The January 25th Revolution and Changes in Egyptian Society

Page 8 of the March 28th issue of Al Masry Al Youm -
'Tracking People's Behavior After the Revolution'

For long, Egyptian citizens’ social conduct has been criticized by many. In post-revolution Egypt opinions are divided. One side says people will never improve enough so that democracy can take root, and the other says time and effort of citizens will bring change to society.


 Hassieb AudioDoc The January25 Revolution and Changes in Egyptian Society by IngyH
Total Length: 14m15s

Research for this project was conducted using Gamal Hamdan’s Shakhsiyyet Masr, and from the A-U-C archives the document ‘The American University in Cairo: A Period of Rapid Change. The Presidency of Raymond F. Mcclain from January 1955 to July 1963.’ Special thanks to Ebony Coletu, Michael Reimer, Jehane Ragai, and Sarah Shabayek for lending their voices to this documentary. Thanks also to Sporting Club in Alexandria, Egypt for hosting the Belal Fadl Public Lecture.  

Protesters march through downtown Alexandria on Feb. 11
Photo: Ingy Hassieb

The songs used in this documentary are:

Revolution by The Beatles, Al Ayam by Omar Khairat, Come Together by The Beatles, Free Your Mind by Digla, Money by Pink Floyd, Highlights by Digla, People Are Strange by The Doors, Sout El Horreya by Wust El Balad. 

Man on the Street Interviews: Do You Trust The Egyptian Army?

Man On The Street Interviews: Do You Trust The Army? by IngyH

Millions of Egyptians had celebrated the military's descent to the streets and their assuming control of the country after the collapse of the Mubarak regime.

Egyptians celebrate the army's descent to the streets during the January
25th Uprising - Photo: Ingy Hassieb

The Supreme Council of the Egyptian Armed Forces has been guiding Egypt through its transitional phase with claims that power will soon be handed over to a civilian government.

But with the country still in a relative state of instability, opinions as to whether or not the military is capable of leading Egypt out of the woods seem divided.

Students at the American University in Cairo, A-U-C share their thoughts.

......

The military has repeatedly claimed it does not seek to maintain control. Parliamentary and Presidential elections are set to take place in the fall of 2011, which according to the Supreme Council should be enough time for new and old political parties to make the necessary preparations for a peaceful hand over of power.

This was Ingy Hassieb, A-U-C.

Egyptian Citizens Question Military's Actions

 Finalez Tahrir Audio Feature by IngyH

April 9 - Tahrir Square

LEAD-IN: Protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square claim the military fired live automatic rounds at them last Friday night after curfew. The Egyptian armed forces denied the accusations claiming that officers had not been armed with automatic weapons that night. A-U-C Radios' Ingy Hassieb reports.

Barbed wire and abandoned military vehicles sealed off Tahrir Square on Saturday April 9 after violent clashes between the Egyptian armed forces and protesters camped in the now world-renowned midan.

PROTESTER: After the curfew, while we were entering the square, they began firing at us from many different directions and they weren't firing towards the sky, they fired directly at us. (:13)

Demonstrators said they had no choice but to hold a sit-in in Tahrir Square after 25 defected officers sought protection within their ranks.

ABDELATTI (protester): Those 25 Egyptian military officers were sentenced to death by Tantawi. Four of them were executed, the rest managed to  flee. (:10)

Protesters said hundreds were injured in the previous night’s clashes and claimed they were transported to Ahmad Maher hospital for treatment. The hospital confirmed admitting only six individuals with minor injuries that same night.

NAT SOUND: "Al geish wal sha'ab eid wahda" (The army and the people are one hand)

April 9 - Tahrir Square

After the ousting of former president, Hosni Mubarak, the military's temporary control over the country was celebrated by millions of Egyptians.

Now two months later, citizens are beginning to question the military's allegiances.

M.ABDELATTI: At first we used to say the army and the people are one hand, but now we don't know who is going to help the people move the country forward to a state of peace and good, purify it from all the depravity that exists...as long as there is someone like Tantawi, loyal to the old regime and Hosni Mubarak, then the country will not get better. (:17)

SFX: Sout El Horreya - Wust al Balad

Another protest is set to take place next Friday, April 15, calling for Tantawi’s dismissal.

