Flash Mob Anti-Flool

Flash Mob Anti-Flool

أنا مش كافر ..

أنا مش كافر ..

Enough Said.

Thank you, Muhammad El-Labban

The Janitor

The Janitor

"Fox News: Rich people paying rich people to tell middle class people to blame poor people"

He told me that, even though the political situation doesn't seem promising, and every time the clouds make way for the sun, some enormous power fights back and things go three steps backwards instead of just one; he told me he's optimistic. And I needed a reminder. Because, because sooner or later, we shall be free, sooner or later it will not be just a dream nor a too-close-to-happen thing. It will be. We just need more than the shadow of dreams, maybe the darker the shadow, the closer to reality even if it's just a shadow. We shall take six steps forward.

But then I was taking a nap, and I heard some noise outside. Me, thinking it's just our janitor having the daily fight with his wife, I went into deep sleep again. Things eventually calmed down and I continued my day with my cup of tea and a novel to read.

But right at that moment when you start to really enjoy your time indulging yourself in a phone call with a friend, the voices went loud again and my concentration was barely on the surface. To make sure, I peeked. Things were not okay.

Our janitor isn't aggressive, on the contrary, I think he's a fairly calm person. I don't have neither negative nor positive feelings for him, I only know he's poor enough to raise 5 or 6 kids. And he, like every one of his class, takes money from people like us.

We blame poor people because we're not living the life we want. We, we're the selfish sick who want peace by fighting against the victim rather than the enemy. We're the ones who claim insecurity by calling the police so that we can get rid of the janitor and his poor family.

Together. With the police. They drove off. And happily, we pretended we lived in peace.

Screw this.

Questions That Might Kill You

Questions That Might Kill You

It's been over a year, since the Arab uprising started. There are still questions unanswered, there are questions that we might never actually find answers for. But we're still looking. And like we've always been told: It's not the answer that makes you smart but the question.

I'm not sure this post will make things look better nor will make me, personally, feel better. But the questions are a must and are glued in my mind. I'll first start with the 5 whys that will lead to this post

1. Why are there still people who believe that revolutionaries are a threat to the society? Because a happy slave doesn't know he's enslaved.
2. Why are there still slaves? Because the State Tv is still broadcasting the same old shit.
3. Why is the State Tv still broadcasting lies? Back to question one + Because it's easy to manipulate developing countries.
4. Why is it easy to manipulate these countries? Because their dictators are born and raised by the filthy minds of the sick world rulers, who are nothing but slaves of money. Which leads us to a point where we can say that we're all slaves, but to the wrong object/person.
5. Why are dictators raised by world rulers? Because as human beings, we need guidelines before we grow rich/successful. And to be that there must be a rule model. And role models never die. Which means evil will always exist as an element of life just like its opposite.

Now:

• Why do idiots/slaves/dictators never know they're that idiot/enslaved/stupid?
• Does the verb "dictate" have anything to do with the noun "dictator"?
• Why does the poor have to be handcuffed in jail while dictators walk like they're going on a field trip?
• Does Mubarak move in a helicopter because he's a pilot? If yes, then I wanna be a parachute woman!
• What's the point behind never having enough?
• Why haven't we attempted occupying Maspero until now? (State tv owned building)
• Why hasn't the economy recovered since the revolution but the couple of days when the internet connection and phone connections were blocked, the economy was perfect?
• Does the manipulated know he's being manipulated? If so, then does the manipulator also knows when he's manipulated? (Colorblind theory, I guess never)
• What's with procrastination? No no, I mean the filthy kind of procrastination. I guess governments too suffer from it, not just the average citizen.
• Why does the coward judge without being in the scene? Other than being a coward I mean.
• Why do we read the same questions but never the same answers?
• Where has "moderate" gone?
• Why do words never end, yet silence is stronger?
• Based on the previous question: If writers write because they want us to know we're stronger than that, why wouldn't writers not write?
• And, if silence works with everything, wouldn't the world be a beautiful place if everyone just shut up?

