one) have a pretty good grasp of the characteristics of each tendency. Most authors agree that both are a manifestation of pride in one’s country, but that patriotism is benign while nationalism is destructive. We’ve already fleshed out enough examples of each one to know implicitly what we’re talking about, but so far no one has really explained the psychology that underlies nationalism or patriotism and how a person gravitates toward one or the other. I ask you to bear with me while I share some thoughts on this.

If both nationalism and patriotism are based on national pride then we must explain what we mean by that. To this end I suggest that we look at the old-fashioned but very useful distinction between true pride and false pride, otherwise known as hubris. True pride is an understanding of one’s own abilities and limitations and a love of self based on an internal awareness of that person’s intrinsic value and “goodness”. False pride is a manifestation of a person’s lack of self-worth which that person attempts to compensate for by bragging, showing off, needing to compete and be “better than” the next person, putting down or intimidating others, all for the sake of filling the void left by their low self-esteem.

I think you can see where I’m going with this… A person’s self-identity is embedded in their membership in various groups. It starts with the family group, then extends to their neighborhood, their city, and their country. The fact that the person “belongs to” any of these groups becomes part of their self-identity. How that person is taught to feel and interact in their family environment will dictate all future feelings of belongingness in the larger groups. But what happens when the child is neglected or abused or controlled in an authoritarian way is that the child does not develop healthy “true pride” but instead manifests false pride. Not only that, but their membership in each group provides a sense of security to compensate for their internal insecurity. So the person becomes dependent on the group out of fear of feeling insecure to the ultimate extent that their own life becomes meaningless outside of the group. Sound familiar? This is where nationalism can become like a drug that keeps people with low self-esteem feeling happy and secure in the knowledge that their country is “the best” or “the strongest” or at least “better than your country”.

So nationalism is based on false pride while patriotism is an expression of true pride, which starts with the person’s own feelings of self-worth and extends to the groups of which they are a part. A person who has true pride does not need the group to provide him with a feeling of worthiness. In fact, this person can easily take an objective look at the group and criticize its actions at the risk even of being kicked out of the group. The person who can do this while still maintaining a bond with the group is a true patriot. This person also understands the intrinsic value of the other people and groups outside of his own. He does not need to prove his group’s superiority over theirs because his self-esteem is not dependent on the success or failure of the group.

Nationalism is simply the end result of false pride because nations are currently the biggest groups to which one can meaningfully belong. Perhaps in the future we’ll have “Earthists” who discriminate against alien species… But it’s important to understand the psychology here. It implies that it would be very difficult to talk someone out of their nationalist tendencies unless you first address their feelings of worthlessness, insecurity, and self-degradation. I invite you to test this theory in real life and let me know what you think. Thanks.

45 min Quality Time with Stephen Fry & friends on the life, loves and hates of Christopher Hitchens

“We are here to celebrate someone who shown that there is still, in this world, specially amongst the intelligent and curious young, a furios appetite for ideas, for knowledge, for thought and for the questioning of authority, for being a contrarian.”

I <3 the UNHATE campaign from Benetton

‎It’s shocking for someone who’s not used to seeing similar imagery.. or is not open to the idea of some situations depicted here .. but for some other people its simply very passionate.. no matter what the nature of every scene is.. what is very very amusing to me is how people see it “shocking” only because it depicts a couple of homosexual scenes… where the message that video intends is much larger than that. The fact that some people stripping away this message only because they feel that some concepts are wrong religiously or morally and the very fact that a lot of people (esp. here in Egypt) would be uncomfortable with this video is sole proof that we will never ever live in acceptance …

Enjoying sex .. NOT

Young women don’t enjoy sex – independent.co.uk

Just saw this article posted on facebook, and though it is since ’99 I think the main idea is still a contemporary issue and can spark some deep thought; I liked some comments on it which I second:

This might happen because we don’t teach our young people how to have sex… we leave it up to pornography and anecdotes from friends that are usually not true to educate our young people. Its a shame really, good healthy passionate sex is a great indicator of a society’s psychological health, and generally speaking, its seems very low at the moment.

