Catching up with Emadh

Months have gone since I last saw the first Egyptian that I ever had an extended conversation with. I have been prevented from seeing him partly because we always miss each other’s calls and partly because life has been busy, at least for me. Emadh has not been so busy. He lost his job at the bakery during the revolution, and the tourists, his main income source, have been gone for quite a while now. For two months he has been hanging out in Tahrir square, protesting and engaging in the activities there. Although one might think that all the people in Tahrir have high hopes for a better future Emadh has turned very pessimistic. He always had a pessimistic way of seeing things, but his mood now was more depressing than ever.

At the same time Tahrir and the movement there has changed his world view. I believe he is still profoundly religious. Still he seems to be pro secular government, and thinks that the strong religiousness in Egypt poses big challenges for the country. His mind was opened now, he said. He felt freer, but believed that he somehow had exchanged his economic “freedom” for a newfound political freedom. He had no belief in a rapid transition to democracy, and also thought that the scheduled elections will be postponed several times, maybe even never held. He had a profound mistrust in the current military government, and said that that the few people of the old regime that has been detained is a mere tip of a bigger iceberg that will stay put at the center of Egyptian politics. The economic downturn and absence of tourists that has followed the riots seems everlasting too Emadh. He has little hopes for a rapid recovery.

I would have suspected Emadh of being more taken up in his own grievances, but his concern seemed more to be about the future of his country. I found that his newfound political preferences are left-leaning (in a socio economic sense) rather than religious conservative. He told me that he identified strongly with the leftist/nasserist Hamdeen Sabahi, the founder of the Karama (dignity) party.

Emadhs (negative) thoughts reflect the more suspicious analyses by critical commentators on the changes in Egypt. (See for example Ellis Goldberg, professor of mine: http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/67416/ellis-goldberg/mubarakism-without-mubarak ). His suspicion of the military is also relieving. Seeing the collective embrace of the people in uniform has been disturbing to many of the foreign observers here. There has been a filling of the power vacuum by the generals. At the same time seeing crowds cheering at the sight of military helicopters and tanks has caused many to worry. I hope, and I think Emadh hopes too, that he is wrong in his negativism. I think the very observance by Emadh and other Egyptians that there is reason to worry about the army’s tightened grip on things, is a positive sign and that as long as the people will continue to check power by turning to the streets, they will have a say in their country’s future.

When it comes down to it, the future of Egypt will depend on the will and action of the people. That the crowds on the streets can no longer be ignored is a remarkable change in itself, but only if the people use their newly achieved space for assembly and expression will Emadhs negativism be proven wrong.

Lars

Cairo