Ingy Hassieb, A-U-C Radio.  

---------------------------------------------

Segment of Interview with AUC History professor Michael Reimer

Segment of Interview with AUC History professor Michael Reimer by IngyH

Interview with Michael Reimer (March 22nd 2011) for: The January 25th Revolution and Changes in Egyptian Society


Were you in Egypt during the protests?
Yes, I was in Egypt during the entire period of the protests.

Did you actually go to Tahrir Square?
I was in Tahrir Square a few times. Well, actually just twice before the president's resignation. And, it was February 1st or February 2nd I was there, just before the incident with the camels and the horses and such. I wasn't there on that day. And one other time and I can't remember the exact date but anyway... We did see, and I was with some other people, and we did see on the first occasion some clashes between police and demonstrators, and then the second occasion was actually a very peaceful day. It was the Tuesday before the clash with the Baltagiyya.

The history course that you're teaching right now, Isqat al Nizam, this was your idea to start teaching that?
It was actually an idea that was sparked by the provost. Because the provost here at AUC, Dr. Medhat Haroun, had circulated to all the faculty a suggestion that we set up some special, either, courses or workshops or seminars relating to the revolution as a way of contributing as a university to the dialogue about what had happened and what was going to happen in Egypt as the constitution was changed and as the discussion about changing the political and the cultural atmosphere in the country, so it was my idea originally to set up some kind of course where we could compare Egypt's revolution with other revolutions. But it could not have happened without the support of my colleagues and so it's a team taught course, and every week we have a different lecturer who is presenting on a different topic of comparison for Egypt, with Egypt's revolution.

Can you tell me what are you hoping to teach students through that course and what you are hoping they will learn. 
Well I think what we want the students to learn is that there are many different trajectories that a revolution can follow. There's not just one kind of revolution as it were, there isn't a single pattern that all revolutions conform to, in other words. And one of the things that came out in our discussion on the very first day, we had a panel, and some students wanted the panel, which consisted mainly of professors, although we did have a student on the panel as well, to sort of tell them what should happen now or what had to happen thinking that there's somehow a law that all revolutions have to follow. And what we tried to convey to the students was, first of all, there is no such law that the revolution has to follow, or a pre-ordained path, and secondly what happens is determined to a large extent by what the students and other Egyptians actually want to happen, what they're willing to sacrifice in order for something to happen. So, we wanted to stress the fact that there is a certain open-endedness to any kind of revolutionary situation. And one can look around and see models of things, or revolutions that perhaps Egypt wants to follow, and other models that it wants to avoid. But in each case there are, by studying revolutions we can sort of see, well, who benefits, who doesn't benefit, what groups tend to be involved, what groups tend to be excluded or marginalized by revolutions. I would say one thing that I certainly hope our students would learn is that a determined minority often times can, you might say, take hold of a revolution and lead it in a particular path. Unless people are willing to stand up, to object, or to try and lead it into a different way, often times revolutions do actually tend to be taken over by one group that has a very clear ideology and a very clear goal in mind, whereas other people are sort of dithering and not following through. Yes that can happen with a revolution, it doesn't have to happen, there have been revolutions where that hasn't happened but it is a potential outcome of a revolution. 

Final Project Promo: The January 25th Revolution and Changes in Egyptian Society

 FINAL PROJECT PROMO by IngyH

Alexandria - 2/4/2011
Photo: Ingy Hassieb

Music

Omar Khairat - Al Ayam 

SOT_Michael Reimer - History Professor at the American University in Cairo: Democracy is what produces the changes in behavior that we have seen and that I think will continue to improve people's behaviors in all sorts of ways. 

ANNC: The January 25th Uprising has undoubtedly affected Egyptian politics, but how and if it's going to affect society remains to be seen. 

Attend the listening session at AUC's New Cairo campus on Sunday May 22nd and Wednesday May 25th at 10 a.m. each day, in the BEC building room 1060. 

Audio Essay: This I believe about the new Egypt

  AUDIO ESSAY #1 - This I believe by IngyH

I believe the new Egypt should be just. Fair and just.

Growing up my mother taught me about fairness. She said all human beings are born equal, that a person’s worth is not measured by the amount of money they have, their profession, or their social class. She told me to treat people the way I would want to be treated… with respect.