(adjusted a bit):

Some women don’t enjoy sex because society shames us into thinking we need to be virgins until marriage and that masturbation is a sin. And when we do finally get to have sex and society is okay with it, we have no idea what we’re doing, neither does our partner in most cases and a lot of time we need just a bit more foreplay to get the mood right before we can get to enjoy it. And regardless of the genders involved in sex, “man + women” is not the only way to enjoy sex. Open your minds.

What’s your opinion? Don’t have to write it here necessarily, but try to answer.

The trouble with the world …

The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.

- Bertrand Russell #QuoteOfTheDay

Russell determined man to be “the product of causes . . . his origin, his growth, his hopes and fears, his loves and his beliefs, are but the outcome of accidental collocations of atoms, that no fire, no heroism, no intensity of thought and feeling, can preserve an individual life beyond the grave; that all the labors of the ages, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness of human genius are destined to extinction in the vast death of the solar system, that the whole temple of man’s achievement must inevitably be buried beneath the debris of a universe in ruins — all these things, if not quite beyond dispute, are so nearly certain, that no philosophy which rejects them can hope to stand. . . .”

About Bertrand Russell on wikipedia

Protect the children

Dunno what’s up with this kid at the front-line in down-town Cairo where security forces are, does he have parents or not? Do they know he’s there or not? No matter what, this is NOT smth to be proud of!
Adults should discourage this, not glamorize it as I saw in so many comments.

Child labor in Egypt is common, the abuse of children should have been tackled ages ago. This boy is no different to them – denied a childhood, denied education.
Protect children, keep them safe, they are the future.

My interview with Yahoo in Feb ’11: expats’ views on Egypt’s uprising

In February 2011 I spoke on the phone with an editor from Yahoo! to explain my views about the uprising in Egypt at that time, and why am I still in Egypt. They were interested to write an article about expats’ opinions.

Here is what they published:

Lavinia Dieac, 26, Romanian online marketer still living in Egypt

“I went to Egypt for an internship in June 2009, and have been here ever since. I wanted to experience new cultures.

I have had good and bad experiences here. I found it very different to what I was used to. The way people speak, the way they sell stuff, the way they eat and work — everything is so different. I found this all very interesting.

When the uprising started I was very proud that people finally stood up for their rights. The fact that they managed to do this is amazing.

I was already aware of earlier demonstrations. I was very happy when I saw last week that so many stood up and protested.

But I have become very disappointed, because I see people stepping back because they are being fooled by the lies that have been said by the government through the media. I keep my sanity and hope stay because of the people who remain in Tahrir Square.

I have not joined the protests, I have been in the house for most of the week. I stepped out on Wednesday to see a friend before the violence started. Coming back I saw in the distance the violence starting among Mubarak supporters.

I also had a completely different view of Egypt before the troubles started. There are two types of people here: those who are pro-democracy and change – they see the goals clearly, they are ready for change – and then there’s those who are backwards, not for change. These kinds of people will change my existence here.

I am very worried about what the pro-Mubarak people will do once he is gone. I expect they will make it very difficult. Life will be very tough once this is all over.

I am 98% certain that I will not stay if Mubarak remains in power. I am sorry for the Egyptians who have to stay, but there is no way I would. If people accept him staying in power for any time it would be a defeat for them and I would not be able to live or work alongside people who have given up fighting before the end.

If Mubarak stays the situation will just get worse. The Mubarak regime would want to hunt people down who stood against him.

Freedom matters a lot to me. I do not remember much about the time of the communist era in Romania, but my father has told me stories. I do remember the difficulties after the revolution and I remember asking my father what had been achieved, he told me that no matter how much we struggled in the difficult times, ‘we did it as free people’.”

You can read the full article here to see all interviewed expats’ points of view. Btw, the picture next to my name in that article is not mine )

P.S. This is what I also answered to a friend of mine who wanted my opinion on the same matter to be published on his own blog.

Because I understand what freedom is and I value it.

Because Egyptians started something extremely beautiful and surprising 2 weeks ago that made me love Egypt so much more, and made me hope they will have a free country, free of fear and tyranny.
Because I am against dictatorship, and there should be NO WAY back now, and I am greatly disappointed to see that many Egyptians have lost the cause they had 13 days ago and are being influenced wrongfully by the government lies.

