29 Jun 2011

ماليزيا: نجاح اقتصادي يلهم مصر الثورة

رئيس الوزراء الماليزي الأسبق مهاتير محمد يصر على رفضه قروض البنك الدولي وصندوق النقد الدولي ، ويروي قصة نجاح ماليزيا اقتصادياً إلى المصريين بعد تراجع مصر عن قروض المؤسستين الدوليتين 




تاريخ بث التقرير: ٢٩ يونيو حزيران ٢٠١١
مكان التصوير : القاهرة
تصوير : ياسر سليمان
مونتاج : أحمد ربيع


Tahrir: Revolução Revisitada?

Traduzido para Diário Liberdade por Lucas Morais 

Foi fomentando desde sexta-feira pela tarde, quando familiares de mártires começaram uma manifestação pacífica aberta em Maspero, no edifício de Rádio e TV. Por "mártires" eu quero dizer aqueles mortos durante a revolução de 25 de Janeiro – Jan25. As famílias querem que os assassinos de seus entes queridos sejam punidos. Até hoje aqueles assassinos estão soltos: francoatiradores, policiais, mercenários. Todos eles estão por aí: livres, vivendo, respirando, aproveitando a vida.

Fui à Maspero na sexta-feira pela noite. Havia uma pequena multidão 


Julgamento adiado... de novo! 

As coisas pioraram no domingo no julgamento do ex-Ministro do Interior, Habib el Adly e seis das principais cabeças dos departamentos de segurança em seu ministério. O julgamento de Adly e amigos por atirarem contra manifestantes durante a revolução de 25 de Janeiro foi adiada pela terceira vez consecutiva. Adly está atualmente servindo uma sentença de 12 anos por lavagem de dinheiro, mas este caso é diferente. Este caso é o que importa para a maioria dos Egípcios. Ele e seus comparsas, ex-figuras do Ministério do Interior, são acusados de orquestrar com oficiais de polícia e policiais a repressão de manifestantes durante a revolução. Adly é acusado pelo Promotor Geral de Justiça de ter intencionalmente planejado a repressão e cortado todas as comunicações de modo a fazer isto silenciosamente. Fui avisada por ativistas e repórteres que a atmosfera estava tensa.

As famílias dos mártires queriam participar do julgamento. Eles negociaram com a polícia que eles poderiam enviar uma delegação para representá-los. Mas a resposta foi: Não. Então, quando a sessão estava no seu terceiro minuto, quando a corte anunciava que o julgamento foi adiado – novamente –, as famílias ficaram nervosas. Já se foram 5 meses agora.

As famílias acabaram jogando pedras e blocos de mármore nos carros que transportavam Adly e outros seis acusados que deixaram a corte enquanto cantavam pela execução de Adly. As coisas ficaram muito tensas. As pessoas estavam com ódio. A polícia teve que dar alguns passos atrás enquanto o exército entrava em cena.

O motivo dado pela corte para o adiamento do julgamento é o segundo caso que está demandando uma substituição do juiz e seu time nomeado para o caso de Adly, em função das supostas ligações do juiz com o agora dissolvido aparato de Segurança do Estado. Atualmente este mesmo juiz recusou assumir o julgamento de Mubarak.



Então basicamente a Cabeça do ex-regime, o deposto presidente Hosni Mubarak, está instalado em um hospital em Sharm el Sheikh. Rumores sobre sua doença nunca foram confirmados. Muitos me garantiram que "este homem está pretendendo ficar doente justamente para escapar do julgamento". Seu ex-Ministro do Interior não está sendo julgado por matar manifestantes.

Confrontos de terça-feira


As famílias reunidas em Maspero desde sexta-feira foram avisadas sobre um evento em homenagem às famílias dos mártires no Teatro Balão na terça-feira. Então eles marcharam para ali para dizerem a eles que eles não estão convidados. Eles ficaram nervosos. Eles estavam carregando fotos de seus entes queridos, mortos nos protestos. Disseram-me que um grupo de rapazes pró-Mubarak de repente atacaram as famílias que, disseram-me, tentaram pular a cerca para adentrar no teatro. Então a coisa ficou feia. Confrontos eclodiram entre os dois lados. A polícia apareceu e ao menos uma pessoa foi gravemente ferida por um bastão elétrico. O vídeo da agressão foi postado por Gigi Ibrahim (@GSquare86 no Twitter). Isto lembrou as pessoas das práticas policiais da Era Mubarak.


