Egypt and Beyond: the evolution of revolution

The first part is excerpted from Nadim Fetaih, a Canadian-Egyptian documentary maker. In the second excerpt, Ramesh Srinivasan reports on his conversations with Egyptian activists, about their perception of the role of social media.

Nadim Fetaih:

“Let me explain something that I learned about Egypt — something that I inevitably did not learn with my stay there. The Egyptian revolution was not a revolt against Mubarak, this is a common misconception. Though their major slogan “el shaab ureet escaat el nazaam” or “the people demand the end of the regime” was quite obviously against the dictatorship that existed, I feel that was simply the syntax of the revolution. If one reads into it as they would a book or any kind of art, one can see the symbolic stance that the people had. It was never really against something but rather for the human dignity that 31 years in a dictatorship had demolished — a destruction which had began over 60 years ago with rise of Nasr. And this, my friends, is something that the world connected to. Yes, many of the western societies do not have state mandated torture (although the Canadian actions taken of the Afghan detainees created a despicable image of Canada), and yes, we have a “democracy” (although Canada has no time limit to our Prime Ministers — a truly disgusting aspect of Canadian politics), and yes, many people here have jobs and an education (jobs to pay off a higher – on average — household debt than our neighbours to the South (approximately $15,000/household) and an education system that is based on simple regurgitation of “facts” in our over-priced textbooks and advertisement riddled universities/colleges), but with the widening gap of the rich and poor, the destruction of the middle class, and the above-the-law mentality of CEO’s and prevailing corporate elite, we feel just as the Egyptians did.

See, in Egypt, there existed quite the same situation, a destruction of the middle class, a widening gap between the rich and poor, and a prevailing fearful population. But, they awoke, they could not handle that which was being done to them. Of course, I cannot simply connect the intense human rights violations that the Egyptian government led my Hosni Mubarak and the Military Counsel which still holds power committed. I think that would be incredibly unfair and morally unjust. But what I can say, I believe is far more powerful. If the Egyptian people, stood up against tear gas, rubble bullets, marble bullets, water canons and at times live ammunition, if they are standing up against a corrupt military counsel who has nothing but lethal weapons to fire against protestors and the ability to give military trials to the average person who stands against the injustices, then how DARE we not stand against something as little as the corporate elite? How dare we not stand up against a small percentage of the masses who control our very livelihoods? How dare we not stand against the injustices that occur each time a man or woman is laid off while their CEO’s get millions of dollars in either severance packages or stock? How dare we not stand against the injustices that we all feel continue to go on, but continue to do nothing about?

This is, what I feel has brought the new wave of revolutionaries around the world. Spain, Portugal, Greece, they have all realized the same thing — that if people facing death, imprisonment, and unbelievable pain can stand against an oppressor, why can they not stand against a small percentage of the world’s population who’s only desire is profit over humanity. We are seeing the IMF and the World Bank slowly destroy the global economy, we are seeing a previous bubble (the mass bailouts to international banks and dying corporations) bursting as the global debt crisis is crippling the international market. We are currently seeing governments destroy the contract with their citizens simply to save their economy — based on a GDP which by no means represents how well the people of a country are doing, but rather how well the corporations are stifling money from their wallets — which by the very act, entitles a revolt.

The Euro is in incredible danger. Greece has just put through an austerity package that will cripple all social programs over the next 30 years — something that the people in Syntagma Square have called a war on its people. Spain is awaiting either another bailout or incredible austerity measures to be put in place that are only meant to save the banks and the economy while completely forgetting about the human aspect of their country. Italy’s economy is on the brink of destruction — an economy which has 2,400 tons of gold behind it, which could very well bring depression to Europe if not the rest of the world by defaulting on a loan. The U.S. is currently awaiting to raise their debt cap, which whether or not it is done, could destroy the North American economy and easily rippling to the rest of the world. In no situation whatsoever do I see a decent resolution that would not cripple the world’s economy and — bringing it closer to home — the Canadian economy.