Cuase I'll do.

The Five [Egyptian] Stages of Grief

The Five [Egyptian] Stages of Grief

If you're familiar with psychology studies, those words are not new to you.

Briefly, Kubler-Ross model, or better known as the five stages of grief, is basically a model of coping with death, from the denial stage to the acceptance stage.

The five stages are Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. And to be quite frank here, this model is applicable in our everyday life, though on different levels and scales.

For the past few days I have been meaning to dedicate this blog to some politics, basically to vent some thoughts and reflections and to apply what I know in psychology on the Egyptian society and what we have become in those past few months, or maybe the whole year since the overthrown dictator.

So, let's try to apply this model on the developments of the revolution and the consequences and so on. Let's take for example the ongoing and the never-ending, in my personal view, clashes that happened in the 25th of Feb, 9th of March, 8th of April, 15th of May, 28th of June, 23rd of July, 1st and 3rd of August, 9th of September, 5th and 9th of October, 19th of November and last but probably not least the 16th of December.

Let's start:

1. Denial: At first when the Police and CSF withdrew from the streets and the army took to the streets to (protect) people, everyone was happy; and you can't really blame people because everyone thought nothing would be worse than Hosni. So when the Army first attacked protesters on the 25th of Feb, everyone denied its happening and here was the first uses of the word thugs to justify any inhumane acts.
2. Anger: Moving to the 9th of March when the disastrous issue of the virginity tests took place and everyone was angry and furious. And later on when only one courageous lady decided to speak up and defend her rights and sue whoever gave orders and/or did this. Not to mention the ongoing detaining of civilians and throwing them in military prisons. Which never stopped to this day.
3. Bargaining: Now let's make a deal, we'll appoint Kamal El Ganzoury as a new Prime minister so you people can go home and we'd get this whole thing over with so everyone can sleep at night- despite the innocents' questions about the blood of the martyrs and the beating of the protesters and detainees. Ganzoury is appointed, old people are satisfied because they thought like Shafeek and Sharaf, Ganzoury too should take his chances and we shall wait for him to do an action. [But nothing new ever took place]
4. Depression: We're close; we've injected the nation with so much depression that hope is almost vanishing and everyone is starting to just whine about their personal experiences and sufferings since this revolution started, but no one is happy because at least now we have a voice. This seems to be coming to an end anyways. Let's just sit home and weep for the martyrs and the economical conditions of the country, and wait. I'm obliged to mention here that when the internet and phone services were cut off, the government made a huge move that caused it the loss of millions of dollars, if not billions. None of the ignorant ever remembers this.
5. Acceptance: We've made it, by the end of 2011 everyone at home, specifically those who never bothered to go out and join the sit-ins in Tahrir or even the protests, everyone accepted Ganzoury, Tanwaty, the army, SCAF (Supreme Council of Armed Forces). I mean, what can we do? It's just 6 months and we'll have our own president finally, the one that we will vote for, the one that we will choose. Yeah right, because we're dreaming. Let's just accept this and go home.

مات الجدل

مات الجدل

أعلم أن المسألة قد ماتت في الأذهان و سقط الجدل و ماتت أساليب النقاش المقنعة ، و غرضي ليس الإقناع ولا التحايل ولكن مجرد استفسار بسيط جداً:

الكثير و الكثير من محبي الإستقرار و عبيد الديكتاتورية كانوا يطرحون نفس التساؤلات المبتذلة و التي نسمعها يومياً ، ولكن أكثر الأسئلة التي كنت أتمنى الرد عليها رداً يُخرسهم حتى تحمر وجوههم هو: هما أصلاً إيه اللي خلاهم يعتصموا و يوقفوا حال الدنيا؟

منذ قليل فقط ورد في مخيلتي هذا المشهد البسيط:

كلنا نواجه المتسولين و الشحاتين في نفس الأماكن كل يوم و كل أسبوع و يظلوا في نفس المكان لأعوام و أعوام دون أن يكلوا أو يملوا ، فيصبح وجودهم "ديفولت" في المنطقة و لا يعيرهم اهتمام المارة و ينشغل الجميع بالذهاب إلى أعمالهم كل يوم بدون أن تختلف نظرتهم لهذا الشخص أو الجماعة.

