A demonstrator (click title to entry - thank you) protects his head during clashes with Mubarak supporters. (Mohammed Abed, AFP/Getty Images / February 3, 2011)
The problem is as I have stated before, Egyptians believe in peace and abhor violence, except, their sacrifices have been disproportionate 'for' the outcome. Their sacrifice has become to great and oppressuve 'at the will' of The West.
This is an awakening to all the global community and is contrary to our beliefs as to what should be occurring with people of peace. The demonstrators in Tahrir Square have no grand Islamic plans for global domination. They want better lives and the citizens of The West have always believed they were receiving that and hence desired 'the peace' with us. We have been diluted of our understandings as well and won't tolerate their treatment.
The aid to Egypt is distributed wrongly to the peace effort and if the demonstrators didn't provide an understanding of that we would never know. The people of the USA cannot condone any violence toward unarmed people reaching out for an understanding. Their wishes for thir own lives has to be honored and their esteem uplifted. We never intended for the oppression, but, the evidence weighs heavily in that reality. The monies to Egypt were to control unknown enemies among the populous and instead of stability The West has created hardship.
The 'fear' is the enemy, not the people and certainly not President Mubarak.
The military did the best thing they could do in standing with the people to complete the picture of the disproportionate power that exists in achieving stability in Egypt. Oddly, The West would never deny Egypt any aspect of internal control they requested because the nation has been a full partner with us. And Egypt has a very confused picture to the world.
Everyone knows poverty breeds anger and hatred and in a world where 'a call to arms' is moments away from reality the 'opportunity' for escalation is all to real. Yet, in the very country we hold dearly in our hearts as an ally, the people suffer rather than enjoy life. There is something very, very wrong and it needs to end. People that have died without weapons, without evil intention in order to be heard are the noblest of any. I never wanted it for them.
The incredible strenght of the 'anti-governmnent' demonstrators was the sheer randomness of their experiences. They were not organized, but, yet the assault against them definately was. The way 'the press' was targeted, I can only be grateful for their tenacity, for, what might occur afterward would have been far more terrible than did occur. Frustration with the demonstrators became 'a rason' for violence. That should not have occurred, while some would say 'the press' caused 'the tensions,' that was not their goal. The Press should be their to inform and it the information about the cause for the demonstrations that was important and they were correct to pursue it,
Inherent to 'the information' is 'the truth' oh which lies very real consequences. The 'idea' that oppression was 'the answer' was very flawed. The 'answer' exists in a new understanding of the people of Egypt and why policies with "The West" have failed them.
I looked for pertinent scholars to find an understanding of the Egyptian people and were dearly few. There was this interview.
Haass: There will always be people with agendas. If the Florida pastor had gone ahead with his terrible threat to burn the Koran, there would have been people who exploited that. Where are the voices pushing back? What can be done to strengthen the voices who say, “What has been said or done is awful, but it is not a license for committing acts of violence against innocent people”?
Rauf: We have to be proactive and strategic instead of reactive. In order to win the game, you just can’t have players on the field, but strategies formulated together, and deploy them. What is absent right now is strategic planning about how to push back.
Look, the threat of radical extremists throughout the Muslim world is not only a threat to Western governments. It is as much a threat to Muslim governments and societies. The people of Pakistan are sick and tired of suicide bombers. The same in Iraq.
I remember going to Egypt after a terrorist attack against some tourists. People were mad and angry because tourism dried up and the economy turned down.
Muslims are miserable over terrorism, not happy. They want something better, but we don’t know how to give it to them.
Radical extremists have hijacked our discourse. What might happen if, whenever there was a suicide bombing, there was a news blackout. They love the fact that the media gives them this coverage.
I don’t know the solution. But what I do know is that we have a status quo in which the extremists can hijack the agenda. For all of our intelligence, we haven’t figured out how to tie them down.
© 2010 Global Viewpoint Network/Tribune Media Services. Hosted online by The Christian Science Monitor.
And this.A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Muslim Population
October 2009
Egypt is among the most densely populated of all Muslim countries, yet, the policies of The West have failed them. The policies have caused the very poverty we know is a vital link to extremism and oppression is 'the tool' of choice to enforce that poverty. The demonstrations were going to happen in some form sooner or later, we should all be grateful to the people of Egypt 'for finding a way.'
Things have to change and soon. Demonizing a known 'partner' in peace is NOT the method that will bring further peace, but only greater oppression.
The next elections in Egypt should be expedited IF they can be, but, have to be open and transparent.Things have to change and soon. Demonizing a known 'partner' in peace is NOT the method that will bring further peace, but only greater oppression.
