Almost to Egypt
Greetings all -
As this is my very first blog post, and I have yet to let anyone know that I will be blogging while in Egypt, it is more than likely that this will go unread. But on the off chance that you are so avid a follower of this blog (hey mom) that you have read this far, here is where things stand:
First off, I am working my ass off (oh, by the way, I would expect a fair amount of profanity in this blog. If you are faint of heart, read on at your own peril). So anyway, I'm working my ass off trying to get this conference together. For those of you who aren't aware, I work for one of the larger international relief and development organizations. We are holding a conference for about 145 people in Cairo in January and I'm coordinating it. Hooray!! I leave in 5 days, the day after Xmas and I'm sure my family is just beside themselves with delight.
If you've followed the news, you know that things in Egypt have been . . . tense I guess is the right word. It has been almost a year since the initial wave of protests took root and ultimately ousted President Mubarak, terminating his 30 year "term." If you could see me right now, I'd be using air quotes. In part because calling that a "term" presidency is an effing joke, and in part because I think air quotes are super fun and I use them emphatically. For those of you who utilize the weak, limp wristed air quotes, they're ugly and undermine your point. Shame on you.
Anyway, because I work here I was able to get fairly up-to-the-minute updates, and had access to some first hand accounts. That said, until now I've been pretty far removed from the whole Arab Awakening. Like most of us on the sidelines of events such as these, I find myself mostly in awe. A fuse was lit, whether by social media, by the youth bulge, or the self-immolation of a man in Tunisia, but lit none-the-less. And a passion for justice, for the right to be the masters of our own destiny and the acute and urgent awareness that something very wrong was happening, neigh being ALLOWED to take place at the expense of the livelihoods of many, took hold and flat out ravaged half a continent. And I feel pretty confident in suggesting that the Awakening has provided fuel to the fires in Russia and in the States within the Occupy movement.
Allow me to take a moment here to address the pundits and those of the editorial ilk. I know it is tempting to look at the events of the Awakening and wax poetic about how we are witnessing the harbinger of a new age. That social media has somehow democratized our youth. That today, somehow, the "poor and disenfranchised masses of the developing world (and by developing you really just mean non-western. Most of these places have developed just fine, thank you very much) have a new thirst for justice! For representative government!" Frankly, I think this is BS. And a veiled attempt to take credit by "good-example." I have news for you all, we are not the good example you'd like to pretend we are. We've got some developing to do ourselves.
Please take my rather strong opinions with a grain of salt. I am young, I am white, I am American. By all accounts, I'm an idiot. Full disclosure. But I believe the reality of our situation is something quite different. I believe intrinsic in our human nature is the ability to observe wrong and to fight for right, not just for ourselves but for all. The values of the Awakening are as old as the Magna Carta, and older still is the ardent desire to be responsible for one's own destiny. Many strong nations have been built on it, but it is a part of us. For those of you who are still balking at my suggestion, I defer you to the Velvet Revolution of former Soviet Czechoslovakia. One of the most peaceful and effective revolutions by a nation of people very far removed from the values of the western democracy, and yet so compelling that it prompted a slow toppling of the eastern block which, by the way, was mostly performed by means of a giant Walk Out. Yes, that's right, the protest method that one guy used in your favorite 80s teen-dramedy (pick one, any one) was the same method used in the former Soviet Union! They just walked the hell out of their own countries. And NOT because they had been inspired by Coca Cola and the Fourth of July, but because they knew being disenfranchised and slowly starved to death is wrong, and emblematic of a failure on the part of those sworn to protect your livelihood.
The events of the Arab Awakening, like the events of the fall of the Soviet Union, the dismantling of English Colonialism, the American Revolution illustrate again for us all one of our common traits: That we all have a right to make manifest our own destinies, but protecting the rights of all outweighs the destiny of one.
I am in awe of the sacrifices these people have been willing to make for their family, their friends, their children. And in awe of the impact that one has had on the many. Blue Bra Girl, this one's for you. I will be honored to share, in whatever small way the events of your life in the next month (from a distance, of course Mom . . . Maybe;).