في نظري فهؤلاء حالهم شبيه إلى حدٍ كبير بالمعتصمين، فالكل يطلب شيئاً ما، والشحات مهماً كان كاذباً أو مخادعاً أو ما إلى ذلك ، فإنه إلى حدٍ ما فقير، و فقره هذا كان نتيجة لمجتمع سافر لا يبالي بالإهتمام بالفقراء، لذا فيصبح مطلب المعتصم هو نفس مطلب الفقير (على الرغم من أنه واردٌ جداً أن يكون المعتصم "ابن ناس قوي") ، و المطلب هو العدالة و العيش بكرامة.

عامةً ، ليس هذا ما أود قوله؛ إنما أود أن أشير إلى أن الفقير قد أصبح شيء مُسلم به في الشارع و لا أحد يعيره الإهتمام، بينما يُشكِّل المُعتصم أزمة مالية و إقتصادية و سياسية و خراب عجلة إنتاجية للبلاد. كيف؟ كيف و إذا كان المُعتصم هو طالب حق لا يعيره أحد الإهتمام حتى يكاد يكون كالمثل القائل "بنؤذن في مالطة"؟ كيف و قد ظل هذا المُعتصم يبيت في العراء و البرد القارس ليلاً يبحث عن سبيل للحرية من أجل الآخر النائم في العراء أيضاً ولكن دوناً عن إرادته؟

لقد أصبح المُعتصم يُشكّل خطراً للدولة بينما بات الجائع الفقير المتسول شيئاً مسلّم به في المجتمع حتى أصبح وجوده أو عدم وجوده أقل من عدد في إحصائية ليست لها أي فوائد إجتماعية.

الكثير من التساؤلات ، و الإجابة واحدة: مجتمع فاشي...

The Not-so-political post

The Not-so-political post

Today I woke up with this thought. I really don't know whether it was a thought or it really was a dream that paved its way through reality and struck me numb.
So let's call it a dream; it was about calling a friend whom I haven't called for three months (this is true) and finding out that she had passed away some time ago. I was of course too speechless to react or say anything, not even an Al baqaa' lellah. I was left with too many regrets that tore at my heart without a single consequence, or at least not a moral lesson for now.
Is this really what's happening now? I mean, I know it's always been a possible eternal farewell once we leave a friend go their separate way, but at these current circumstances, you never really know what's gonna happen next on the political side.
It could've been me, it could've been you. If today it didn't happen, there is a greater chance tomorrow that we'll be in this together, maybe even carried by the same people who will try to help us get some medical aid. You don't know why they won't go after you, because if you think about what you do on daily basis, you're no less than any other human being that wanted freedom before and was brutally punished for going public about it. You just don't know.

You know when you try to do something good and you fail, and then you do it over and over and over until you get this slight flicker of light that guides you through to keep going? Well, it's equally there, for the good and the bad. We're going in a parallel lane now; just as we'll try hard enough to topple the whole regime not just the leaders, the remnants and thugs of Mubarak's regime will always try to seek that flicker of light somewhere.

"If you don't know how to do it, use the ignorant first, then you'll drive a whole ignorant society that fights freedom, involuntarily "
You'll always find this, and the system is playing its dirty games and they're working perfectly fine. It's a way to go, isn't it? It's easier to try to play on the side of the naive and ignorant so you can guarantee a great success. It's always been this way: If something happens with the system, we'll always find that particular category in the society to educate. Educate..

It's such a confusion to decide whether you're too tired (though on a personal level, I've done nothing of what the activists, for example, did and still do) of this drama, stupid dirty and lame games, or too energetic to die another day for this country - though either way, it's just another day to fight. And another day to pray for the future of our Beloved.