So I wish I could create awareness about this. I wish I could show them that Romania was in the same situation with the constitution and with the lack of opposition, but it didn’t even matter, no one went in this mistake of analyzing any damn law, people knew one good thing: down with Ceausescu!
The goal is simple and clear: dictatorship down!

I wish that no one will be blinded by the fake promises. A dictator should not be trusted, no pacts should be made with the devil!
Egypt can make it, but has to be ready for CHANGE. And change is not easy.
I am afraid that those who support Mubarak till September will make the after-dictatorship period even harder than it will be —- but this is another story.

 I went to Tahrir to see the beautiful people that have their goal still clear. And see how they do it. And to show my support. And to get inspired. And to take the pain away that the other group gave me.
I love the people in Tahrir. I respect them greatly. I wish they can make it. They are heroes!! They are making history

What I noticed in Tahrir?
All kind of people wanting their freedom. There were people hurt and wounded. They were very well organized. Several checkpoints to enter the area. Separate for men and ladies. They had stones grouped in several places in case they’ll be attacked again by thugs. They had the garbage collected somewhere. They had many banners against the regime and many funny ones related to the regime’s lies. People eating koshary, making fun that it is KFC.
People singing, dancing, getting married, and praying. Worried people.

People discussing what to do next.

Most of the people in Tahrir are people who lost their siblings, parents or friends in the protest and under Mubarak’s regime. The people in Tahrir are not losers, and people who are against the protests shouldn’t call them that.

People who are pro-democracy have found that Tahrir sq. is the most democratic place in Egypt now. I saw students, famous people and activists everywhere.

Gratitude – hold on to it. Nature, life & beauty are to be appreciated.

It’s interesting (in a sad way) that many people nowadays can’t and/or don’t enjoy the nature around us. Natural things have been replaced by this fake, man-made “entertainment” that took us away from knowing how to value and be grateful for the natural stuff around, for life itself. Something turned people “to the superficial things of life, like fashionable consumption.”

Part of human development? Would we really reach times when no natural stuff would surround us, but only concrete and fake plants? I surely hope not.

2nd Revolution in Egypt

One of the many impressive pictures and videos that came out of these past 4 days of fights between SCAF and protesters.

Just heart breaking …. half naked and with a newspaper in his hand against all those brainwashed soldiers, policemen.

This is humanity, beauty, kindness, peace, love, freedom VS brutes, brainwashed, violent, tyrants, hate, slavery.

The way of live could be free and beautiful … !

Charlie Chaplin says it all …. an impressive speech from the 1940 movie “The Dictator” …… with added modern examples and brilliant comparisons.

A message about freedom, unity, tyrants, liberty, science and progress, love, greed, humanity, beauty, tolerance etc. …. that the whole world should listen to!

This is all we need — NO hate, NO killings

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Discover Romania: a country with a fascinating nature, worth to be known and admired!

A great documentary about Carpathian Mountains (named the LAST HUGE WILD territory of Europe) and about Romania: “Wild Carpathia”.

Amazingly gorgeous nature! More than 500 years old trees, more than 60 different flower species in every square meter, between 100-200 butterfly species still alive due to the lack of spray and much more … fabulous places to come and hide away. Just looking out there from a balcony can be considered a form of meditation.

Romania is truly beautiful …. with its nature, people, traditions and wonderful Transylvania! <3 … Enriches the soul and the heart.

The greed and corruption of the western world, the rise of industry and agriculture plus the economical development are a threat to these forests and natural habitat tho. Man has yet to ruin this pristine and innocent landscape.

Raining frogs

ok, I am sure I’m not crazy remembering little frogs falling down from the sky while raining one early morning in my childhood somewhere in the country side near Iasi!