As I grew older I realized what my mother taught me could not be further away from reality in Egypt.

I came to understand that people in my country are not only measured by their social class, but are defined by it. Citizenship rights are only attainable to those who can afford them.

When I turned sixteen and had to get my ID card I simply went to a guy, who knew a guy, who knew my family. He took me to the front of the line and asked the administrator to finish my paperwork and take my photograph.

In less than half an hour I walked out of the office, ID card in hand. All it took was a few folded notes disguised as handshakes.

Those who didn’t know someone who knew someone who could help them out, who didn’t have twenties to spare, waited in the back of the line either to be told to come back another time or to be treated with absolute disrespect by the person handling their papers.

It was more or less the same procedure for my driver’s license, and renewing my passport.

Some call it bribery; others call it charity, a way of helping those less fortunate.

Somewhere along the line, the helping hand began buying people reverence. An individual’s esteem was judged by the size of his pocket.

In the new Egypt, people will not be bought and sold. In the new Egypt I want to stand in line with others, to see everyone treated properly, not for their connections but for the simple fact that they’ve done nothing to deserve otherwise. Egyptians should not have to feel like foreigners inside their own country.

No one should be above the law, not the doorman and not the president. They will be equals, one and the same, praised for their good deeds, reprimanded for their mistakes.

The way Tahrir Square was between January 25th and February 11th is what the new Egypt should be like, a land of parallels, of equality, of equally important Egyptians, worth the same in each other’s eyes.

This I believe.

Listening Journal #1: World Vision Report on Tourism in Egypt

World Vision's report, "Tourism Standstill in Egypt," explores the impact of the January 25th revolution on the country's tourism industry. The country reportedly lost one million tourists between the 25th and February 11th.

The feature, 4:52 minutes long, is set in Giza, an area usually bustling with tourists and where the famed Pharonic pyramids still stand.

The piece starts off with the sound of hooves moving against a grainy surface. The volume decreases as the reporter begins to speak, instantly capturing the listener’s attention with a detailed, and visually appealing description of her whereabouts. The nat sounds continue to play in the background.

The reporter then introduces a tour-guide who has spent the larger part of his life working in the area and whose work completely depends on tourist presence in the area. She explains that he is one of many whose income has recently decreased drastically.

Rather than speaking, the reporter allows the subject to tell his own story about the hardships that he and many like him are facing. In doing so she adds a human-interest element to a business story in order to maintain interest and compel even those not interested in economics.

Her presentation of facts and figures about the Egyptian economy falls in nicely with the personal stories. For example, she states Egypt’s tourist statistics and the industry’s share in the country’s gross domestic production (GDP), but also has her interviewees explain the consequences in simpler terms, “if on a day there’s no work, then there’s no money, then there’s no food.”

She describes even the horses in the Giza stables as “emaciated with protruding ribs and thinning flanks.” 

The reporter moves on to discuss people’s happiness and hopes for a better Egypt despite their desperate financial situations.

She transitions smoothly between the two ideas by changing the nat sounds from those of horses and carriages to those of people on the streets, talking to each other. Her description of her new locale is quite visually stimulating and it effortlessly takes the listener from one side of the street to the other.

The nat sounds in this section do not necessarily directly correspond with the setting, but she does make an effort to maintain a connection between the noises and the words. For instance she makes sure that the sound of men talking can be heard when she talks about men going in to buy cigarettes from the convenience store. She also adds in a child’s voice when she mentions one.

She leaves time for a few more quotes relating to her second point before wrapping up the story. One is left wondering how people in such conditions could possibly have hope for a better future. The reporter then ponders on the question of when and whether things would go back to normal to indicate the story is not yet over.

The piece was fairly short for such a substantial topic, yet still quite thorough. It addressed the story from a very interesting angle, using personal accounts to inform audiences about a large and complex economic situation. Not only so, but she also let her subjects tell the story, which created a sense of intimacy from beginning to end.

Overall the production quality was good. The reporter's and subjects' voices were clear and distinct. Moreover, the story was well structured, organized, and communicated.

The nat sounds worked well with the piece as well, especially against the reporter’s voice, which was calm the whole time, but had a slight tone of skepticism, especially toward the end, to fully convey the instability she is discussing. I would have preferred to listen to more than just hooves and chatter however.