Wednesday, February 9, 2011

The Man and the King

I wrote this piece almost two years ago. This was our status quo that we CHANGED!

A Messenger told a man to go see the king, for he had important questions. It was the 4th of May 2009.

King: Introduce yourself.

Man: I am but your servant, me Lord.

King: I am giving you the chance to introduce yourself as a human being.

Man: You never taught me how, me Lord.

King: Then tell me what you think of me. This is a one-time chance. It will not be repeated to either you or anybody else.

Man: You are my Lord.

King: That is a fact, not an opinion.

Man: My Lord, if I speak freely, will I leave this palace and head home in a safe manner.

King: You have my word.

Man: May I speak frankly, me Lord.

King: You may.

Man: You have always done as you pleased, without taking my well-being into consideration. My opinion means nothing to you. You sit up there, while I crawl down here, accepting your decisions, even when not agreeing to them and suffering their consequences. I dared once to speak up, and as I did, I fell as fast as I had risen. How do you expect me then to introduce myself as a human being or even shape an opinion about anything? And why does my opinion matter to you now, after about 30 years of dictatorship and my blind following.

King: Your opinion does not matter to me.

Man: Then why do you ask of me such things, me Lord?

King: Because I am planning to remove the slightest ray of hope in my massive population. No change will occur as long as my authority has the upper hand.

Man: But me Lord, if I may say something.

King: Speak frankly and honestly. You have my word.

Man: You already removed every ray of hope.

King: If that’s so, then why are you still speaking?

Man: You told me to be honest, and I obeyed you as I always did. You promised me I’d leave unharmed.

King: I lied.

Man: The same way you always do. Happy birthday, me Lord.

The man never returned home. 13 years later a new king found a corpse in the basement of the palace in a room entitled "Chamber of people who hoped for a change". The corpse had been brutally murdered and thrown into the chamber on the 4th of May 2009, the police claimed. Yes, that’s our kingdom

Thursday, February 3, 2011

I cannot choose a side...

This is a message I sent to a friend who used to live in Egypt, but moved away. And I felt like what I wrote came from the heart, so I decided publishing it.

Hey Michael,

it's been a long time. So far everything is ok. Demonstrations and bloodshed going on, and the Pharaoh still won't leave. I haven't attended any of the demonstrations so far, because my dad won't let me out of the house under these circumstances. Internet and mobile-phones were cut, so that communication between the demonstrators would become impossible.

Since we live a couple of kilometers outside Cairo, we do not really "live the action", if you know what I mean. The consequences will show in a couple of days, concerning lack of food and supplies, the economy-fall, the internal unrest and maybe even the growing rejection of ordinary Egyptians towards foreigners, due to the Egyptian media propaganda. Egypt as a whole is forced into confusion due to one person.

So far, he has no intentions to leave before the elections in September and he claims he does not even want to be the president anymore. A lot of people are starting to believe what he says and promises, although he almost never fulfilled any vows he gave in the past 29 years. Two well-written speeches and a bit of pressure on the people's tearglands, alongside with the spread of fear among the population initiated by the tens of thousands of escapees of several prisons around Cairo and the propaganda of Egyptian TV-channels, made the trick.

Now, Egyptians are fighting each other, because thousands were paid to lead demonstrations supporting the regime. Tahrir-square has turned into a massacre. I personally believe that we are on the verge of a Civil War, since regime-opponents claim they won't leave the streets unless Mubarak leaves. Molotov-Cocktails, military tanks, and flying stones and bricks have become a main part of the whole story. Buildings and police stations were burning, and the whole police staff even disappeared for two days - ironically, those were the days the prisons opened their doors.

We sit here, with a new appointed government, a vice-president - which is the first of his kind in the Mubarak-regime -, and pictures and stories about a war going on downtown. And the regime claims, it has fulfilled everything the demonstrators asked for on the first day of demonstrations - the 25th of January 2011. Yet, they fail to see that one of the main demands were "Mubarak has to leave." But one could talk to a wall, it would not make any difference.

The Egyptian media is one of the criminals that should be held responsible for the unfortunate events that are taking place.

I understand the people who are downtown fighting to bring Mubarak down for a positive change. I understand the people who want him to stay for old peace's sake. I understand the people who are telling everyone to go home so there would not be any more casualties. Yet, I cannot choose a side.

This message turned out to be really long. Was not my intention. I hope you guys are fine. Take care now.

Gehad