Então um grupo de famílias e seus apoiadores marcharam pelo Ministério do Interior e foram rumo à Praça Tahrir. Notícias viajaram rápido e logo a eles se somaram vários apoiadores e ativistas.

Na Praça Tahrir haviam cerca de 2000 pessoas. Havia gás lacrimogêneo sendo jogado a cada poucos minutos em diferentes direções da praça, vindo das ruas próximas bloqueadas pela polícia. Pude ver apenas homens jovens comuns. Poucas mulheres estavam por ali. Alguns disseram para mim: "Nossos mártires se sacrificaram por nós, nós não os deixaremos".


"O Povo Quer Derrubar o Mushir" (Marechal de Campo – Cabeça do Supremo Conselho das Forças Armadas) é a palavra de ordem que mais escutei. Mas ali estavam outras palavras de ordem contra a ordem militar no país: "Abaixo com a Ordem Militar", e contra o Ministério do Interior: "Ministério do Interior continua o mesmo, isto é apenas uma brincadeira".ortant;">


Sou jornalista

Eu me aproximei dos pontos de confronto entre policiais e manifestantes próximo a al Qasr al Aini, uma das entradas para a praça. Manifestantes estavam jogando pedras nos carros da polícia. Alguém me deu uma pedra. Eu disse: "Eu sou uma jornalista". Ele disse: "Torne-se uma ativista, tente isto, jogue contra os 'porcos' (modo como se referem entre ativistas), é uma experiência muito liberadora". Eu olhei para a distância e imaginei como isto poderia ser feito, e me dei conta de que eu provavelmente atingiria um manifestante caso eu não chegasse bem perto de um policial, face a face! Entretanto, eu sou uma jornalista internacional. Eu entreguei a pedra a um manifestante. Como me mantive ali assistindo, alguém muito próximo de mim jogou um molotov na polícia. Perguntei se alguém sabia sabia quem era ele. Ninguém podia responder. Gases foram jogador novamente. Eu corri para outra rua.


Eu lutei para respirar... Eu podia ver um homem correndo com um gás lacrimogêneo em sua mão que foi pegada no chão para jogar longe dos manifestantes, talvez de volta para a polícia. Mas eu estava no chão então. Não podia abrir meus olhos, estava tossindo e meus ouvidos, nariz e garganta estavam queimando como o inferno.


Quando me recuperei encontrei meu colega da Al Jazeera com sua turma. Eu não estava no meu turno. Trabalhei no turno da manhã, então este fato era para outra pessoa cobrir. Eu vim para Tahrir por conta própria, não pela Al Jazeera.


Bandidos?

Eu reconheci alguns ativistas pro ali. Perguntei se havia algum "bandido". Disseram-me que não havia. Eu questionava quem havia jogado molotov na polícia. Alguém me disse: isto deve ser um infiltrado para fazer nos olharem como manifestantes violentos.

Para frente e para trás os manifestantes tiveram que correr do gás, então voltaram em direção à polícia. Naquele momento eu vi as forças de segurança central, uniformizadas, permanecendo na praça próximos aos seus carros, muito próximos dos manifestantes.

Eu vi dezenas de manifestantes deitando no chão, chocante. Outros pareciam inconscientes. Mas ninguém tinha medo. Eles estavam determinados a não deixar a praça. Isto foi no dia 28 de Junho, exatamente cinco meses após o 28 de Janeiro, a Sexta-feira de Ira na revolução.



O próximo 8 de Julho

Isto foi fermentado. Não estou surpresa em ver isto acontecendo. Civis estão sendo julgados em cortes militares por todos os tipos de acusações enquanto ex-oficiais do regime estão sendo julgados em julgamentos civis, e um dos julgamentos que mais importa está sendo adiado, enquanto o deposto homem forte do regime está em Sharm el Sheikh.

Como eu decidi deixar a praça às 1h30 da manhã, quando minha as baterias do meu telefone e câmera acabaram, ouvia pessoas cantando: "Na Praça até a Mudança Acontecer" (Bil Tahrir Hatta el Taghyir). Logo pensei no dia 8 de Julho, que é o dia que está planejada a marcha dos milhões em Tahrir... Uma marcha contra o presidente do Egito, isto é o Supremo Conselho das Forças Armadas (SCAF), isto é, o exército. Eu vi soldados do exército a alguns quarteirões da praça. Eles não estavam preocupados com o que estava ocorrendo. Eles tentaram nos dizer que não poderíamos sair (fora da área de Tahrir) mas nós o convencemos a nos deixar passar. Eles foram "bons" companheiros, com sorrisos. Lembrou-me quando o exército estava em espera (stand by) enquanto manifestantes eram massacrados por mercenários e pela polícia durante a revolução.