In a country where the ignorant are cocksure and the intelligent are so full of doubt;
Please hold your faith in your heart and play on the good side!

A year and a day difference

A year and a day difference

I wanted to do this yesterday but I think I was too lazy.
A year ago I posted a Kyrielle piece, exactly on the 3rd of January 2010. The poem was about Egypt, I was feeling patriotic and I wanted to write something that would make me feel different about my poetry, satisfied that I'm not just expressing, I'm writing my country.

A Kyrielle: is a French form written in quatrains (a stanza consisting of 4 lines), and each quatrain contains a repeating line or phrase as a refrain. Each line within the poem consists of eight syllables. Rhyme scheme is aabB ccbB ddbB

Rise [Kyrielle]

'Tween two thoughts in my mind lie you
A tranquil aura to pursue
A spring-deprived look in your eyes
Home, tomorrow the sun will rise

Charcoal tears make life incomplete
A dreamer's smile is bittersweet
Despair is destined to demise
Home, tomorrow the sun will rise

Ink shan't hold deterioration
Spring will be your one salvation
Tho' hope, away, a thousand skies
Home, tomorrow the sun will rise



2010 ended with people's wrath growing and growing after Khaled Saeed's terrible death by torture and the forgery of elections. And then 2011 came and everything was so fast, the church explosions, the Tunisia uprising, and Egypt was silent. People created an online revolt just to vent and cry in silence. But then I wrote another poetic form called Pleiades, poem entitled "Wrath", the date was the 4th of January 2011. Both poems were written at the same minute but not hour (:18)

A Pleiades: Only one word is allowed in the title followed by a single seven-line stanza, six syllables each. The first word in each line begins with the same letter as the title.

Wrath [Pleiades]

Wrapped in fury, thoughts burn-
Wringing the mind. Comfort..
Without ease, hunger to
Winter's wind. Breathe out your
Written revolution:
Words stained with their clean blood.
Wonder; a still revolt.


Finally, I am posting this just to show you my amazement, I don't write many poetic forms, and it happens that both were written in a specific form, about Egypt, and just when it was time for wrath and depression, Allah sent glory.

حبة حبشتكانات

حبة حبشتكانات

أنا بس هسأل شوية أسئلة محيراني...و مش هحطلها إجابات حتى ، بس لو قدرتوا تفكروا فيها معايا يبقى كتّر خيركوا..

• المفروض إن الواحد ميسكتش على المحتل الأجنبي...فا مابالكوا بالمحتل الوطني بقى؟؟ اللي مننا فينا؟

• الشعب كله يطالب بالديمقراطية ، بس في نفس الوقت مبيحاسبش نفسه على ديكتاتوريته...تقريباً كده الناس فاكره إن الديكتاتورية هي ضرب و خلاص. نسينا فرض الرأي و عدم إحترام الرأي الآخر. نسينا رفض أي تعليق أو نقد من الخارج.

• إحنا إزاي عندنا بلاهة و بلادة و قلة تقدير للكلام اللي بنقولوا دا؟ إزاي مثلاً تروح تقول لشخص "ربنا هيحاسبك عاللي عملته" ؟ دا على أساس إن دا هيخلي ركبه تخبط في بعضها؟ دا على أساس إنك عارف أصلا يعني إيه ربنا هايحاسبه؟ و بتتكلم على أساس إن و يعني إيه إن شخص يستغل شهرته في إنه يالجملة دي عادي حاجة كده في الحياة اليومية؟

• هو يعني إيه "حرام" ؟ و "واجب شرعي" ؟ و يعني إيه إن شخص يستغل شهرته في إنه يتكلم كلام الناس تمشي عليه من غير ما ياخد باله إن دي مصيبة في حد ذاتها

• إحنا إزاي بقينا نتكلم في أطنان براميل بترول و ثروات تقدر بمليارات الدولارات بالسهولة دي؟ إزاي دي حاجة بقت بتضحك أوي كده؟ إنها لكارثة...

