Egypt is quieter these days. Protests against the ouster of Islamist
President Mohammed Morsi have subsided for now — although a Muslim
Brotherhood-led alliance is calling for marches and civil disobedience
Friday even as the military-appointed interim government retains a firm
grip.
Yet, Egypt remains deeply polarized. And the middle is a lonely place to be.
Some
of the young revolutionaries who led the 2011 uprising against the
regime of Hosni Mubarak feel they are back to square one, battling
authoritarian forces on both sides.
At 9:00 on a recent
evening, Aalam Wassef stands on his balcony and bangs a spoon against a
pot. The noise echoes in the neighborhood but no one else returns the
clattering sound.
The video artist and activist yells "masmouaa," the Arabic word that means "to be heard."
Wassef's message? That there is a third way against the Muslim Brotherhood and against Egypt's military.
"This
polarization — it's first aim is to change the conversation," Wassef
says. "The real conversation that no one is talking about is bread,
freedom, social justice and rule of law, none of which was supported ...
by the Muslim Brotherhood and certainly not by the military regime,
which has been ruling this country for over 60 years."
Since Morsi's ouster, Egypt is a country deeply divided in a zero-sum game: You are either with us or against us.
That's
the view of the military, which now rules Egypt. Anyone who disagrees
faces grave consequences. It's a warning to street activists like Wassef
and to others like Nobel laureate Mohammed ElBaradei, who resigned as
vice president after the bloody crackdown on pro-Morsi protesters. Now,
ElBaradei faces charges of breaching national trust.
Wassef and
his friend Khalid Abdalla, a young actor and activist, started the
Masmouaa campaign to show people there is a middle ground. Every night
at 9 p.m., they bang a pot and hope others will join.
"In that
first bang, you are afraid and you feel alone. As people begin to
respond, you begin to feel less alone," says Abdalla. "You begin to feel
more courageous. You begin to feel like you can state your opinion."
"Barrier Of Fear" Returns
But very few people are speaking out now. When they do, they are quickly demonized as traitors.
Local
television channels play constant montages about what is called "the
war on terror," showing bearded men with guns and images of dead
policemen. There is no outlet now for more critical voices. Islamist TV
stations were shut down right after Morsi's ouster, and most independent
journalists have been intimidated into silence.
No comments:
Post a Comment