As this is my very first blog post, and I have yet to let anyone know that I will be blogging while in Egypt, it is more than likely that this will go unread. But on the off chance that you are so avid a follower of this blog (hey mom) that you have read this far, here is where things stand:
First off, I am working my ass off (oh, by the way, I would expect a fair amount of profanity in this blog. If you are faint of heart, read on at your own peril). So anyway, I'm working my ass off trying to get this conference together. For those of you who aren't aware, I work for one of the larger international relief and development organizations. We are holding a conference for about 145 people in Cairo in January and I'm coordinating it. Hooray!! I leave in 5 days, the day after Xmas and I'm sure my family is just beside themselves with delight.
If you've followed the news, you know that things in Egypt have been . . . tense I guess is the right word. It has been almost a year since the initial wave of protests took root and ultimately ousted President Mubarak, terminating his 30 year "term." If you could see me right now, I'd be using air quotes. In part because calling that a "term" presidency is an effing joke, and in part because I think air quotes are super fun and I use them emphatically. For those of you who utilize the weak, limp wristed air quotes, they're ugly and undermine your point. Shame on you.
Anyway, because I work here I was able to get fairly up-to-the-minute updates, and had access to some first hand accounts. That said, until now I've been pretty far removed from the whole Arab Awakening. Like most of us on the sidelines of events such as these, I find myself mostly in awe. A fuse was lit, whether by social media, by the youth bulge, or the self-immolation of a man in Tunisia, but lit none-the-less. And a passion for justice, for the right to be the masters of our own destiny and the acute and urgent awareness that something very wrong was happening, neigh being ALLOWED to take place at the expense of the livelihoods of many, took hold and flat out ravaged half a continent. And I feel pretty confident in suggesting that the Awakening has provided fuel to the fires in Russia and in the States within the Occupy movement.
Allow me to take a moment here to address the pundits and those of the editorial ilk. I know it is tempting to look at the events of the Awakening and wax poetic about how we are witnessing the harbinger of a new age. That social media has somehow democratized our youth. That today, somehow, the "poor and disenfranchised masses of the developing world (and by developing you really just mean non-western. Most of these places have developed just fine, thank you very much) have a new thirst for justice! For representative government!" Frankly, I think this is BS. And a veiled attempt to take credit by "good-example." I have news for you all, we are not the good example you'd like to pretend we are. We've got some developing to do ourselves.
Please take my rather strong opinions with a grain of salt. I am young, I am white, I am American. By all accounts, I'm an idiot. Full disclosure. But I believe the reality of our situation is something quite different. I believe intrinsic in our human nature is the ability to observe wrong and to fight for right, not just for ourselves but for all. The values of the Awakening are as old as the Magna Carta, and older still is the ardent desire to be responsible for one's own destiny. Many strong nations have been built on it, but it is a part of us. For those of you who are still balking at my suggestion, I defer you to the Velvet Revolution of former Soviet Czechoslovakia. One of the most peaceful and effective revolutions by a nation of people very far removed from the values of the western democracy, and yet so compelling that it prompted a slow toppling of the eastern block which, by the way, was mostly performed by means of a giant Walk Out. Yes, that's right, the protest method that one guy used in your favorite 80s teen-dramedy (pick one, any one) was the same method used in the former Soviet Union! They just walked the hell out of their own countries. And NOT because they had been inspired by Coca Cola and the Fourth of July, but because they knew being disenfranchised and slowly starved to death is wrong, and emblematic of a failure on the part of those sworn to protect your livelihood.
The events of the Arab Awakening, like the events of the fall of the Soviet Union, the dismantling of English Colonialism, the American Revolution illustrate again for us all one of our common traits: That we all have a right to make manifest our own destinies, but protecting the rights of all outweighs the destiny of one.
I am in awe of the sacrifices these people have been willing to make for their family, their friends, their children. And in awe of the impact that one has had on the many. Blue Bra Girl, this one's for you. I will be honored to share, in whatever small way the events of your life in the next month (from a distance, of course Mom . . . Maybe;).
Comments
Post a Comment