Such events are caused when a wind storm passes over a pond or lake teaming with frogs, picking them up and dumping them elsewhere!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raining_animals

 

And some of my friends are saying they’ve seen raining locusts and “colored fishes falling down with rain drops… One day there were yellow turtles as well and nobody believed me then”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Terrorism Terminology, Press and Offended Muslims

This message is circulating on facebook and across the Internet:

 If the person who killed 90+ people in Norway was a Muslim, the Press would’ve declared him as terrorist. For now though, he is just an ‘Assailant ‘, ‘Attacker’ (Reuters), ‘Gunman’ (BBC, CNN & Al Jazeera). Looks like ‘Terrorist ‘ is a name reserved for Muslims? The US Dept of State calls it an ‘Act of Violence’, Not an ‘Act of Terrorism’.

My reply to this:

I agree, and also should know the following:

1. There are over 100 definitions of terrorism.
[...] the decision to call someone or label some organization ‘terrorist’ becomes almost unavoidably subjective, depending largely on whether one sympathizes with or opposes the person/group/cause concerned.

If one identifies with the victim of the violence, for example, then the act is terrorism.
If, however, one identifies with the perpetrator, the violent act is regarded in a more sympathetic, if not positive (or, at the worst, an ambivalent) light; and it is not terrorism.”
For this and for political reasons, many news sources (such as Reuters) avoid using this term, opting instead for less accusatory words like “bombers”, “militants”, etc.
This was from http://en.wikipedia.org/wi​ki/Definition_of_terrorism

2. Reuters decided not to brand any of those involved in the atrocities of September 11 as terrorists.

A statement from Reuters attempts to explain:
“Throughout this difficult time we have strictly adhered to our 150-year-old tradition of factual, unbiased reporting and upheld our long-standing policy against the use of emotive terms, including the words ‘terrorist’ or ‘freedom fighter’.
We do not characterise the subjects of news stories but instead report their actions, identity or background. As a global news organisation, the world relies on our journalists to provide accurate accounts of events as they occur, wherever they occur, so that individuals, organisations and governments can make their own decisions based on the facts.”
from http://www.telegraph.co.uk​/finance/comment/citydiary​/2735455/City-Diary.html under “Reuters sticks to the facts”

3. many news agencies had the same reaction towards other events like this even when they were related to Islam or muslims. More about this terminological neutrality/debate, which has been identified more than 35 years ago, here: Hoffman, (2006) pp. 28–30http://books.google.co.nz/​books?id=O6QTfAkk22AC&pg=P​A30&dq=Definitions+of+terr​orism&cd=1#v=onepage&q=Def​initions%20of%20terrorism&​f=false
read the conclusion at page 40.

Finally, IMO this guy should be called a terrorist because through his violent act he seeks publicity for his sick cause. And also Muslim people are taking this way too personally.

BTW, I was reading about the Norway attack in the Romanian press and they were mostly referring to it as an terrorist attack.

History of Media – and its controlling purpose [video]

- the press was most free in mid 19th century.
- advertising came along.
- control people by controlling opinions and attitudes (not possible to be done by violent force anymore).
- turn them into passive obedient consumers; make them pay attention to the superficial things of life, like fashionable consumption, trapped into consumerism, isolated from one another; control their beliefs;
- out of this came huge industries: advertising is one of them, but of course media is affected.
- advertising is to make ppl concerned only about how to max out their 5 credit cards, and not to pay attention to what’s happening out there in the world, and let the rich powerful guys do whatever they want.

Male and female genital mutilation!

Male and female genital mutilation! This is how it should be called, not circumcision!! Because it is MUTILATION! And abuse of human rights of children!

People that circumcise their sons are as wrong as those that circumcise their daughters, and both think doing so is right! 

This documentary is about male circumcision. Put aside all the connections to Judaism made in this documentary because male circumcision is widely performed out of religious reasons too! And anyways, even with religious reasons, what kind of “god” tells you to do such a thing to your own child? To mutilate your own child? This should stop.

Here is a comparison between male and female genital mutilation. Obviously FGM is way more severe when it comes to consequences!! Women go through it at ages when they could still remember about it all their life. Women go through a second mutilation at their first intercourse.

FGM doesn’t have religious reasoning behind, but mainly tribal, traditional ones.

What’s scary for me also is that this is so much deepened in traditions and values of some people that it does not seem wrong at all. Most of them are ok with it and consider it normal, or never question it.

