Political, Social, Economic Paralysis
"Bread, freedom and social justice. That is what we wanted then and that is what we want now. We are unhappy because we did not get anything we wanted. Morsi has no interest in democracy or political freedom. He has produced a constitution without consulting the people."That truly does represent the reason why people in Tunisia and then Egypt protested in the streets for change. Basic economic issues of the cost of living. Bread was subsidized and so was heating fuel, but there were rumblings that they would be reduced. And the poor and the lower middle class, with wide unemployment, were unable to cope with the basic cost of living in those countries.
Bassel Adel, Parliamentarian Dustour Party
Liberty, the concept of changing to a democracy was an add-on, a dream that if the political system changed and the people had a louder, authoritative voice as opposed to being oppressed within a dictatorship, then a fairer distribution of wealth would ensue and all would be well. That was, after all, what was seen through films, on the Internet, through ubiquitous cellphones with their photo transmissions.
If the West could have it, why not the East? "The Egyptian pound is down against the dollar. Our economy is even worse now than it was under Mubarak. Morsi behaves like a dictator. Something must be done. This is the beginning of another revolution", claimed an Egyptian selling scarves at Tahrir Square; his job at a bazaar dissolved as tourism dropped.
It would be interesting to have a poll taken. To determine how many Egyptians would roll back time if they could. When under their former benevolent dictator the economy was in fairly good shape, tourism was a reliable source of income both for the state and for individuals; foreign investment was strong, and manufacturing kept many employed. That was then. This is now.
The Egyptian economy is in tatters. Unemployment has risen. The price of ordinary food is high and on the increase. And crime has gone from awful to critical. Egyptians are not a happy people. Many feel they have been deceived, their hopes, raised with the removal of former President Hosni Mubarak, now completely dashed. They have a tyrant now who has given himself powers that the former one would not have dared take for himself.
The Muslim Brotherhood-led parliament is at vicious odds with the judiciary which refuses to recognize its democratic legitimacy. There is a disquieting, yet orderly relationship of mistrust between the government and the once-powerful military, which has kept certain powers to itself and will undoubtedly, if push comes to shove, confront the government.
The secularists, leftists, those who strained to accomplish some semblance of democracy for their country are devastatingly disappointed at the turn of events. The opposition parties are apoplectic with disbelief and rage at their political emasculation. Egypt's large and nervous Coptic Christian minority have no faith in the guarantees implicit in the new constitution. They know that volatile, threatening outbursts will erupt ever more frequently in this new atmosphere of Islamist entitlements.
The large and resentful Islamist demographic that has given its trust to the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists feel that democracy has given them the right to a country whose values they can now support with pride for it now reflects their own. And they seethe with anger over the opposition to what they feel is inevitable for their country; a more Islamist-observing nation.
"What is the opposition, I'm not even sure any more. I am not a member of a party but I am opposed to everything that is going on today. We have been at this so long that this is not the end or the beginning of anything. I only hope that maybe in ten years we will reach a state when people realize that Islmists are not the solution", said Rana Safey, 26 years old, a medical doctor with the group Anti-Harassment Movement, whose goal is to prevent women from being assaulted.
Labels: Communication, Conflict, Controversy, Democracy, Egypt, Islamism, Muslim Brotherhood
posted by Pieface @ Monday, January 28, 2013
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