• إحنا إمتى ابتدينا منحسّش ببعض بالطريقة الصعبة دي؟ بزعل أوي أوي بجد لما حد يقوللي "أنا النهاردة حصل لي الموقف الفلاني و فهمت إنتي قصدك إيه" ياسلام؟

(أنا كمان بعمل كده عامةً...متفكروش إني بستعبط)

أسئلة كثيرة و الإجابة في جعبة الحياة :D

The Ideological Revolution

The Ideological Revolution

Everyone's venting, everyone's cursing; contradictions and paradoxes are everywhere. Friends have become enemies, normal people are calling themselves oh-so-politically-aware. Philosophies are a daily thing now, I stopped hearing any I-don't-knows, and eventually, I got bored of reading-basically, I hate reading now as much as I love it.
I do not know if I'm wasting or winning time, the more I read, the more I forget, and the more I know, the more ignorant I feel. There are a thousand questions in my mind that I fear if I let out, they will never make me feel better about anything; I don't know if we'll ever get the right answers, or at least get the wrong ones.

• First we topple a president, then appear the pro-regime people; seriously, what kind of ignorance is this? What surprises me (or okay, I no longer act surprised anyway) is that they are people of a lower financial level, I guess not to mention the social level (A reason out of many?)
• Second comes the media, which is something I have never really trusted: the number of martyrs, let's see..if not too many then it's hypocrisy and mendacity, if too exaggerated then it's the disorder and chaos they're trying to create out of an already-full-of-wrath revolution. I just don't get it.
• Rumors: Check twitter, then facebook, then the tv, you'll most certainly find different news, what to believe is up to you; personal advice: ignore all what you find nonsense and form an opinion out of the reasonable, it will of course confuse you, and that's the point! Just keep looking and faith will find its way to your heart
• Fetna: The fact that everything has its negativities and positivities, Facebook has evoked a revolution, a double-faced revolution to be frank, a revolution and an anti-revolution by another revolution (would rather call it protest though). It was miserably hilarious to read opinions with no justifications or plausible proofs, words of anger from the other side, a battle inside a battle, and infinite nothingness.

"Never forget public ignorance is the government's best friend." -Anonymous.

• If we can measure the things we have learned with the things we have unlearned, I'd say we gained nothing: How do you consider political awareness yet disrespect for the other opinion a lesson? I mean not to defend, I only mean to go back to our routes: "مقابلة الإساءة بالإحسان", a lesson many of us have forgotten despite the unity.
• How about considering we're all on the same boat now? Think about it..

I can only think now that I could never let out what's really within me, I just beg and pray, hope and plead that things will turn out to be something, we are already writing history; Please don't turn this ugly because your words are capable of another ideological revolution.

"I imagine that yes is the only living thing." -E.e Cummings

Pricelessness

Pricelessness

I love you Egypt!

الشعب يريد .. بناء النظام

الشعب يريد .. بناء النظام

Allow me to share this article for the film director Amr Salama:

أقدر أقول و بدون أي مبالغة إن ده هيكون أصعب مقال أكتبه في حياتي.

هحاول أخلي كلامي مرتب و مختصر على قد ما أقدر، و سامحوني إن لم أستطع النجاح في ذلك.

أولا بحيي الشهداء، و الجرحي، و المفقودين، و الناس اللي خططت للثورة، و الناس اللي أعتقلت، و كل الناس اللي نزلت، و كمان الناس اللي حرست بيوتها، و الناس اللي ماكنتش فاهمة و حاولت تفهم، و الناس اللي كانت فاهمة غلط و غيرت رأيها، و الناس اللي ماغيروش رأيهم بس عايزين يعمروا معانا مصر من جديد، و بحييهم كلهم بنفس التقدير و الإحترام.

