Hi everyone!
When I'm not following current affairs in the Middle East or tutoring high school kids in the inner-city, I'm a playwright. I'm in the process of writing a new play, tentatively titled "Tahrir." It's a very different sort of piece from what I've written in the past, different in that it's very topical as one can probably assume from its title. I mention it here because I know I have readers in Egypt and other places in the Middle East that are currently being rocked by the tidal wave of the Arab Spring. And while I've done all this research, what I feel I'm lacking is some in-depth stories from the trenches from people who have been actively involved in the protest movement, whether it be in Egypt or Tunisia, Syria or Lebanon. I am currently reading Wael Ghonim's excellent memoir "Revolution 2.0" that gives a brilliant first-hand account of how social media was responsible in large part for putting the Egyptian revolution into motion. This is very helpful, but I need more.
In a nutshell, the play tells the story of Alistair, a young American blogger who goes to Cairo in the early days of Tahrir, meets and becomes influenced by a young Egyptian activist named Gamal. Gamal comes from the Egyptian elite. He is Western-educated, lives in Heliopolis, and prides himself in his life as a playboy. His father is one of Egypt's leading businessmen with very strong ties to the Mubarak regime. But despite all this, Gamal is moved by the protesters' demands and the plight of the everyday Egyptian. As much as this is a story about Alistair's understanding of these events, it is also--perhaps more so--the story of Gamal's social awakening and the conflict he feels between his socioeconomic background and what he believes to be right. I'm still in the early days of writing the play but I do know that Gamal will be arrested in Tahrir, will be tortured at the hands of the police, and will eventually be martyred.
Contrary to the impression many of you may have received of me from this blog, I have never been particularly politically motivated...that is, until I started following the extraordinary events of the past year. I have become very impassioned and feel a strong need to express this passion through my writing, which has always been my strongest suit. So if any of you who follow my blogs regularly or just happened to stumble upon it can offer any insights or put me in touch with anyone who may have been in Tahrir or have been arrested or suffered first-hand the injustices of these governing regimes, please let me know. You can respond here with a comment or contact me on Twitter at @jonmalysiak. Your insights are invaluable. I want my play to do your story justice, especially here in the West where people may not be as aware or well-versed on what's happening in Egypt or Syria on a daily basis.
At any rate, that's my pitch. Tomorrow, back to the news analysis.
Ciao.
Showing posts with label Cairo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cairo. Show all posts
Monday, February 6, 2012
Saturday, December 31, 2011
From the Arab Spring to the Russian Winter: 2011 in Review
Hi everyone!
Hard to believe it's the end of another year...and what an eventful year 2011 has been. From an international perspective, 2011 brought about waves of tremendous change: from Tunis to Cairo, Tripoli to Damascus, Benghazi to Moscow and beyond, the world witnessed demonstration after demonstration that affirmed and reaffirmed the power of the individual and collective voice to move mountains and bring about positive change. From the Arab Spring to the Russian Winter, it seemed not a day went by when we weren't greeted with incredible scenes of personal courage spurred on by gross government abuse and corruption.
2011 wasn't a good year for dictators. We saw the demise of longtime Libyan strongman and resident crazy Muammar Qaddafi; the overthrow of Egyptian dictator and Western ally Hosni Mubarak; and the fall of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. In the midst of all this, we witnessed the deaths of terrorist icon Osama bin Laden and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il. 2011 ended with the largest anti-government demonstrations in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union and, for the first time in eight years, Prime Minister Putin's iron grip on the Kremlin may be loosening as another round of protests has been called for February.
But there remains a lot to be done. As we count down the final hours to 2012, Syrian President Bashir Assad seems determined to maintain control of his country by any and all means possible. While on the one hand he invites representatives from the Arab League to observe his "compliance" with an international mandate to cut back on the violence with which his government handles the protesters, on the other he sends troops to open fire on peaceful protesters in Hama and Homs a mere two-three blocks away from the Arab League delegation. Innocent Syrian men, women, and children are being mowed down in cold blood while the Arab League observers remark that nothing seems to be out of order. I suppose this isn't surprising when the delegation itself is led by Sudanese General Mustafa al-Dabi who has, no doubt, more than his share of blood on his hands from his work in support of Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir. (Darfur, anyone?)