The bubble is bursting, the world is going through a downwards spiral, and what are the people calling for then? Simple. The first international revolution. This, actually, makes incredible sense. No revolution — with today’s current global market and community — can be finished alone. In fact, I cannot see any national revolution occurring without international pressure from every country demanding the same thing: humanity over profit. With the current siege of the prevailing idea around the world, I do not think that this is as far-fetched as it may seem. In fact, I met many activists on my journey that believe in the same thing — who are working day and night to try and create something which has never been done before.

Many people will say the same thing — how can we fight for a revolution with no political dogma behind it? Well, to them I simply need to explain that the Egyptian revolution had no political ideology behind it, nor did it have any religious rhetoric, nor did it have any leader. This was, in many ways, the main reason the revolution was able to be successful. Everyone was united against something — but what they did not realize was that it was far more FOR something (human dignity) than against anything. The current international revolutionary fights for the unknown, a daunting idea, but with the beacon of hope lighting the way. There are currently many groups around the world trying to find a new system that is best for their country and an international one that could be created which is based on direct or participatory democracy. This is the fundamental basis of all the revolutions that are currently being fought for — that “representatives” no longer represent the masses but the greed of corporations and the undying hunger of the market which can only be fed with the slow degradation of our rights and freedoms.

And with the understanding of the Egyptian revolution, we can truly create everlasting change, we can create the path to an unknown future — a system created by the people, for the people. Think about it this way. Karl Marx made a mistake, he created an entire system alone. This will inevitably lead to flaws as one man can not see every aspect of life, every tiny problem that may occur. But, we must all give him credit, while inside a box, he perceived a system outside of said box — an incredibly difficult task. So what can we learn from that? If each individual can simply chip away at the box that we all find ourselves in and have a peak of the outside, no matter how small a peak, then together we can create a system with all our perspectives combined, an overall vision, outside of the box can be created. This is exactly what many groups around the world are trying to create, a system based on individual views and the ideas from every part of the political spectrum and educational background combined.

This, my friends, is the evolution of revolution. We are seeing the growth of humanity beyond borders, beyond the walls that separate us — whether real or not. We are seeing a new breed of revolutionaries, a new means of fighting the revolution, and a goal that has never been believed possible before.

Well, Canada, what does that mean for us? That means that we have a lot to catch up on. We have a lot to think about, to fight for, to change in our society. We are not as immune as one may believe. I know I am not the only person who feels like this system could be better. I know I am not the only one who is willing to fight for a future that is better for the next generation. I know I am not the only one who feels as though humanity has been lost every time profit is put above our rights or dignity. Ladies and gentlemen, let go of your fears of the unknown future that may occur. Let go of the “what can I do” mentality that has been pushed onto many of us. We have seen what the people of a country can do when they unite. Let us unite, not under any political dogma nor under any leader. Let us unite as humans, fighting for humanity, working towards a humanist future.

Remember, simply by reading this you have committed a revolutionary act. Simply by awakening yourself will the revolution begin. Simply by educating yourself on the global and local issues we face will we begin to create the change we all need. Simply by questioning everything — including this very blog — will you be able to say you are a revolutionary. It begins with you, the reader, the citizen, the man or woman, the son or daughter, the brother or sister, the one whose reflections come off of the very screen you are looking at. One person can make a difference, but together, we can make history.

Let me finish by saying one final thing. The international revolution was spawned in Egypt (debatably in Tunisia, but through my views it did not spread until Egypt took hold of the cause), but unless they finish what they started, unless they are able to bring real democracy to their country, I cannot see the rest of the world doing the same. Egypt is our beacon of hope, every Egyptian standing up for human dignity is our revolutionary leader, their cause is all of our causes. We cannot forget about their actions, their inspirational and beautiful actions. We cannot forget about their sacrifices — sacrifices they continue to make for the betterment of humanity in Egypt. And we cannot forget of the need for their revolution to succeed — a revolution that has been called the unfinished revolution by TIME Magazine. A revolution, whose second part may explode (in my own humble opinion) within the next six months, the exact time that I believe the rest of the world will stand up.”

