Here is a video that all freedom loving people will enjoy, I know I did:
And, I've enjoyed watching this one even more since the fall of the regime:
The anger I felt at the Obama administration's shifty response to Egyptian demands for freedom was indescribable, in retrospect though, the reactions from the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Israel plus the buffoonish statements from Mubarak and Sulieman on Thursday only made this victory of the Egyptian people all the sweeter. They reclaimed their freedom despite what appeared to be insurmountable odds.
Forgive me if I sound choppy right now but I am still tired from the last two and a half weeks and hungover from feelings that I've never felt before. These last 18 days have helped to redefine who I am as an Arab-American, the lens through which I see myself and the lens through which I am aware that people are seeing us, and the possibility of what can be. Most Arabs I know are still at a loss for words but things will never be the same, we are proud, incredibly proud and optimistic Arabs. Ben Ali fled Tunisia on January 15th, 27 days later Mubarak's 30 year grip on power came to an end. 27 days and I feel for the first time that I can say with pride and certainty that Arabs can do anything.
- Record!
- I am an Arab
- And my identity card is number fifty thousand
- I have eight children
- And the ninth is coming after a summer
- Will you be angry?
- Record!
- I am an Arab
- Employed with fellow workers at a quarry
- I have eight children
- I get them bread
- Garments and books
- from the rocks..
- I do not supplicate charity at your doors
- Nor do I belittle myself at the footsteps of your chamber
- So will you be angry?
- Record!
- I am an Arab
- I have a name without a title
- Patient in a country
- Where people are enraged
- My roots
- Were entrenched before the birth of time
- And before the opening of the eras
- Before the pines, and the olive trees
- And before the grass grew
- My father.. descends from the family of the plow
- Not from a privileged class
- And my grandfather..was a farmer
- Neither well-bred, nor well-born!
- Teaches me the pride of the sun
- Before teaching me how to read
- And my house is like a watchman's hut
- Made of branches and cane
- Are you satisfied with my status?
- I have a name without a title!
- Record!
- I am an Arab
- You have stolen the orchards of my ancestors
- And the land which I cultivated
- Along with my children
- And you left nothing for us
- Except for these rocks..
- So will the State take them
- As it has been said?!
- Therefore!
- Record on the top of the first page:
- I do not hate people
- Nor do I encroach
- But if I become hungry
- The usurper's flesh will be my food
- Beware..
- Beware..
- Of my hunger
- And my anger!
I love that poem by Darwish.
I am so happy for you, for all Arabs, and for us who are not Arabs.
This Arab awakening has been so inspiring that some youth in Pakistan are starting to get together to figure out how to get rid of the current system and bring about a real democracy in Pakistan.
They are calling for a “revolution,” but I told one of the organizers who I’m following on twitter that perhaps the “revolution” is not the right word, perhaps what Pakistan needs is an “evolution.”
This Arab uprising is a light onto the NATIONS.
This Arab uprising is a light onto the NATIONS.
Large demonstrations throughout Italy today (est. about 1 million in the various piazze) – led by Italian women. Many who had lost hope say they were inspired by the peoples of Tunisia and Egypt.
Man, that is something! Italians inspired by Arabs. When the wheels of history turn, they turn fast.
A tweet that caught my eye: “Can we find a Tahrir Square in Italy?”
Here’s another tweet:
“Is there a Tahrir Square in the USA?
33 minutes ago”
Shmuel,
Are the protests aimed mostly at Berlusconi’s ….let’s call them Indiscretions (Or, is it actually statutory rape)? Is it about the entire structure of government in Italy?
I mean, what are the protesters’ demands? Do they want Berlusconi to step down? Do they want to dissolve parliament? What are they after?
Thanks.
Avi,
Berlusconi has run the country into the ground and severely compromised its democratic system. He is currently on trial for fraud and corrupting a judge (he has managed to weasel out of a dozen or so other charges over the years, mostly by changing laws to suit his needs). He will soon go on trial for abuse of office (pressuring police to release a Moroccan teenage prostitute, claiming that she was ‘Mubarak’s niece’ – lots of jokes about that now), and abetting the prostitution of minors (said Moroccan and possibly another, Brazilian girl). All of his attempts to secure immunity have been overturned by the Supreme Court, so he will go to trial – but he can, as he has done with many of his trials, delay matters long enough to reach the shortened statue of limitations he has arranged for himself.