Então o povo do Egito irá participar da marcha antiexército de 8 de Julho? Veremos. Muitos Egípcios parecem estar em negação sobre o regime não ter ido com Mubarak e preferem se prender à única coisa segura (quase sagrada) coisa em sua vida agora: o exército.

-----

Mais coisas do Egito 

28 Jun 2011

Tahrir : Revolution Revisited?


It had been brewing since Friday afternoon when some martyrs' families started an open sit-in at Maspero, Egyptian Radio and TV building. By "martyrs" I mean those killed during Jan25 revolution. The families want killers of their loved ones punished. Until today those killers are out there: snipers, police officers, thugs. They are all out there: free, living, breathing, enjoying life.

I went to Maspero on Friday night. There was a small crowd. 



Trial postponed.. again!


Things got bad on Sunday at the trial of former Minister of Interior Habib el Adly and 6 of the main heads of security departments in his former ministry. The trial of Adly and friends for shooting protesters during Jan25 revolution was postponed for the THIRD consecutive time. Adly is already serving a sentence of 12 years for money laundering but this case is different. This case is what matters the most to Egyptians. He and his fellow Interior Ministry ex-figures are accused of orchestrating with police officers and policemen the repression of protesters during the revolution. Adly is accused by the General Prosecurtor of having intentionally planned the repression and having cut all communications in order to do it silently.

I was told by activists and reporters that the atmosphere was very tense.
Families of the martyrs wanted to attend the trial. They negotiated with the police that they could just send in a delegation to represent them. But the answer was: No. So when the session lasted about 3 minutes during which the court just said that the trial was postponed - again - , the families got even angrier. It has been 5 months now.

The families ended up throwing stones and marble blocks at the cars transporting el Adly and the other 6 accused, as they were driven away. Chants called for the execution of Adly. Things got pretty tense. People were so angry. Police had to take a few steps back while the army stepped in.





The reason given by the court for the postponement of the trial is a second case demanding the replacement of the judge and his team assigned to the Adly case, due to the alleged ties of the judge to the now-dissolved State Security apparatus. Actually this same judge had refused to take the Mubarak trial.

So basically the Head of the former regime, depooosed president Hosni Mubarak, is sitting in a hospital in Sharm el Sheikh while rumours about his illness are never confirmed. Many think "the man is pretending to be ill just to escape trial". His former Interior Minister is not being tried for killing protesters either. 


Tuesday clashes

The families who gathered at Maspero since Friday were told about an event honouring martyrs' families at Balloon Theatre on Tuesday. So they marched there only to be told they were not welcome. They got angry. They were carrying photos of their loved ones, killed in the protests.  I am told that a group of pro-Mubarak guys suddenly attacked the families who, I am told, tried to jump the fence into the theatre. And it got ugly. Clashes reportedly erupted between the two sides. Police showed up and at least one person was badly beaten by an electricity baton.  The video of the beating was posted by Gigi Ibrahim (@GSquare86 on Twitter). It reminded people of pre-Mubarak police practices.


It was after the video that a group of the families and their supporters marched  around the Ministry of Interior, then headed to Tahrir Square. News travelled fast and soon they were joined by many supporters and activists.

We were at a Cairo Tweet Up, a gathering of tweeps in Cairo. We ended up heading to Tahrir Square. By the time I got there it was midnight. There were about 2000 people as far as I could see and count. There were gas canisters being thrown every few minutes in different directions at the square from the surrounding streets blocked by the police. I could see just ordinary young men. Very few women were around. Some said to me : "Our martyrs sacrificed for us, we won't let them down".


Down with Military Rule

"The People Want to Topple the Mushir" (Field Marshal - Head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces)" is the chant that I heard the most. But there were other chants against the military rule in the country: "Down with the Military Rule", and against the interior ministry: "Interior Ministry still the Same, It is just a Play".


