Thursday March 28th, 2024
Download SceneNow app
Copied

Liar, Liar, Egypt's on Fire

With rumours rife and violence spreading, Eihab Boraie suggests that a popular movement that opposes both the military's force and the Muslim Brotherhood's illicit actions is the only solution to Egypt's crisis.

Staff Writer

I wish all our problems could be solved over shay bil ne3na3. Unfortunately we are way beyond that. Sure, the sane are sitting drinking their shay watching TV, while the mad are on the streets creating chaos for the airwaves. I have adamantly been against both the military and the Brotherhood, however lately I am finding myself shifting positions.

Being raised in Canada, I have always believed that any of loss of life is simply unacceptable. Lately I find myself living in shades of grey. I believe Wednesday was a massacre, and that hundreds are needlessly dying. However, I don't know how to feel about the people who are dying or pretending to die for the sake of making scary yet sensationalised television. Both the military and the Brotherhood, have their propaganda machines working overtime. The confused masses no longer no what to believe. We are stuck trying to find truths through a television set, as opposed to taking to the streets. The only thing that seems to be certain is that we are nation of liars, and would rather let/show our country burning than find a resolution.

For over a month there has been a seat for the Brotherhood at the table to rebuild an inclusive democracy country. While they were in power, Morsi had drafted an Islamic constitution, and appointed hardcore Islamists to governor positions. What they were doing for a year was effectively excluding everyone who made the first revolution possible. This is why the June 30th protest happened in large numbers resulting in the overthrowing of Morsi. Of course the military were super excited to be given the opportunity to take out the Brotherhood. They have been at war with them since the Brotherhood's inception. Even though I personally wanted to see Morsi thrown out of office, I feel that even if the numbers weren't large that the military would have taken the opportunity nevertheless.

So here we are in a mess that has no solution in the foreseeable future. Trying to purge the country of all the Muslim Brotherhood, is impossible. They have survived for decades underground, and Egyptians know that their organisation isn't local, it's international and will continue receiving funds from outside supporters. When I spoke to Islamists in Nahda, many swore that if Morsi is overthrown that they would turn Egypt into Syria. That they were happy dying for their cause, that they believed that their death would be rewarded in heaven. How does one negotiate with people who want to die, and threaten fear on the masses? The Brotherhood threatens the use of terror regularly. For instance, they had claimed that they would set Egypt on fire if Amre Moussa or Mohamed El-Baradei were placed in charge of the interim government during post-January 25th. These threats are terrorist threats, plain and simple. And when churches were set on fire on Wednesday that was terrorism. How are the Christians at all at fault? They didn't even make up the majority of Egyptians that demonstrated on the streets on the 30th, so why is the setting of churches on fire not being covered internationally? Is the military not justified to stop people from setting Egypt alight? Is that not terrorism? For a month, the people in Raba'a and Nahda had been building barricades and bunkers preparring for warfare. I got the picture in El Nahda, when I Revisited the Islamess. They knew it would come eventually and were waiting for the opportunity to die.

As for the poor people stuck in El-Fatah mosque, why didn't anyone ask what they were doing there to begin with? Almost anytime you throw a rock in this country it is likely to land near a mosque. There are multiple mosques everywhere including Ramses Square, so why did people rush to the one mosque in Ramses Square to pray/find shelter (depending on who you heard speaking) after terrorists had set fire to a building besides it? If the military was out for bloodshed, they could have killed them all. Instead they had to escort them out one by one, protecting them from the angry residents who are upset that their square was the new frontline. I think the military should have dealt with those people as well as the many who were angry and looking for violence. It doesn't matter what side people find themselves, the military should have secured the angry residents even before they started letting people out. The police and military should always remain on the side of preserving peace. Sure they are against the Brotherhood right now, but they shouldn't be letting anyone get violent, even if they are backing them.

The saddest part of all of this, is that there isn't a solution visible in the near future. We are in for some dark days, and the light at the end of the tunnel is still not visible. Instead it's being blurred by the smoke of tear gas and fire extinguishers. I don't think we can trust the military or the Brotherhood to find peace, so it might just be up to us; the concerned Egyptians. To end this violence the masses will have to take to the streets and join the Third Square movement, demanding an immediate stop to violence and quick presidential election. The majority of Egyptians don't want to see a civil war, don't want to feel like prisoners in their homes, and are tired of feeling powerless. Most importantly, they are tired of being lied to by both sides. It may take weeks before an action by the masses that overthrew Morsi return to the streets to do the same to the military. If the violence isn't controlled in the near future, then I feel such an event is inevitable, because frankly watching TV isn't working, all it is doing right now is dividing the people when the only solution for peace is unity.