Something in the air of Egypt

[The Vegan Marxist]

Something in the air
October 31, 2010

Since I returned to Cairo two days ago, the conversations I’m having with or hearing from random strangers are amazing.

I had to go yesterday to do some paper work at the Nasr City registrar, and as usual the procedures included photocopying my ID and every single document. I went into one of the small shops surrounding the registrar, where two women, in the beginning of their 30s I’d say, were actively attending to customers who were waving their papers, ID cards, passports, impatiently wanting them to be photocopied.

At some point, a man in his 60s came into the shop, wearing a galabiya and a traditional peasant hat, stuttering. Both him and some other man were talking to the two women workers. I wasn’t focusing, but suddenly I heard one of them shouting with humor at the women saying: “You are the post-war generation, the peace generation, what do you know?”

“Hahaha, yeah, we came in the quiet times,” replied one of the women. “No wars. Too much relaxing, eih?”

And that’s when the man in galabiya suddenly barged in, stuttering: “I think your time now is worse than the time of the war. During the war, the kilo of meat was 47 piasters. How much is it today? And who said the war is over? The real war only started. Look at the poverty, corruption and hunger. It’s an internal war. It’s worse than the war with Israelis. May God bless you and give you strength. Your generation is at war. It’s a disaster, a bigger disaster than our generation faced.”

Today, I took a cab to Ramses. The driver was silent till he found out I was a journalist. That’s when he exploded:

“May God burn down this regime. This country is going on fire soon, very soon. We can’t take it anymore. Why is everyone blaming the Nazif government? Nazif is nothing. It’s Hosni Mubarak himself who is responsible for this situation we have reached. Why aren’t you talking about Mubarak? Journalists and people on TV talk about Nazif this and Nazif that. But they never mention Mubarak. They are cowards. They should say Mubarak is bad. Mubarak is responsible…. There will be another bread initfada, like that of 1977. And this time we will burn the country down. We will not burn the cars, buses or shops. These are ours. No no. We will burn them. We will burn this government. We will burn down the police stations.”

On my way back from Ramses, also in a cab, the driver started complaining about hassles from the traffic police, and about the “scam” fees imposed on taxis by the Finance Ministry. He said he was talking with his friends about having a parade with their cabs, raising banners protesting the government. “But we have to contact the media. If there are no cameras, the police can make us disappear. They are scared of cameras. We’ll contact Al-Jazeera, Dream, Mehwar and even CNN to ride with us while we protest.”

There is something in the air in Egypt. It could be Mubarak’s Autumn of Fury (http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2010/10/autumn-of-fury-mubarak-edition.html), as I and increasingly many people around me sense. Not a day passes without reading or hearing about a strike (http://groups.diigo.com/group/egyptianworkers). No one knows when the explosion is going to happen, but it seems everyone I meet or bump into today feel it’s inevitable.

http://www.arabawy.org/2010/10/31/something-in-the-air/

[Kiev Communard]

Something in the air
October 31, 2010

Since I returned to Cairo two days ago, the conversations I’m having with or hearing from random strangers are amazing.

I had to go yesterday to do some paper work at the Nasr City registrar, and as usual the procedures included photocopying my ID and every single document. I went into one of the small shops surrounding the registrar, where two women, in the beginning of their 30s I’d say, were actively attending to customers who were waving their papers, ID cards, passports, impatiently wanting them to be photocopied.

At some point, a man in his 60s came into the shop, wearing a galabiya and a traditional peasant hat, stuttering. Both him and some other man were talking to the two women workers. I wasn’t focusing, but suddenly I heard one of them shouting with humor at the women saying: “You are the post-war generation, the peace generation, what do you know?”

“Hahaha, yeah, we came in the quiet times,” replied one of the women. “No wars. Too much relaxing, eih?”

And that’s when the man in galabiya suddenly barged in, stuttering: “I think your time now is worse than the time of the war. During the war, the kilo of meat was 47 piasters. How much is it today? And who said the war is over? The real war only started. Look at the poverty, corruption and hunger. It’s an internal war. It’s worse than the war with Israelis. May God bless you and give you strength. Your generation is at war. It’s a disaster, a bigger disaster than our generation faced.”

Today, I took a cab to Ramses. The driver was silent till he found out I was a journalist. That’s when he exploded:

“May God burn down this regime. This country is going on fire soon, very soon. We can’t take it anymore. Why is everyone blaming the Nazif government? Nazif is nothing. It’s Hosni Mubarak himself who is responsible for this situation we have reached. Why aren’t you talking about Mubarak? Journalists and people on TV talk about Nazif this and Nazif that. But they never mention Mubarak. They are cowards. They should say Mubarak is bad. Mubarak is responsible…. There will be another bread initfada, like that of 1977. And this time we will burn the country down. We will not burn the cars, buses or shops. These are ours. No no. We will burn them. We will burn this government. We will burn down the police stations.”

On my way back from Ramses, also in a cab, the driver started complaining about hassles from the traffic police, and about the “scam” fees imposed on taxis by the Finance Ministry. He said he was talking with his friends about having a parade with their cabs, raising banners protesting the government. “But we have to contact the media. If there are no cameras, the police can make us disappear. They are scared of cameras. We’ll contact Al-Jazeera, Dream, Mehwar and even CNN to ride with us while we protest.”