I am a journalist 

I went up close to one of the confrontation points between police and protesters near al Qasr al Aini, one of the entrances to the square. Protesters were throwing stones at the police cars. Someone gave me a stone. I said: "I am a journalist". He said : "Become an activist, try it, throw one at the "pigs" (this is what they are referred to among activists), it is a very liberating experience".  I looked at the distance and I imagined how it would be done, and I realised I would probably hit a protester unless I go really close to the police, face to face! Anyway I am an international journalist. I handed the stone to a protester. As I stood there watching, someone very close to me threw a molotov at the police. I asked if anyone knew who he was. Nobody could answer. Gas was thrown again. I ran away to another street.


I struggled to breathe.. I could see one man running with a gas canister in his hand which he picked off the ground to throw it away from the protesters, may be back at the police. But I was on the ground by then. I could not open my eyes, I was coughing and my ears / nose / throat were burning like hell.

As I recovered I found my fellow Al Jazeera colleague with his crew. I had worked the morning shift so it was up to someone else to cover any night events.  I came to Tahrir on my own, not with Al Jazeera.


Thugs?

I recognised a few activists around. I asked if there were any "thugs". I was told that there were none. I wondered who threw the molotov at the police. Someone said to me: it must be an infiltrator to make us look like violent protesters.

Back and forth protesters kept running away from the gas, then back towards the police. At one point I saw the central security forces, uniformed, standing on the square next to their car, very close to protesters.  

I saw scores of protesters lying on the floor, choking. Others seemed unconscious. But nobody was afraid. They were determined not to leave the square. It was the 28 June, exactly 5 months after the 28 January, the Friday of Wrath in the revolution.





Upcoming 8 July 

I am not surprised to see this happening. Civilians are being tried in military trials for all types of charges and accusations while ex regime officials are being tried in civilian trials, and the one trial that matters the most, is being postponed, while the deposed strongman of the regime is in Sharm el Sheikh. 

It had been brewing.

As I decided to leave the square at 1.30am when my camera and phone batteries died, I heard people chanting : "At the Square until Change Happens" (Bil Tahrir Hatta el Taghyir). I thought of 8 July which is the next planned million-march Tahrir rally.. A rally against the president of Egypt = the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) = the army. I saw army soldiers a few blocks away from the square. They were not concerned about what was happening. They were the "nice" fellows, with smiles. It reminded me of the army standing by when protesters were being massacred by thugs and police during the revolution.

So will the people of Egypt join July 8 anti-army march? We'll have to see. Many Egyptians seem to be in denial about the regime not having gone with Mubarak  and prefer to stick to the only secure (almost sacred) thing in their political life right now: the army.

-----


Read other posts in my Egyptian diary 

25 Jun 2011

من دير الزور ، سورية

من أجمل ما سمعت ... يبدو عرساً سورياً ثورياً 
يشعرونك بجمال النسيج السوري بألوانه وتموجاته
ويذكرون كل البلدات والقرى والمدن الثائرة
ويعددون كل المطالب السياسية أيضاً
في نشــيد واحد ... سحبة واحدة 

نفسهم طويـــــــل
وخلاصتهم في النهاية : الشعب يريد إسقاط النظام

22 Jun 2011

Tweet Nadwa in Cairo ندوة تويتر في القاهرة

Tuesday 21 June 2011


What an exciting moment.. speaking to fellow tweeps with whom I have interacted for months over the net, without ever imagining we'd meet one day.


Meeting some of them face to face felt like we had known each other for a long time. I always call fellow tweeps: my Twitter family

Surreal jump from Twitter in Caracas to --> reality in Cairo

Surreal meeting .. where amazing Egyptians told us about their struggle in the past 10 years ... then went on to discuss the revolution and what to do next


I was truly impressed by those guys and their level of awareness and sense of responsibility


And when they like something being said, they raise their hands = Retweet :)
This is only the second TweetNadwa they hold. Excellent idea ! I love the spirit

Thank you life for giving me the opportunity to live such exciting, changing and challenging times





21 Jun 2011

Revolution.. Yet No Solution

Tuesday 21 June 2011


It was my first time ever in an Egyptian court. It is noisy and chaotic. In Egypt there is always a lot of people everywhere.


Outside the headquarters of the State Council, white-uniformed policemen were deployed, trying to keep a cordon around protesters who might otherwise block the traffic on the street. 

But why are they protesting? The fuss is all about : Madinati (My City) !