بكمل تحياتي لكل شريف في جهاز الشرطة رفض يقوم بأي تجاوز، كل شرطي كان رحيما قدر ما إستطاع، و كل شرطي كان عنده الشجاعة لينزل الشارع ليقوم بمهامه من جديد، و كل شرطي سينزل في الأيام القادمة، و لكل شرطي يحاول أن يحسن صورة جهاز الشرطة، و كل شرطي شعر بالعار و تأنيب الضمير لأي جرم إرتكبه، و كل شرطي لن يستطيع أن يكمل مهامه لأي سبب مقتنع هو به و يرضي ضميره.

تحياتي للجيش المصري، و أقوله إن كلمة "لبست جيش" مش هتتقال ثاني، و هيبقى شرف لأي مواطن مصري أن ينضم لك، و أقول لك أن مشاعر كل المصريين برؤيته للدبابات و المدرعات جعلته يشعر بلمحة من ملاحمكم و بطولاتكم، و جعلتنا نعلم معنى كلمة شرف من جديد.

للإجمال بحيي شعب مصر، بحيي شعب جعلنا نصدق معاني الكلمات.

بحيي شعب قتل السخرية من الكلمات التي كان يريد القلب أن يحبها.

بحيي شعب أعاد فعلا تعريف الكلمات.

بحيي شعب أسمى مصر بإسمها الحقيقي.

و بعد التحية.

و بعد المعاناة و الإستشهاد و التعرض للأخطار و التصميم و النصر.

و بعد الدماء و الدموع و الإبتسامات و دقات القلب.

نخش في الصميم.

لم يسقط الشعب النظام فقط، لقد أسقط عدو أخطر و هو الحجج.

طول عمري كنت بقول إن الرئيس السابق حسني مبارك كان عاملنا خدمة ثلاثين سنة و كان مدينا حجة زي الجنيه الدهب.

و كان الشعب المصري يستخدمه بكل من يتبعونه كأفضل حجة لأي شيء، و كان هو يتفنن يوميا هو و من معه في إثبات أن هذه الحجة مقنعة و كافية لكل مصري نفسه في حجة.

لكن من الآن، لم يعد هناك أي حجة، لم يعد هناك من يمنعك، و إن وجد من يمنعك فعليك به، إسقطه فقد علمت طريقك و كسرت خوفك.

من الآن تستطيع، و حط تحت تستطيع ألف ألف خط.

من الآن دستورك في دماغك، قانونك هو أخلاقك، خططك هي أحلامك، أمنك هو روحانياتك، واجباتك أصبحت مسؤولياتك، أصابع اللوم تحولت لأصابع تقدر تبدع و ترسم و تبني.

ماعنديش ذرة شك إن إحنا جيل هيبني أحسن وطن، و أنا أحلامي إننا هنكون عالم أول، مش أحلامي بس، لأ ديه أهدافي، الشعب اللي قدر يحلم، و يثور، و يتحدى الموت و إنتصر، يقدر يعمل أي حاجة في الدنيا، الشعب اللي عنده الحضارة إنه يثور بكل تحضر قادر يعمل حضارة تجعل الحضارة الفرعونية فيلم كرتون بالنسبة لمستقبله القادم.

و الله العظيم شعب مصر النهاردة أحسن من الفراعنة، الفراعنة كانوا ملوك متفاخرين ديكتاتوريين و باقي الشعب عبيد، كانوا يملكون علم معانا اليوم أضعافه في أيدي أصغر من فينا، بنوا حضارة نستطيع اليوم أن نتفوق عليها، لو فقط كملنا نصدق حلمنا، و عرفنا إيه هو هدفنا.

و الله العظيم نصرنا النهاردة أهم من نصر أكتوبر مع عظمة إنتصار أكتوبر و تضحياتها، إحنا عدونا ماكناش عرفينه، كان مننا، كنا بنحاربه بأسلحة مختلفة، بحبنا و إيماننا و صبرنا.

و الله العظيم إحنا دلوقتي نقدر نعمل إنجازات تخلينا مانحتجش نتباهى بالماضي ثاني، بالعكس نتباهى بالحاضر و نوعد بمستقبل أفضل و إحنا متطمنين.