There is something in the air in Egypt. It could be Mubarak’s Autumn of Fury (http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2010/10/autumn-of-fury-mubarak-edition.html), as I and increasingly many people around me sense. Not a day passes without reading or hearing about a strike (http://groups.diigo.com/group/egyptianworkers). No one knows when the explosion is going to happen, but it seems everyone I meet or bump into today feel it’s inevitable.

http://www.arabawy.org/2010/10/31/something-in-the-air/

Interesting situation. If I am not mistaken, Egypt used to have (together with Algeria and Iraq) one of the most active Left among the Arab-speaking countries before that Left basically converted to Nasserism. Are there any sizeable left-wing (apart from disgruntled Nasserists) groups in Egypt now that advocate socialist revolution, or is it Muslim Brotherhood that would reap the benefits of any possible revolution?

[~Spectre]

One thing I thought was very telling was Egypt temporarily opening its border with Gaza during the flotilla incident. Mubarak certainly doesn't give a shit about Palestinians, but to counteract the line (even if only in a temporary symbolic gesture) of their fellow U.S. client, was probably a reflection of the internal pressure that the Egyptian state was sensing.

[The Vegan Marxist]

There's definitely a level of internal pressure within Egypt now, & yes, the opening borders are definitely signs of such. How both the US & Israel take such steps is another question altogether. Can't forget Egypt's past when it came to Israel throwing imperialist actions against them with the help of both Britain & France due to lack of economic relations with them.

[Barry Lyndon]

As someone who has lived in Egypt for the first 10 years of my life, this article rings very true. The sleeping giant of the Middle East is the Egyptian labor movement. There have been a series of major uprisings in the last few years, most dramatically the Mahalla rebellion of 2008, and Mubarak, old and doddering is certainly worried.

With the proper revolutionary leadership and organization, Egyptian labor could overthrow the Egyptian client state and change the balance of power in the entire region, and be a third force in opposition to US imperialism and Islamism.

[Rusty Shackleford]

As someone who has lived in Egypt for the first 10 years of my life, this article rings very true. The sleeping giant of the Middle East is the Egyptian labor movement. There have been a series of major uprisings in the last few years, most dramatically the Mahalla rebellion of 2008, and Mubarak, old and doddering is certainly worried.

With the proper revolutionary leadership and organization, Egyptian labor could overthrow the Egyptian client state and change the balance of power in the entire region, and be a third force in opposition to US imperialism and Islamism.
You better be right! i dont want these kind of hopes to be cast aside :lol:


NPR had an article/presentation on some highly educated egyptians making a subversive website that was english-only to avoid government detection. it was named after some popular egyptian cuisine but its just one of those things.

now, i dont think the students who made it were communists or socialists but they are anti-government in Egypt.

[Barry Lyndon]

You better be right! i dont want these kind of hopes to be cast aside :lol:


NPR had an article/presentation on some highly educated egyptians making a subversive website that was english-only to avoid government detection. it was named after some popular egyptian cuisine but its just one of those things.

now, i dont think the students who made it were communists or socialists but they are anti-government in Egypt.

Yeah the leftist forces in Egypt are quite small and are primarily intellectuals and students. They are greatly outnumbered by Islamists such as the Muslim Brotherhood, the only opposition to the government that is allowed to freely operate. However the Islamists are rather hostile to trade unionism in general so its somewhere the leftists can grow.

All I'm saying is that there is promise and the labor movement in Egypt is a shining light in a political landscape that is otherwise quite dark and gloomy.

[~Spectre]

You better be right! i dont want these kind of hopes to be cast aside :lol:


NPR had an article/presentation on some highly educated egyptians making a subversive website that was english-only to avoid government detection. it was named after some popular egyptian cuisine but its just one of those things.

now, i dont think the students who made it were communists or socialists but they are anti-government in Egypt.

It wouldn't surprise me if the Egyptian state gets plenty of help from the CIA and Mossad to detect these dissidents.

[The Vegan Marxist]

Has Iran or Lebanon shown any support in Egypt, or any kind of alliance against Israel?

[~Spectre]

Has Iran or Lebanon shown any support in Egypt, or any kind of alliance against Israel?

Impossible. Egypt and Israel play on the same team.

[Rusty Shackleford]

Israel, Egypt, and Colombia are the top 3 recipients of us military aid as of the turn of the century.

now, those dynamics have changed since then, but the egyptian government is still no friend of the palestinian people or the working class.

[Kléber]

If I am not mistaken, Egypt used to have (together with Algeria and Iraq) one of the most active Left among the Arab-speaking countries before that Left basically converted to Nasserism.
Nasser basically forced everyone to join his party, the petty-bourgeois nationalist "left" mostly went along with it but the Communist Party was bloodily repressed along with the Muslim Brotherhood.

[Kiev Communard]

As someone who has lived in Egypt for the first 10 years of my life, this article rings very true. The sleeping giant of the Middle East is the Egyptian labor movement. There have been a series of major uprisings in the last few years, most dramatically the Mahalla rebellion of 2008, and Mubarak, old and doddering is certainly worried.

With the proper revolutionary leadership and organization, Egyptian labor could overthrow the Egyptian client state and change the balance of power in the entire region, and be a third force in opposition to US imperialism and Islamism.

Yes, I remember news reports about Egyptian militant workers' strikes of 2008. It would be interesting to get to know how the processes are unfolding now, taking into account the aggravating effects of the crisis.