Workers defending their bosses?!!

On one side of the street : activists, citizens who have come to "defend Egypt". On the other side of the street : workers who have come to defend the Madinati project, their "source of income".  The land of this housing project was sold under the Mubarak regime at a much lower price than the market price, allegedly thanks to corruption. So the case is to retroactively cancel the transaction of the land purchase and put it up for auction.



One of the workers told me passionately : "I hold a university degree since 1990 but I have never worked in my field.  I am still struggling to make a living, as a worker. I cannot afford to lose my job." I told him there would be a fund for any laid-off workers, he said : "It is still the same regime, the same government. They won't help us"

On the other side, a woman - who took a day off work - was also speaking passionately: "I am here to defend the land of Egypt and its real value, to continue the fight against corruption. I did not go to Tahrir for nothing".



Another crowd had come all the way from the Sinai Peninsula. They wanted to gain right of property over land as opposed to the right of use of the land. One of their supporters, a Cairo doctor who also took the day off, said to me: "They sell our land to Israelis in Sinai when Egyptians are not entitled to the same".




Revolution in court

Past the pushing and shoving, I managed with the help of Al Jazeera colleagues, to go into the building. I saw a fight in court, people being kicked out, others pushing to go in. It was truly packed.


"No cameras, no laptops, no filming unless you have an authorization" repeated a veiled woman in the midst of the noise. Yet almost everyone filmed anyway with their phones throughout the session!!  

Every single case on the agenda had to do with the revolution, or at least there was a mention of the revolution in it.

In one case the plaintiffs wanted local councils dissolved because they were "mis-elected" under corrupt Mubarak rule and 97% of their members today are from Mubarak's ex-ruling, now dissolved, party. The plaintiff argued that the councils could not continue to exist with the revolution. There is actually a local council in every neighborhood and every village of Egypt. 

In the Sinai case, again the plaintiffs argued it was the revolution that should give Egyptians the right to own land.

In yet another case, plaintiffs were workers in a lamps factory who were suing the owner to get their unpaid social benefits. They also thought revolutionary Egypt should now be fair to them.

There was also a case aimed at stopping the Egyptian government from continuing to build a wall on the border with Gaza. I am told the building has actually stopped on the ground but this is to get a court order on the matter.


No magic solutions

Rulings in all of the cases were adjourned to a later date after long hours of waiting. But it was not a wasted day for me.


I realised how the revolution carries on its back the weight of all the inherited problems from Mubarak's era, some generated by his regime and others are problems existing in developing countries. People have suffered here for too long. They now hope for "revolutionary" solutions to their complex issues. It is their right of course. But there is no magic stick to undo all the harm done by Egypt's evil witch, although it is gone. 

Mubarak's fall took 18 days and nights. As for the rest, I recall what The Beatles singer George Harrison once sang, solo: "It's gonna take patience and time".

Patience, Egyptians !


----


Read previous posts from Cairo in my Egyptian Diary



الشيخ إمام في الوجدان وفي الميدان

حضر في الثورة.. وهو غائب ، بينما غاب آخرون وهم حاضرون
كثيرون يعتبرونه روح الثورة
وكم تمنوا لو أنه كـُتب له أن يعيش حتى أيام الثورة التي عاش هو من أجلها

أما أنا فحققت أمنيتي  بقول : الجزيرة.. من ميدان التحرير  :)





شكر خاص إلى الزميل عبد الفتاح فايد لتوريطي في إعداد التقرير والتعرف على الثوري الشيخ إمام

مكان التصوير : القاهرة + صور أرشيفية
تاريخ التصوير : ١٠ و ١٧ يونيو حزيران ٢٠١١
تصوير : محمود المليجي ومحمد العربي
مونتاج : ابراهيم خليل



15 Jun 2011

و... رُفع حظر التجوال في مصر







تاريخ التصوير: ١٤ و ١٥ يونيو حزيران ٢٠١١
مكان التصوير : القاهرة 
تصوير : محمد العربي
مونتاج : أحمد ربيع

اطلع على : وريقاتي المصرية
شاهد التقرير السابق عن : جاسوس آخر زمن

بشار الأسد في فنزويلا


لا أحد كان يتخيل وقتها ما سيحصل بعد عام


أثناء زيارته الوحيدة لفنزويلا وفي لقاء خاص سريع أجريته معه تحدث الرئيس السوري عن تركيا، نافياً إمكانية العودة إلى توسط تركيا مفاوضات غير مباشرة بين اسرائيل وسورية 