* A field report on the role of social media as reported by David Rosenberg:

“Ramesh Srinivasan says the answers aren’t as simple as either social media skeptics or Twitter’s true believers assert. An assistant professor at the University of California in Los Angeles specializing in social media, he spent a month in Egypt talking to the people who made the revolution and even witnessed social media in action during protests at the end of June.

What he found was a finely wrought triangle – one side being the tiny minority of people using smart phones, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook; the second the traditional mass media; and third the great majority of Egyptians who have little or no access to the Internet at all. Without all three, the Egyptian revolution would have been very different, or perhaps not at all.

“The fact that events get put onto YouTube and Twitter and get picked up instantly by [the satellite television networks] Al-Jazeera or Al-Arabia gives social media a huge ability to reach millions of people in a very short news cycle,” Srinivasan told The Media Line.

Figuring out the dynamics of social media and revolution is important for grassroots activists, who can learn how to best employ it in the future, as well as for governments trying to keep a lid on dissent. The mass media, which increasingly rely on Tweets and YouTube uploads for images and eyewitness accounts, also stand to learn something.

The number of Egyptians with any access to social media tools is a tiny but critical minority. About six million Egyptians were registered with Facebook in the first quarter of 2011, the time when protests were raging across Egypt, but that is only about 5% of the population, according to the Dubai School of Government’s Arab Social Media Report published in May.

Twitter usage is even smaller, with only about 130,000 Egyptians registered, but those who tweet have an agenda: Among the most popular hash tags are #Jan25, #egypt, #libya and #bahrain — the date of the Egyptian revolution and three of the countries rocked by Arab Spring unrest, the report found.

But that didn’t prevent those with smart phones and Twitter from spreading their message, most effectively through raw footage of protests in action, said Srinivasan.

Most Egyptians don’t have a smart phone or a computer at home – indeed many of the people Srinivasan interviewed didn’t even know what the Internet is – but they do have a television set connected to a satellite dish. That’s where they would see the events unfolding in Tahrir Square or right in their own towns, he said.

“I stayed in shacks made of garbage with satellite dishes on their roofs,” he said. “These dishes were picking up channels and networks not tightly controlled by the state and were sourcing from social media. That’s one reason people would go out into the street, because they would see images of their own places and their own people …It was so much more immediate. That inspires action and collective identification.”

Prompted by TV images fed by YouTube and Facebook, people would gather for demonstrations in their neighborhoods. From there, they would wind their way through streets and alleys, picking up more protestors along the way until they multiplied into the hundreds of thousands that filled Tahrir Square, Srinivasan said.

Srinivasan is new to Egypt, but he has spent time on the battlefields of rebellion in Central Asia, India and among Native Americans in the U.S. mapping out the position of social media. He says the Egyptian experience is in many ways unique, because it is part of a wider rebellion across the Arab world.

“Egyptians see themselves as part of the Arab world and a larger Arab movements, the identification with Tunisia was very, very important. They see Tunisia as their brothers but they also see it as a healthy competition.”

Yet, said Srinivasan , the middle class Egyptians who lit the spark of rebellion had very different concerns than the poor and working class people who bulked up the demonstrations. While Mubarak was disliked by almost everyone, Srinivasan said that based on extensive talks with Egyptians from all walks of life, the poor were more concerned with issues like the cost of food and lack of jobs rather than political freedoms that preoccupied the middle class..

“They have views that are not at all representative of the population.” he said.
“Everyone was aligned against the Mubarak regime, but social media users are such a small subset. Their beliefs perceptions, political perspectives don’t accord with the larger population. Everyone came to Tahrir Square because they all hated the regime.”

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