Circumcised guys think it is healthier, and even think girls like it more this way! I say they should’ve been given the choice to perform this surgery on themselves! Girls that have been circumcised don’t know how otherwise they could’ve been; they also think this is just normal. Until they find out how their body was actually normal. And for this case, watch this movie, “Desert Flower”, to understand better. Girls even ask for it, they are convinced this is right, as this blog posts also mentions.

How normal is this for them! And how wrong do we, the rest, know it is!

foarte ingrijorator pt umanitate/ really worrying for humanity and for Romania

Studiu:  “Implicarea civica si politica a tinerilor”:

- scoate in evidenta atat gradul mare de intoleranta al elevilor fata de anumite grupuri sociale, cat si nemultumirea lor fata de modul in care functioneaza democratia in Romania.

- Peste jumatate dintre elevii de clasa a XII-a nu se simt mandri ca sunt romani, 53% considera ca a fi bun cetatean inseamna doar sa respecti legile, iar 39% dintre tineri cred ca un bun cetatean nu se defineste prin implicare sociala sau politica

Citeste despre tot studiul aici, mai ales despre unele dintre cele mai interesante concluzii desprinse.

Ma intreb cum putem aspira la implinire, dezvoltare si creativitate, cum puteam aspira sa traim intr-o lume mai buna, cand elevii gandesc in acest mod (sau mai bine zis, nu gandesc!)?!?!

ENGLISH:

The study “Civic and political involvement of the young” shows that:

- More than half of the 12th grade students do not take pride in being Romanians, 53% of them believe that observing the laws alone makes you a good citizen and 39% of the young believe that a good citizen is not defined through social or political involvement

- students have a high degree of intolerance towards certain social groups, as well as their discontent concerning how democracy works in Romania.

Read about the whole study here, and about the key findings.

My question is how in the world can we aspire for fulfillment, growth, creativity and for building a better world when students think this way (or better said, they don’t think!) !?!?

I’m an Egyptian Woman and I Like Being Sexually Harrassed (via Diary of A DeskGirl in Cairo)

Awesome blog post

I wake up every morning looking forward to getting sexually harassed in Cairo. Because a day gone by without being whistled at like cattle or groped like a melon at a vegetable store is a day unlived in this city. Right? I even dress according to how often I’d like to get harassed that day. Tight white t-shirt? That’s the number one sign that I’m asking for it. Skinny jeans are obviously worn to highlight my butt so men know what to grab (some sh … Read More

via Diary of A DeskGirl in Cairo

“The Vagina Monologues”

“The Vagina Monologues” is a play written by a woman in ’98 after interviewing ~200 women about various aspects all related to the vagina.

It started funny, stating quite interesting facts about women’s attitude towards their sexuality, but got into being kind of sad & negative, a bit too much against men, thought still stating true examples of sexual abuse, but none of healthy, happy situations.

Anyways, fun to watch.

Two quotes from “The Vagina Monologues” I took note of

“Vaginas are beautiful. Our self hatred is only the internalized repression & hatred of the patriarchal culture. It isnt real, pussies unite!”

“Between 20 and 70 K women were being raped in the middle of Europe in 1993, as a systematic tactic of war (Former Republic of Yugoslavia)”

Romanian traditions: the Căluşari dance

Grateful for ….

• …. the freedoms in life that many others do not have.
• … my loving mom, and my family.
• … my very good friends.
• … awesome people I met while living in Egypt, and tweeps especially

Khan Academy – A free world-class education for anyone anywhere.

The remarkable Khan Academy is a carefully structured series of over 2,100 educational videos and 100 self-paced exercises and assessments covering everything from arithmetic to physics, finance, and history.

TED.com – Ideas Worth Spreading

In my opinion, TED.com is the greatest online resource for inspiration while seeking for a deeper understanding of the world.

Our mission: Spreading ideas.

We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we’re building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world’s most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other.

Top Documentary Films

A great online resource for documentary films for those in quest for more knowledge: TopDocumentaryFilms.com. Go to documentary list where all of them are categorized.

Note: It worths reading more about a certain subject presented in a documentary, so to be able to connect to a broader range of notions and ideas.