Unfortunately, things aren't looking so great in Egypt either. The interim military-led government recently launched a series of raids on foreign and domestic NGOs in Cairo, stealing computers and documents and preventing humanitarian aid workers from doing their work. Iran appears to be flexing its muscles again in the wake of threatened sanctions against its banking industry by threatening to cut off access to the Strait of Hormuz, thus disrupting the flow and transport of oil to the rest of the world. North Korea continues to assure the smooth transition of power to Kim Jong-il's youngest son Kim Jong-un, who vowed to continue his government's policy of zero cooperation with South Korea. The future is still up-in-the-air in Russia as well. Will Alexei Navalny and the tens of thousands who support him successfully alter the outcome of March's presidential elections? ... or will they and the rest of the democratic world be sorely disappointed?
And, of course, here in the US we face another election year. Will Obama's sadly underwhelming and arguably rather inept four years in office be awarded another term, or will we see the election of Republican Mitt Romney, who would be the nation's first Mormon president? Next week's upcoming Iowa caucus will officially launch the 2012 presidential race.
Hold on, folks...if you thought 2011 was a wild ride, wait till you see 2012!
Ciao.
Hard to believe it's the end of another year...and what an eventful year 2011 has been. From an international perspective, 2011 brought about waves of tremendous change: from Tunis to Cairo, Tripoli to Damascus, Benghazi to Moscow and beyond, the world witnessed demonstration after demonstration that affirmed and reaffirmed the power of the individual and collective voice to move mountains and bring about positive change. From the Arab Spring to the Russian Winter, it seemed not a day went by when we weren't greeted with incredible scenes of personal courage spurred on by gross government abuse and corruption.
2011 wasn't a good year for dictators. We saw the demise of longtime Libyan strongman and resident crazy Muammar Qaddafi; the overthrow of Egyptian dictator and Western ally Hosni Mubarak; and the fall of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. In the midst of all this, we witnessed the deaths of terrorist icon Osama bin Laden and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il. 2011 ended with the largest anti-government demonstrations in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union and, for the first time in eight years, Prime Minister Putin's iron grip on the Kremlin may be loosening as another round of protests has been called for February.
But there remains a lot to be done. As we count down the final hours to 2012, Syrian President Bashir Assad seems determined to maintain control of his country by any and all means possible. While on the one hand he invites representatives from the Arab League to observe his "compliance" with an international mandate to cut back on the violence with which his government handles the protesters, on the other he sends troops to open fire on peaceful protesters in Hama and Homs a mere two-three blocks away from the Arab League delegation. Innocent Syrian men, women, and children are being mowed down in cold blood while the Arab League observers remark that nothing seems to be out of order. I suppose this isn't surprising when the delegation itself is led by Sudanese General Mustafa al-Dabi who has, no doubt, more than his share of blood on his hands from his work in support of Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir. (Darfur, anyone?)
Unfortunately, things aren't looking so great in Egypt either. The interim military-led government recently launched a series of raids on foreign and domestic NGOs in Cairo, stealing computers and documents and preventing humanitarian aid workers from doing their work. Iran appears to be flexing its muscles again in the wake of threatened sanctions against its banking industry by threatening to cut off access to the Strait of Hormuz, thus disrupting the flow and transport of oil to the rest of the world. North Korea continues to assure the smooth transition of power to Kim Jong-il's youngest son Kim Jong-un, who vowed to continue his government's policy of zero cooperation with South Korea. The future is still up-in-the-air in Russia as well. Will Alexei Navalny and the tens of thousands who support him successfully alter the outcome of March's presidential elections? ... or will they and the rest of the democratic world be sorely disappointed?
And, of course, here in the US we face another election year. Will Obama's sadly underwhelming and arguably rather inept four years in office be awarded another term, or will we see the election of Republican Mitt Romney, who would be the nation's first Mormon president? Next week's upcoming Iowa caucus will officially launch the 2012 presidential race.
Hold on, folks...if you thought 2011 was a wild ride, wait till you see 2012!
Ciao.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
The Arab Spring, Part Two
Hi everyone!
Well, yesterday there was yet another round of protests in Egypt and again the military did not hesitate to use violence in an effort to stem the tide. A peaceful sit-in outside the Egyptian cabinet building turned deadly as members of the military threw rocks and file cabinets down upon the protestors from the roof of a government building.
Polling stations across the country were also scenes of violence between civilians and the army as the second stage of the election was held for positions in the new parliament. The military--once all-powerful---is running scared. Once again, votes coming in confirm the fact that the new Egyptian Parliament is taking on an Islamic bent with the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis earning the majority share of votes, an identical outcome as was seen in round one. The military is secular. The prominence of the Islamists in the new government basically cancels out the influence of the military...at least this would be the case if the military backed down and let true democracy take its course. Unfortunately, it seems, the military has no such plans.