كانت تركيا وقتها.. من أفضل أصدقاء النظام السوري
وكان بشار الأسد بشاراً  .. وليس حافظاً





مكان التصوير : كاراكاس، فنزويلا
تاريخ التصوير : ٢٧ حزيران يونيو ٢٠١٠
تصوير ومونتاج : ألبرتو كاسترو


14 Jun 2011

وما أدراك من هو إيلان غرابيل؟ جاسوس آخر زمن


أخيراً قلتـُها : الجزيرة القاهرة 
وورائي النيل... يا سلام !  حققت واحدة من أمنتياتي المصرية


التقرير اعتمد في صوره على صور من الانترنت والصحف وهو أمر غير تقليدي في إعداد التقارير التلفزيونية لكن ما العمل؟ هو الموجود

لكني حرصت على نقل وجهة النظر التي لمستها على تويتر من المدونين 
المصريين حول الجاسوس
ويظهر في التقرير أحد المدونين الذين أعرفهم من تويتر من عدة أشهر
  
تويتر وفيسبوك ويوتيوب أصبحت وسائل لا غنى عنها في العمل الصحفي 


أما الجاسوس .. فهو جاسوس "غير شكل" ... من أغرب ما سمعت عن الجواسيس




تاريخ التصوير: ١٤ يونيو حزيران ٢٠١١
مكان التصوير : القاهرة والجيزة 
تصوير : محمد العربي
مونتاج : أحمد ربيع



شاهد التقرير التالي  عن : رفع حظر التجوال
شاهد التقرير السابق عن : امتحانات ثانوية ٢٥ يناير
اطلع على : وريقاتي المصرية

13 Jun 2011

امتحانات ثانوية الثورة

أول تقرير لي من مصر
كنت أتطلع كثيراً إلى لحظة أن أقول : ديمة الخطيب الجزيرة القاهرة
لكنها طلعت من الجيزة

المهم أنها مصر ، لا يهم أين في مصر 


إعداد التقرير أعطاني فرصة التواصل مع نساء مصريات ، وقد استمتعت بالحديث معهن كثيراً

كما أدخلني أول بيت مصري، وهو بيت مي، طالبة الثانوية العامة التي تريد أن تصبح صحفية. هو بيت متواضع في حي الوراق بالجيزة.. زقاق الحي أعاد إلي صوراً من دمشق ومن نابولي 





تاريخ التصوير : ١٢ يونيو حزيران ٢٠١١
تاريخ البث : ١٢-١٣ يونيو حزيران ٢٠١١
مكان التصوير : القاهرة والجيزة
تصوير : محمود المليجي
مونتاج  : ابراهيم خليل

اقرأ أيضاً ----> وريقاتي المصرية

11 Jun 2011

The leader of the melons

Saturday 11 June 2011

When I heard there was a demonstration or a sit-in at Maspero, which is the State Radio and Television building, I rushed out of the nearby Al Jazeera office. I was eager to see the famous Maspero building too, named after a French egyptologistBut as we walked there we were warned not to go. Someone said his Rolex was stolen and people were violent.

I still wanted to go see them. I decided to walk there with a colleague, but no TV camera.

I saw a few dozens of people, all looking pretty poor. They wanted : housing ! And they wanted it : now ! One man on the floor was being beaten by a group of other men and women. Three women looked hysterical, screaming at each other, as I walked by. From afar I could see more beating and fighting between people.



The thug enigma

I was told it is the "thugs" (baltagiya)! Whose thugs? Mubarak's thugs? The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces' thugs? And who is beating whom and why? That man on the floor was being beaten by whom? Is he the thug or is he the thugs' victim? How do you know who is the thug?

As I walked back, following my Egyptian colleague's decision to stay away, we went past a group of policemen, dressed in white. I had learned from Egyptian soap operas that Egyptians call them "shawish" !

Wait a second.. Wait a second.. The police are standing by, just 3 or 4 meters away from the man beaten on the floor? Why don't they restore order, defend the defenseless? Or at least check out what is wrong? They looked as relaxed as ever.

"khalas ma feesh" said a passerby who heard me wondering. It means: "there is (no police) any more!


It surely looked like the policemen standing there were as good as "ma feesh" !