Critical Thinking (and putting the right questions)

I think it is very important to learn and develop the “art” of putting the right questions in any situation in our lives: from business meetings to studying to simple chats and discussions with friends and family.

Putting the right questions would help us find out more answers, go deeper into a subject so to understand it better and build up on a conversation.

Critical thinking is very much related to this. Here are 2 resources to understand what critical thinking is, why is it important and how to develop it:

1. http://philosophy.hku.hk/think/critical/
2. http://www.criticalthinking.org/aboutCT/define_critical_thinking.cfm

This is my favorite definition from a statement written by Michael Scriven and Richard Paul, National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking, an organization promoting critical thinking in the US.

Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness.

It entails the examination of those structures or elements of thought implicit in all reasoning: purpose, problem, or question-at-issue, assumptions, concepts, empirical grounding; reasoning leading to conclusions, implications and consequences, objections from alternative viewpoints, and frame of reference.

remembering: the Egyptian revolution – the video I shot from my balcony

This is a video I shot from the balcony in down town: protesters and police forces on Bab El Louk, Falaky and Hoda Shaarawi in down-town Cairo: tear-gas, shooting, chanting against Moubarak, people from balconies helping protesters with water, food and face-masks.
Gets interesting at around the 2.30 mark, when you can hear gunshots and police begin to fire tear gas at protesters; and when the voices of protesters are no longer heard.

“Where in the world is Osama Bin Laden”

A documentary worth watching again now, after Osama’s death

“Where in the world is Osama Bin Laden” – a 2008 documentary worth watching again after the announcement of his death and after living in Egypt for all this time.

It is more about learning about ideas and people in Egypt, Morocco, Palestine, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Pakistan than the actual finding of Osama.

It is about travelling in all these countries and finding people that we’re being told to hate all the time, or to be afraid of. It is about visions beyond reality that are created by some people, and that feed themselves after a while, so our fear just becomes exponential. It’s not about finding and changing a man, but about a set of things that are pushing people to follow him and his ideas, and those things are the ones we need to change.

It is also about religion, secular states, extremists and  moderates (even if the majority are moderates, their voice ain’t heard compared to the extremists’ voice), about all of us wanting a peaceful world where we can raise and love our kids, where they can grow up without it blowing up around them.

It is more about answering the question: “What kind of world do we want to live in?”.

remembering: the Egyptian revolution – MUST SEE: Wael Ghonim interview on Dream1 with English subtitles

Another facebook note I wrote on Tuesday, February 8, 2011 at 5:13pm

MUST SEE: Wael Ghonim interview on Dream1 with English subtitles

Part 1 http://bit.ly/eREo7C

Part 2 http://bit.ly/ezAL8x

Part 3 http://bit.ly/fIgeAw

Wael is an activist and also the Mkt Manager for Google in the region. He was arrested by Gov. authorities, and released after 12 days.

His interview last night at an Egyptian independent TV channel is considered to have sparked the revolution fire and bring thousands of people out in the streets all over Cairo again, today.

remembering: the Egyptian revolution – Why am I still in Egypt?

Another note I wrote on facebook at that time: on Saturday, February 5, 2011 at 3:02pm

As I am temporary staying in Egypt, I could leave it really easy now. I was going to leave any ways later on. But, what keeps me here still? The dream of a FREE Egypt. I got to love Egypt even more 1 week ago, when people stood for themselves against the regime, when they were finally ready for change.

The source of my sanity now is to see the Egyptian activists and those who’s goal is unaltered, is still “down with the regime”. They are the reason for which I am still in Egypt, I have hope they will succeed and defeat the strong dictator.

remembering: the Egyptian revolution – “Egypt, right now!” written by SandMonkey

This is a note I posted on facebook at that time: on Thursday, February 3, 2011 at 2:33pm

SandMonkey is one of Egypt’s top bloggers & activists. He posted this piece on his blog http://www.sandmonkey.org/2011/02/03/egypt-right-now/ which can’t be opened anymore right now. So here it is copy-pasted.

SandMonkey was arrested today on Kasr El Aini where he was on his way to Tahrir Square to deliver medical supplies to the ones injured there. I hope he will be fine!