لو شايفني جيل رومانسي، أفكرك إني نفس الجيل الرومانسي اللي كنت واقف في التحرير، اللي كان بيحلم ببكره أصبح إمبارح، إمبارح عملت إنجاز ناوي إني لا أتباهى به، بالعكس، أتباهى بكل يوم بعيشه و أنا عارف أنا عايشه ليه و هيوديني فين.

و أنا مش بقصد بالجيل الشباب بس، أقصد بالجيل كل الأعمار اللي في قلبها روح الشباب اللي قادرة تحلم و تجري ورا حلمها، الجيل الشاب في قلبه، حتى لو سنانه وقعت و شعره بالنسبة له ماضي.

من النهاردة خد المبادرة، من النهاردة هتخصص وقت من وقتك لبلدك، مش عشان إنت ملاك، لأ عشان عارف إنه هيرجعلك، من النهاردة هتبقى إيجابي و هتشارك، مش عشان دم الشهداء و الجرحى اللي نزلوا عشانك بس، لأ عشان كمان مستقبلك و مستقبل أولادك، من النهاردة، هيكون النهاردة هو النهاردة، بتعيشه و إنت بتصنعه.

أنا كل ما بحاول أفكر حتى لو للحظان في عظمة اللي إتعمل ببقى هيعيط في لحظة، و اللي بيطلعني من الحالة ديه هو التفكير في بكره، إعلموا أن ثورة خمسة و عشرين يناير إنتهت، و بدأت ثورة مصر الحقيقية.

ثورة بناء بجد، ثورة بتثور فيها على أكبر عدو في الدنيا، العدو ده نفسك لو حاولت تخليك تكسل أو تلوم الآخر، أو تكره، و تستسهل، أو تفسد، أو تنافق، أو تاخد حق غيرها.

ثورتنا الجاية أصعب بس أحلى، نتايجها بتتأخر بس أقيم، ثورة بتبني طوبة بطوبة، بس كل ما تخلص و تبص على إنجازاتها هتلاقي هرم، هرم جديد بتاعك إنت، مش بتاع ناس عمرك ما شفتهم، تبني مسلة بتاعتك مش بتاعت ناس ماتعرفش مين هما، تبني حضارة ناقش على طوبة فيها إسمك مش إسم مش متأكد لو نطقك ليه صح و لا لأ.

كل شاب نزل و عرض حياته للخطر هو أشرف عندي من إخناتون، كل دكتور أنقذ جريح هو أشرف عندي من آتون، كل واحد حمى بيته هو أشرف عندي من مينا موحد القطرين، و كل واحد من النهاردة، حتى لو ما شاركش بأي شكل في الثورة، بس عمل حاجة إيجابية و بنى في بلده هو أشرف عندي من كل حضارة مصرية تكونت و ماتت قبل أن نولد و قرأنا عنها في الكتب كما كتبها ناس لم أعلم عنهم شيء.

أنا فخور إني مصري، مش بسبب أي حاجة حصلت إمبارح أو من آلاف السنين.

أنا فخور إني مصري بسبب النهاردة.. و قررت أفضل فخور بكل نهاردة.

Between protesting inside and out

Between protesting inside and out

I have spent the whole last week trying to find out which is more important in religion: The family or the country. It reminded me of this saying "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?"; I seriously couldn't find out by myself, and the more I want to use religious book, the more scared I become to find the answer.
Now, it's not about being scared to die, it's about not wanting to fail, even though something tells me that if I ever go out for war behind my parents' back and die a martyr, Allah will forgive me for it; I only fear that my family would forever live in guilt or regret--I don't want that to ever happen.
I don't know how right it is to actually not let go of your children, especially when they're girls, just because they will be harmed-so what's the point of going, huh? The point IS to sacrifice your soul for the country, the point is to be able to understand that freedom requires loss of souls, partial loss of happiness, loss of many pleasures, in order to deserve democracy.