To answer your question, the protests are aimed at Berlusconi personally and at the political-institutional system he has created (an entire class of corrupt sycophants), and the much broader culture of “Berlusconismo”. The immediate demand is for him to step down and stand trial. The dissolution of Parliament goes (almost) without saying at this point. The protesters also spoke a great deal however, about greater equality, changing priorities, education, welfare, jobs, as well as less tangible demands, like dignity, respect and general decency in human relations. As with Fascism, Italy will require a period of reconstruction (and internal reconciliation) after he’s gone.
There. I think that’s more than anyone should have to read about Berlusconi on a ME blog :-)
Wow. Can you give us more information about what specifically motivates the Italian protests? I take it this isn’t just a sympathy protest but a protests by Italians about something the Italian government does, that it shouldn’t be doing? (In full disclosure, I think Berlusconi is a virtual despot, myself.)
From the BBC teletext service – ‘Organisers say that B has damaged the standing of women with his recent sex scandals. He has denied any wrongdoing, saying the current investigations against him are politically motivated’. (I blame Shmuel). I understand the investigations concern women not just young but under-age.
what specifically motivates the Italian protests?
Dignity, democracy, justice, equality – especially between the sexes, in this women-led movement. Bottom line: (virtual) despot step down (and go to trial); we want our country back. Sound familiar?
To quote from Paul Woodward’s excellent article, posted here the other day:
link to bbc.co.uk
Not a bad report, but it misses the powerful social and economic motives underlying discontent – summed up in the word “dignity”, with women suffering most on all counts, as well as being degraded and objectified by the country’s leader and the political and media culture he has created in his own nasty little image.
(I blame Shmuel).
Mea culpa, as they say around here ;-)
Here is another quote from Bob Herbert’s excellent column at the NYT’s of yesterday (definitely worth a read):
“In an Op-Ed article in The Times at the end of January, Senator John Kerry said that the Egyptian people “have made clear they will settle for nothing less than greater democracy and more economic opportunities.” Americans are being asked to swallow exactly the opposite. In the mad rush to privatization over the past few decades, democracy itself was put up for sale, and the rich were the only ones who could afford it.
The corporate and financial elites threw astounding sums of money into campaign contributions and high-priced lobbyists and think tanks and media buys and anything else they could think of. They wined and dined powerful leaders of both parties. They flew them on private jets and wooed them with golf outings and lavish vacations and gave them high-paying jobs as lobbyists the moment they left the government. All that money was well spent. The investments paid off big time.
As Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson wrote in their book, “Winner-Take-All Politics”: “Step by step and debate by debate, America’s public officials have rewritten the rules of American politics and the American economy in ways that have benefited the few at the expense of the many.””"
Sounds familiar?
I had a Pakistani American classmate whom I had conversations with when we were both taking classes in Arabic. I’ve been out of touch with him (he is a biology major, I’m an art student and unfortunately those schools of learning are on opposite ends of the campus in every sense of the word) but I’d like to think he finds this as inspiring as you do, Saleema. I know what’s been going on Pakistan has been painful for him, although he was restrained about showing that. (At the end of second semester Arabic I felt compelled to tell him that I felt bad about the drone strikes being done by the military on Pakistan and not every American is blind to the consequences of that. I think he appreciated the sentiment.)
Watching CNN, who to their credit has done the best on-the-ground reporting along with al Jezeera. At the anchor desks, the talk is veering toward fear of the Muslim Brotherhood and possibility of “an Islamic regime” coming to power. At it’s core, these concerns push the agenda of those who have no problem with Christian ethics or Jewish ethics, but question the possibility there are ethics in Islam. It’s laughable to hear Christian fundamentalists and Jewish partisans (who caused the killing of hundreds of thousands in Iraq and the Siege of Gaza among other outrages) casting racist aspersions on Islamic culture.
RE: “the reactions from the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Israel plus the buffoonish statements from Mubarak and Sulieman on Thursday only made this victory of the Egyptian people all the sweeter.” – Seham
A MIDWINTER’S MUSICAL INTERLUDE (sponsored by Ziocaine®):
DANCIN’ UP A STORM: Finger Eleven – Paralyzer (VIDEO, 03:37) – link to youtube.com
P.S. “We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
“He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
“I would believe only in a God that knows how to dance.” – Nietzsche
SOURCE – link to brainyquote.com
also for the record
I too am an arab
not by birth
for having put my life at risk
west beirut, ’82
not to mention the years that followed
the opportunity to be a witness to the u.s.-backed israeli invasion of lebanon
almost as real now as it was aboard that larnaca to junei ferryboat – the moment when, from out of the blue (literally), the words “hello, this is the u.s.s. winslow, do you have any ammunition or ammunition casing aboard” introduced travelers (compliments of the u.s. navy) to war- torn lebanon
and then a decade later
the first intifada
again a witness
a young palestinian
near the damascus gate
pinned against the wall
shot dead
the early nineties
in a pediatric hospital in baghdad
a four year old boy
with the sunken cheeks, pot-belly and retarded growth of a starving child
his wde-open eyes capture my own
holding them
“well, if you realy care, do something about it”, his eyes seemed to say.”