Thursday, 3 Feb 2011

Egypt, right now!

I don’t know how to start writing this. I have been battling fatigue for not sleeping properly for the past 10 days, moving from one’s friend house to another friend’s house, almost never spending a night in my home, facing a very well funded and well organized ruthless regime that views me as nothing but an annoying bug that its time to squash will come. The situation here is bleak to say the least.

It didn’t start out that way. On Tuesday Jan 25 it all started peacefully, and against all odds, we succeeded to gather hundreds of thousands and get them into Tahrir Square, despite being attacked by Anti-Riot Police who are using sticks, tear gas and rubber bullets against us. We managed to break all of their barricades and situated ourselves in Tahrir. The government responded by shutting down all cell communication in Tahrir square, a move which purpose was understood later when after midnight they went in with all of their might and attacked the protesters and evacuated the Square. The next day we were back at it again, and the day after. Then came Friday and we braved their communication blackout, their thugs, their tear gas and their bullets and we retook the square. We have been fighting to keep it ever since.

That night the government announced a military curfew, which kept getting shorter by the day, until it became from 8 am to 3 pm. People couldn’t go to work, gas was running out quickly and so were essential goods and money, since the banks were not allowed to operate and people were not able to collect their salary. The internet continued to be blocked, which affected all businesses in Egypt and will cause an economic meltdown the moment they allow the banks to operate again. We were being collectively punished for daring to say that we deserve democracy and rights, and to keep it up, they withdrew the police, and then sent them out dressed as civilians to terrorize our neighborhoods. I was shot at twice that day, one of which with a semi-automatic by a dude in a car that we the people took joy in pummeling. The government announced that all prisons were breached, and that the prisoners somehow managed to get weapons and do nothing but randomly attack people. One day we had organized thugs in uniforms firing at us and the next day they disappeared and were replaced by organized thugs without uniforms firing at us. Somehow the people never made the connection.

Despite it all, we braved it. We believed we are doing what’s right and were encouraged by all those around us who couldn’t believe what was happening to their country. What he did galvanized the people, and on Tuesday, despite shutting down all major roads leading into Cairo, we managed to get over 2 million protesters in Cairo alone and 3 million all over Egypt to come out and demand Mubarak’s departure. Those are people who stood up to the regime’s ruthlessness and anger and declared that they were free, and were refusing to live in the Mubarak dictatorship for one more day. That night, he showed up on TV, and gave a very emotional speech about how he intends to step down at the end of his term and how he wants to die in Egypt, the country he loved and served. To me, and to everyone else at the protests this wasn’t nearly enough, for we wanted him gone now. Others started asking that we give him a chance, and that change takes time and other such poppycock. Hell, some people and family members cried when they saw his speech. People felt sorry for him for failing to be our dictator for the rest of his life and inheriting us to his Son. It was an amalgam of Stockholm syndrome coupled with slave mentality in a malevolent combination that we never saw before. And the Regime capitalized on it today.

Today, they brought back the internet, and started having people calling on TV and writing on facebook on how they support Mubarak and his call for stability and peacefull change in 8 months. They hung on to the words of the newly appointed government would never harm the protesters, whom they believe to be good patriotic youth who have a few bad apples amongst them. We started getting calls asking people to stop protesting because “we got what we wanted” and “we need the country to start working again”. People were complaining that they miss their lives. That they miss going out at night, and ordering Home Delivery. That they need us to stop so they can resume whatever existence they had before all of this. All was forgiven, the past week never happened and it’s time for Unity under Mubarak’s rule right now.

To all of those people I say: NEVER! I am sorry that your lives and businesses are disrupted, but this wasn’t caused by the Protesters. The Protesters aren’t the ones who shut down the internet that has paralyzed your businesses and banks: The government did. The Protesters weren’t the ones who initiated the military curfew that limited your movement and allowed goods to disappear off market shelves and gas to disappear: The government did. The Protesters weren’t the ones who ordered the police to withdraw and claimed the prisons were breached and unleashed thugs that terrorized your neighborhoods: The government did. The same government that you wish to give a second chance to, as if 30 years of dictatorship and utter failure in every sector of government wasn’t enough for you. The Slaves were ready to forgive their master, and blame his cruelty on those who dared to defy him in order to ensure a better Egypt for all of its citizens and their children. After all, he gave us his word, and it’s not like he ever broke his promises for reform before or anything.