Military trials vs civil trials

"I will not pay a bribe ever again", read a sign at the entrance of a state building. It is a product of the revolution, it even has a facebook logo on the top left corner, which looked like the name of something like a sponsoring company!


The building in question was the Supreme Justice House.


What has a correspondent from South America come to do in Africa?", asked a high-ranking official working for the entity that groups the judges of Egypt.


"I learned about revolutions there, so I came to check yours out", I answered with a smile, hoping to break the ice. I was a bit nervous dealing with officials in an Arab country for the first time in a very long time.


The Supreme Council of Judges decided to back two judges who had criticised on TV (Al Jazeera Mubashar Misr) the trial of civilians in military courts on TV. The two judges had been called in for questioning regarding their public statements. But now the Supreme Council of Judges decided to put an end to that. So they will not be questioned. However it also asked everyone, including judges and journalists, not to "tackle the issue" again in media.

Indeed, Al Jazeera was not allowed to film anything or interview any of the judges or officials there. The president of the Supreme Council of Judges said to me, off camera: I won't talk to any media organisation. This matter is finished.
Does that mean one should not discuss the military trials of civilians in Egypt? And what about former officials from Mubarak's depooosed regime? Why are they being tried, including Mubarak, in civilian courts?


It is quite a debate in the country. It raises a lot of questions about the state of liberties in this transitional post-Mubarak period under military rule.


Clearly the army does not feel comfortable being criticised by anyone. Many I talked to said that the army is "sacred".



took a break in a typical downtown Cairo cafe, full of men. Some were playing backgammon. I wondered why they are not working.

In the midst of the chaos of the day I suddenly saw a man carting melons by. They looked beautiful. They were perfectly stacked in a pile as they were being carted around. The huge price tag, placed on top of a stick, stood proud among them. That is the kind of balance needed in this country: beautiful yet resistant melons, supporting and respecting each other on a bumpy road, led by the man who is carting them around and who placed them where each one belongs.


He would be the leader of the melons!  


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Read previous posts on my stay in Egypt ---> Egyptian Diary

10 Jun 2011

Nawarti Misr


This is the scene that was waiting for me in the morning. It is the Nile ! I suddenly realised I had spent a night by the Nile .. my first Cairo night.

An absolutely beautiful scene ! I could just spend the day sitting on the balcony, watching Cairo and the Nile.

I think I got used to the perfect temperatures of the mild Tropics. It is very hot. The sun is so strong although it is not officially summertime yet in Cairo. I am indeed in Africa. 

I heard the noon call to prayer. It gave me such nostalgia. I am indeed in a muslim Arab country.

It is Friday. But there is no million-march today. My bad luck. I thought of the heat they would have to bear standing there as a crowd! On the Square there are always small gatherings though, as well as families, people just hanging around. 

I was hoping to attend an event on Tahrir Square at night, in the memory of Sheikh Emam, a very famous Egyptian singer whose songs lived on after his death, inspiring the youth of the revolution.  I was even hoping to do a story for Al Jazeera about the topic. But the event did not take place on Tahrir Square unfortunately. Instead it was held on the sidewalk of a street !  It was a very strange event. The musicians were practically invisible to the people attending, who stayed standing literally on the street as cars struggled to pass by.

The singing was great. There was a Tunisian too who was cheered by the small audience as he told a story from the Tunisian revolution. There is such a beautiful new sense of unity and harmony between people from different Arab countries.

I was surprised to learn that Sheikh Emam's revolutionary patriotic songs which were sung in the 60's and 70's are still alive among young Egyptians who were not even born back then. They would actually sing them on the square during the revolution.

"Nawarti Misr" is definitely the phrase I heard the most in my first 24 hours in Egypt. It may sound a bit strange in English. It translates as: "You illuminate Egypt". It is the generous Egyptian way of saying: welcome to Egypt. But just imagine the feeling when someone tells you that you illuminate a country 1-million-Km2 big inhabited by 85 million people! Arab expressions exaggerate a bit, I know, but aren't they beautiful?

On the corniche at night people were everywhere. Eating, chatting, laughing, walking.  So many of them. They looked like they were having a blast ! The Nile seems like good company.

I was happy thinking I was sleeping by the Nile again.. 


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Read my previous post from Egypt ---> Hello Egypt ! 
Read my previous post on my way to Egypt.. from the plane ---> موعد مع ثورة