then coming back to the u.s. of a. and telling it the way it was, that on account of the sanctions a whole generation of iraqis could be lost
wasn’t this speaking like an arab
being an arab
same goes for anderson cooper
after having bee bloodied by those pro-mubarak thugs
could have been killed
is he or is he not an arab now
not to mention the millions of people who were glued to the revolution by way of our modern electon means of communication
pulling for the good gals and guys
tingling with anticipation as they watched
for those 18 days
each an arab
proudly so
Like your poetry!
That’s a beautiful poem, yourstruly.
“Record! I am an Arab.”
I’m not, but today I wish I were. I am so proud of you all!
Inshaa’llah the great days of the Arab people will come again.
your wish has come true
compliments of people such as us
us, as in those eighteen days
liberation sqqare
just being there
the people
holding back?
guess who?
the status quo
shattered
by the events those eighteen days in liberation square
the feel of freedom
and how to get there
peacefully
not absolutely
but the closest yet
to the promised land
earth be her name
Saleema, earlier today, I read an article posted by Citizen and hoped that you too had read it because it discussed Israel’s role in disrupting Pakistan from as far back as the days Ben Gurion and how it continues today; in case you missed it:
link to mycatbirdseat.com
Seham, I’m still not convinced that the battle has been won and won’t be until Rafah is opened. The army’s sudden rush to give comfort to the US and Israel by declaring that it will abide by its treaties makes the whole thing very suspect and I can’t help thinking that Mubarak’s hand is somehow still in this. My problem is not with Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel but with Egypt’s collaboration with Israel in the punishing of the Palestinians.
Seham, I’m still not convinced that the battle has been won and won’t be until Rafah is opened. The army’s sudden rush to give comfort to the US and Israel by declaring that it will abide by its treaties makes the whole thing very suspect and I can’t help thinking that Mubarak’s hand is somehow still in this. My problem is not with Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel but with Egypt’s collaboration with Israel in the punishing of the Palestinians.
Yes, Walid as a Palestinian I am also concerned by those things but I have faith that a democratically elected government in Egypt won’t enforce the diabolical siege on Gaza or be complicit in the apartheid policies of the Israelis and the complicity of the Palestinian Authority–but we have to wait and see what the people do and we have to encourage the Jan25th movement to take principled positions on Palestine. But, I can’t let my fears for Palestine ruin the moment of what was actually already accomplished: extraordinarily ordinary Egyptians just toppled their 30 year dictator. Let’s enjoy that for a few days for what it is.
i agree Walid, the litmus test for this leadership is how they deal with Rafah and Palestinian movement in and out of Egypt. last i read, as of a few days ago, Egypt has banned Palestinians from entering Egypt unless you have Egyptian residency. i wish i had the link.
it would be encouraging if Egypt opened itself to Palestinians and enabled some of the 26,000 Palestinians living in Egypt that need services to be served by Palestinian Aid groups and Palestinian volunteers, as well others. i know Oroub al-Abed (Oxford U) wrote a book about Palestinian refugees in Egypt and when she was conducting her research she would often lament the disgusting conditions and lack of services, Wiley is one neighborhood i remember. pretty much every refugee program i was familiar with refused to service Palestinian refugees in Egypt. i had numerous opportunities to work with refugees but i refused to work with organizations that had a ban on Palestinian refugees. i don’t recall if this was an Egyptian gov’t ban, UNHCR ban or something else. i will ask Oroub/ read her book, i believe her research is online.
Walid,
I’m not surprised. Thanks for the link that was a great article. I suspected for a long time that Israel secretly is scared of Pakistan because of it’s nuclear capability. (Supposedly Pakistan has a 100 nukes from latest US intelligence assessments).
It is so important for Pakistan to be friends with India, so that India’s increasingly friendly and cooperative ties with Israel are not used against it. Second reason Pakistan needs to be friends with India is because damn it, we are more similar than we are different. Heck, if Pakistan hadn’t been formed, we’d be Indians and not Pakistanis. Third reason Pakistan needs to be friends with India is because Pakistanis love Bollywood. (The second and third reason are actually number 1 and 2 reason.)
I wish Pakistan had never been formed. I know that drives a lot of Pakistanis mad and makes them froth at the mouth. But I guess that’s history, can’t turn back the time. The British played their part of “divide and rule” even after they pulled out.