Then Mubarak made his move and showed them what useful idiots they all were.

You watched on TV as “Pro-Mubarak Protesters” – thugs who were paid money by NDP members by admission of High NDP officials- started attacking the peaceful unarmed protesters in Tahrir square. They attacked them with sticks, threw stones at them, brought in men riding horses and camels- in what must be the most surreal scene ever shown on TV- and carrying whips to beat up the protesters. And then the Bullets started getting fired and Molotov cocktails started getting thrown at the Anti-Mubarak Protesters as the Army standing idly by, allowing it all to happen and not doing anything about it. Dozens were killed, hundreds injured, and there was no help sent by ambulances. The Police never showed up to stop those attacking because the ones who were captured by the Anti-mubarak people had police ID’s on them. They were the police and they were there to shoot and kill people and even tried to set the Egyptian Museum on Fire. The Aim was clear: Use the clashes as pretext to ban such demonstrations under pretexts of concern for public safety and order, and to prevent disunity amongst the people of Egypt. But their plans ultimately failed, by those resilient brave souls who wouldn’t give up the ground they freed of Egypt, no matter how many live bullets or firebombs were hurled at them. They know, like we all do, that this regime no longer cares to put on a moderate mask. That they have shown their true nature. That Mubarak will never step down, and that he would rather burn Egypt to the ground than even contemplate that possibility.

In the meantime, State-owned and affiliated TV channels were showing coverage of Peaceful Mubarak Protests all over Egypt and showing recorded footage of Tahrir Square protest from the night before and claiming it’s the situation there at the moment. Hundreds of calls by public figures and actors started calling the channels saying that they are with Mubarak, and that he is our Father and we should support him on the road to democracy. A veiled girl with a blurred face went on Mehwer TV claiming to have received funding by Americans to go to the US and took courses on how to bring down the Egyptian government through protests which were taught by Jews. She claimed that AlJazeera is lying, and that the only people in Tahrir square now were Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. State TV started issuing statements on how the people arrested Israelis all over Cairo engaged in creating mayhem and causing chaos. For those of you who are counting this is an American-Israeli-Qatari-Muslim Brotherhood-Iranian-Hamas conspiracy. Imagine that. And MANY PEOPLE BOUGHT IT. I recall telling a friend of mine that the only good thing about what happened today was that it made clear to us who were the idiots amongst our friends. Now we know.

Now, just in case this isn’t clear: This protest is not one made or sustained by the Muslim Brotherhood, it’s one that had people from all social classes and religious background in Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood only showed up on Tuesday, and even then they were not the majority of people there by a long shot. We tolerated them there since we won’t say no to fellow Egyptians who wanted to stand with us, but neither the Muslims Brotherhood not any of the Opposition leaders have the ability to turn out one tenth of the numbers of Protesters that were in Tahrir on Tuesday. This is a revolution without leaders. Three Million individuals choosing hope instead of fear and braving death on hourly basis to keep their dream of freedom alive. Imagine that.

The End is near. I have no illusions about this regime or its leader, and how he will pluck us and hunt us down one by one till we are over and done with and 8 months from now will pay people to stage fake protests urging him not to leave power, and he will stay “because he has to acquiesce to the voice of the people”. This is a losing battle and they have all the weapons, but we will continue fighting until we can’t. I am heading to Tahrir right now with supplies for the hundreds injured, knowing that today the attacks will intensify, because they can’t allow us to stay there come Friday, which is supposed to be the game changer. We are bringing everybody out, and we will refuse to be anything else than peaceful. If you are in Egypt, I am calling on all of you to head down to Tahrir today and Friday. It is imperative to show them that the battle for the soul of Egypt isn’t over and done with. I am calling you to bring your friends, to bring medical supplies, to go and see what Mubarak’s gurantees look like in real life. Egypt needs you. Be Heroes.