I have already discussed with some friends the reasons behind parents' attitude since the 25th of January, and to sum up the whole thing, here are the main reasons:

1. The typical Egyptian parent attitude of "enti bent w hatetbahdeli w tetma7aki fel regala, ed3elhom a7san".
2. Stay around the neighborhood and protect your home first.
3. Strictness: a much worse attitude.
4. The pessimistic Egyptian parent: "elshabab elly henak de kollaha 3eyal seyya3, hatrou7i tet3aksi w teegi".
5. And finally, the over-concern.
   

A friend asked me on the very first days f the revolution: "Would you let your children go if you were a parent?". I said I'd let them go but go with them myself, because I have to support how positive and energetic they are, but to actually kill that enthusiasm within them, that would never, ever help in writing history.
I'm done with my words, I just want every parent, who didn't let their children go, to know this: You have made a lot of sacrifices for your children, perhaps one of them should be letting your children go help write a new history, it really, really aches everyone who didn't go, and God knows if they'll ever wake up to witness a new change that they can participate in.

Sincerely,
A torn-apart citizen who never got to be a protester.

The child to my feelings

The child to my feelings

To blog or not to blog, and what to actually blog about? That is my serious dilemma. I'm usually 24/7 on my blog(s), if not writing then reading and analyzing my old stuff and trying to improve-either with writing or with a reader's external point of view.
So, since the only thing people, who are home, keep discussing is Egypt and the ongoing crisis, and since it has actually become an international issue. I'll also take my leap and express:

• I'll start off with quoting Amr Salama: على فكرة طول عمري بقول إني بحب مصر، بس عمري ما فهمت و لا حسيت بحبي ليها زي دلوقتي.. أنا فعلا بحب مصر.. قوي

These words awoke this feeling within me; I, too, would have never ever fathomed why I loved this country, not to mention that I spent nearly 12 years abroad, and if you think about it you'd feel like I'm barely Egyptian, but I don't count my years.
I thought it's about friends and family, about its atmosphere in Summer and its hugs in Winter, I still think those are some reasons to love your country, but lets be more realistic here:

1- The people:

1. They made me cry; Christians protecting Muslims while doing their prayer? Seriously? I have never seen such a thing in the ENTIRE history.
2. Protesters beating security forces for having injured someone they don't even know.
3. The comedy-or shall I say black comedy-of the people, even in their darker days.
4. The songs, I would sometimes sing with them in front of the Tv, too bad I couldn't sing in the battlefield.
5. Their ability to fight and stand strong for their rights (sad some people think they're wasting time)..
6. The hospitality, the friendliness and the atmosphere they create, a thing of real beauty, heavenly beauty!

2-The Places:

1. Tahrir: Always and forever will be my favorite place to hang out. Back before the revolution it used to give me a feeling of being home, of "liberation". And now I know soon enough when I revisit it insha'allah, I promise to stand there for a moment with closed eyes and an open heart, and re-play all the videos I have watched on youtube and facebook, and relive the moments myself.
2. Game't Al-dowal, Dokki, Asr Elnile and Elgala2 bridge and Ramsees: I've been seeing all these places covered with heads, only heads and the sound of voices breathing desired freedom- I sometimes wish they'd never stop!

• I believe those people out there made some, who were careless about praying, pray just when seeing the enormous number of people standing there praying even with Security forces trying to drown them in water and distract them.

My country has risen, it has become internationally popular, with the words "Walk like an Egyptian" written everywhere. To have seen the people here become stronger is a thing, and to have seen the whole world asking the sick government to step down for my people is a whole new beautiful thing =)

• For those protesters out there, I'd like to send a message: If the government will keep its ugly conspiracy going for some time, I want you to know this: you have taught us how to speak for our rights, you have made many people politically aware of many things, you have given us faith in our country and strength to love it even more, you have made us speak up our minds like never before, you have made heroes out of yourself and of many people who followed, and you have given us freedom by being there, and freedom by writing this, you and only you!

I do thank Allah for having lived to see these historical days, and I hope the day will come for me to tell my children about you!
الحمد لله


P.S my words are a mere glimpse of my feelings.