When Musharaf was in power, someone leaked out information that he sought to build a secret relationship with Israel to neutralize India’s and Israel’s growing ties. The Pakistani media and the people erupted on Musharaf and the government. Musharaf said the leak was false.
Hamas commented on the leak, too. They said they were disappointed that Pakistan would seek such secretive steps because the Palestinians appreciate that Pakistan hasn’t recognized Israel until Israel recognized Palestine and withdraws from occupied territories.
There’s a facebook page created by some Pakistanis and Israelis that encourages the recognition of Israel by Pakistan. The founder of the website is/was a low-level Israeli consulate worker in the US who made contacts with like-minded Pakistanis.
Also, Tariq Ali wrote that during the Afghan-Russian war Mossad was allowed to operate in the city of Peshawar, through the CIA. It was of course hush, hush, the people found out years later.
So Ben-Gurion’s use of the word “lover of Arabs” is not insulting to Pakistanis. They feel a brotherly connection to Arabs because of Islam. And if Pakistan weren’t so far away from Palestine, I know that Pakistanis would be more active than Arab governments themselves for securing the rights of Palestinians.
This is extremely moving, yt, and very interesting. How ruthlessly we back in the West were shielded from the realities that you have experienced.
It’s probably unrealistic to expect many people to view the events dispassionately, on either side, but O handled things in such a way so that the real progress that has been achieved is stamped “Made in Egypt” rather than “Made in America.” Better for him and better for you. If you or anyone can say precisely what he should or could have said or done differently, to a better result, what is it?
but O handled things in such a way so that the real progress that has been achieved is stamped “Made in Egypt” rather than “Made in America.”
True, but he didn’t do it that way because he wanted this Egyptian victory to be sweeter, he did it that way because he was a coward and he liked Mubarak were hoping that the protests would lose steam too.
I think you may underestimate what an accomplishment that is. You’re probably also a lot less sensitive to the kind of criticism – some of it totally unhinged – that Obama has been receiving in the U.S. from the other side.
Take another look at Obama’s statement on Friday, especially where he directly associates the Egyptians with the American Civil Rights movement, putting them under the sign of Martin Luther King. That is very, very high praise, especially coming from him, for obvious reasons. It’s the “good America” that the American electorate embraced when it elected him. He also associated the events with the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, and opposed them to terrorism, and evoked echoes from his own campaign… It wouldn’t have been possible for him to “brand” these events this way if he was thought to have been driving them, or to have taken possession of them – assuming even that he could have done so or that any such effort wouldn’t have blown up.
We can differ in our estimate of his personal preferences or real contribution. Either way, we have Americans now identifying with and rooting for “Arabs in the street” – better than the Green Movement because successful. This is a fantastic reversal – if not yet complete – of the “clash of civilizations” culture given such a huge boost by 9/11 and the “War on Terror.”
Positive movement of this type – let’s hope it’s maintained – can open greater space for American politicians, the President in particular, to do what’s manifestly in the American moral and practical interest – distance itself from Israel, get out of Afghanistan, reach a peaceful accommodation of some kind with Iran, and, most of all, stop killing Muslims, directly or indirectly.
does it matter what the leader of the so-called freed world said
on victory day
what matters
is whether or not he helped bring this about
Both matter, in different ways.
yes, of course, & gracias
This was a fascinating documentary on the grass roots organization behind protest, leading to this revolution. It was years in the making.
link to english.aljazeera.net
It should be shown on US television and it would render the fear mongering talking heads irrelevant and out of touch with realities.
Can Secretary Clinton, for her part, continue to function after her absurd ‘stability’ – and rather disturbing ‘friend of the family’ – talk? Won’t there be obvious tittering in the forums where she tries to orate?
thank you seham, these videos make me cry. i’ve cried so many times over the last couple weeks. i’m so proud of this revolution it is indescribable how it makes me feel. so much hope and so many free egyptians. so much beauty. Record! i love Arab Freedom!
is this or is this not one of those “the emperor has no clothes” moments?
truth
now out in the open
at least for those eighteen days times twenty-four magical hours
liberation square
wow
is this one of them there emperor wears no clothes” moments?
where it’s clang-clang-clang
one chain after another
because until the last chain is broken
everyone now free
defeating fear
the better to retake the dawn
and once we retake the dawn
we never let go
oops, tried hard to complete editing but time ran out
before i could delete that second reference to the nude emperor
also,
5th line from the bottom – none of us will be free, instead of everyone now free
yourstruly
somehow missed lock-out again
5th line from the bottom
“none of us will be free” instead of “everyone now free”
and
last sentence
best one never let go instead of we never let go