Protests yesterday were not confined to just Egypt. Syria was wracked by violence yet again with reports, according to the New York Times, of at least 17 people killed by government troops. A recent United Nations count puts the total Syrian death toll since the protests began there at 5,000.
Also there's a brouhaha brewing in the southwestern Chinese province of Wufan where the local population have basically taken over a village to protest a local government land-grab. It seems the Chinese government buys land at cut-rate prices that should be owned by the locals and then sells the same land to government-sponsored building companies for a considerable profit, completely shutting the villagers out of the deal. The current protest started after one of the village spokesmen was mysteriously taken into custody by the police and died. The police claim the man had a heart attack but family who came to identify the body said it betrayed signs of torture. The body of course has not been released back to the family while an escalating military presence on the outskirts of the village harbors the potential for rather unpleasant things to come.
Time magazine in its annual end-of-the-year 'Person of the Year' issue awarded this year's honor to the Protestor. It does indeed seem that 2011 is the year of the protest, of the long-oppressed silent majority finding their collective voice and using it to inspire change. The videos and Tweets coming out of places like Cairo, Homs, Manama, Moscow and Wufan frighten and inspire at the same time. My heart goes out to everyone--young and old--who are simply pursuing the basic human rights of democratic representation and the chance to create a better life for their young and loved ones. But, as I've said before and will undoubtedly say again, those in positions of power here in the West need to respect and support whatever results this democratic process brings into being, regardless of whether these new governments are secular or (in the Middle East) Islamic. That's what happens in a democracy--the people elect their leaders without outside pressure or influence. Sure, it may make many of us uncomfortable to see Egypt turn into another theocracy (not that this will happen) like Iran, but who are we to tell the people otherwise? Unless we live in these countries, or are out there occupying Tahrir Square, we don't have a voice. We can only observe and pass the message along.
Ciao.
QUESTION OF THE DAY: "Do you believe Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will ever cede control, or will he go down fighting like Qadaffi?"
Well, yesterday there was yet another round of protests in Egypt and again the military did not hesitate to use violence in an effort to stem the tide. A peaceful sit-in outside the Egyptian cabinet building turned deadly as members of the military threw rocks and file cabinets down upon the protestors from the roof of a government building.
Polling stations across the country were also scenes of violence between civilians and the army as the second stage of the election was held for positions in the new parliament. The military--once all-powerful---is running scared. Once again, votes coming in confirm the fact that the new Egyptian Parliament is taking on an Islamic bent with the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis earning the majority share of votes, an identical outcome as was seen in round one. The military is secular. The prominence of the Islamists in the new government basically cancels out the influence of the military...at least this would be the case if the military backed down and let true democracy take its course. Unfortunately, it seems, the military has no such plans.
Protests yesterday were not confined to just Egypt. Syria was wracked by violence yet again with reports, according to the New York Times, of at least 17 people killed by government troops. A recent United Nations count puts the total Syrian death toll since the protests began there at 5,000.
Also there's a brouhaha brewing in the southwestern Chinese province of Wufan where the local population have basically taken over a village to protest a local government land-grab. It seems the Chinese government buys land at cut-rate prices that should be owned by the locals and then sells the same land to government-sponsored building companies for a considerable profit, completely shutting the villagers out of the deal. The current protest started after one of the village spokesmen was mysteriously taken into custody by the police and died. The police claim the man had a heart attack but family who came to identify the body said it betrayed signs of torture. The body of course has not been released back to the family while an escalating military presence on the outskirts of the village harbors the potential for rather unpleasant things to come.
Time magazine in its annual end-of-the-year 'Person of the Year' issue awarded this year's honor to the Protestor. It does indeed seem that 2011 is the year of the protest, of the long-oppressed silent majority finding their collective voice and using it to inspire change. The videos and Tweets coming out of places like Cairo, Homs, Manama, Moscow and Wufan frighten and inspire at the same time. My heart goes out to everyone--young and old--who are simply pursuing the basic human rights of democratic representation and the chance to create a better life for their young and loved ones. But, as I've said before and will undoubtedly say again, those in positions of power here in the West need to respect and support whatever results this democratic process brings into being, regardless of whether these new governments are secular or (in the Middle East) Islamic. That's what happens in a democracy--the people elect their leaders without outside pressure or influence. Sure, it may make many of us uncomfortable to see Egypt turn into another theocracy (not that this will happen) like Iran, but who are we to tell the people otherwise? Unless we live in these countries, or are out there occupying Tahrir Square, we don't have a voice. We can only observe and pass the message along.
Ciao.
QUESTION OF THE DAY: "Do you believe Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will ever cede control, or will he go down fighting like Qadaffi?"
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