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The Voice
April 6. A day that was supposed to go down in history, a day that was supposed to bring change to all Egyptians, a day that turned out to be a disappointment to many.
There was a lot of anticipation at the American University in Cairo (AUC) by students, as well as professors, who cancelled their classes anticipating that Tahrir Square would be blocked off by hundreds of protestors, with double that number of national security officers surrounding them.
The reality was, however, that Tahrir Square had never been calmer and traffic had never been smoother. The other reality was that some AUC students did not care whether there were protests or not, so long as they got their day off and an excuse for missing classes.
Come Monday, and students were back on campus. But for the first time in a really long time, you could actually see some students holding newspapers, curious about what happened. Walking through the three campuses, you could actually hear students having discussions about the politics of Egypt, with each presenting their opinion of what happened, or did not happen, on April 6.
So maybe the nationwide strike did not include the entire nation, and maybe many students were apathetic about it. But on the other side, the bright side that we should focus on for a change, some students picked up a newspaper, some students exchanged ideas on politics and, as a result, some students increased their knowledge about the true condition of their country,
So even though April 6 was considered by many to be a failure for Egyptians in the wider scale of the current situation, it was a success, albeit a seemingly minor one, for those AUC students who became more educated as a result.
Awareness is always the first step.
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Censorship or safety?
By David Harvey
Features Editor
I spent nearly the entire day April 6 wandering the streets of downtown Cairo around Midan Talat Harb, Midan Tahrir and across the Nile toward Cairo University. All I found throughout the day was the heavy presence of bored and restless-looking police standing in tight formation wearing riot gear. Continue Reading
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Marriage & porters
By Heba El Sherif
Features Editor
Anyone who has known me for a few years has probably come across ‘am Nour, my porter, a sixty-year-old Nubian who lives in the room downstairs. I have known ‘am Nour long before my Thursday nights out at Applebee’s and the Grand Cafe. I grew up listening to people talk about the power of the Egyptian porters, parents talking about how we should protect our whereabouts from being the porters’ topic for the day and teenagers believing that their future in-laws will ask their neighboring porters about whether or not they make a suitable wife.
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Letter To The Editor
In response to Land Day
Comments such as those from Palestinian Ambassador Munther Al-Dajani during the recent Al Quds Club Land Day celebration are counterproductive towards establishing a permanent peace in the Middle East. His claim that Palestinians should be unified in order to be able to “defeat the enemy,” ostensibly Israel, overlooks that change from within the Arab community must be directed first and foremost towards identifying those who directly undermine any notion of Palestinian unity: Hamas terrorists.
The indiscriminate targeting of innocent Israeli civilians by Hamas rocket attacks compels Israel to respond militarily. Whether this response is justified or unjustified does not change the hard fact that Israel would be more willing to consider the demands of impoverished Palestinians, particularly Gazans, if the Palestinian people collectively renounce indiscriminate violence. The primary reason why Israel is more willing to engage in talks with the Palestinian Authority is because the West Bank government does not employ terrorist tactics similar to the systematic methods encouraged by the Hamas leadership.
For instance, the relative lull in violence this past month was due to the decrease in Hamas-fired rocket attacks into Israel. Israel did not feel the need to respond with overwhelming military action since its civilians were not being targeted as frequently as the previous month. Not only were the lives of innocent Israelis saved, but so were the potential losses of life of innocent Palestinians who quite conceivably could have become tragic victims of an Israeli military response.
This incentive structure is central to achieving a long-term peace in the region. If Hamas immediately lays down its arms, Israel will be more willing to negotiate with Palestinian political leadership. Consequently, Israel would not cut off food, supplies, and utilities to Gaza, and would therefore allow crucial goods and services to reach poverty-stricken Palestinians.
The next time Ambassador Al-Danajani speaks, he should encourage Palestinians to unite not against Israel, but rather against the real enemy which endangers both innocent Palestinians and hinders the peace process: Hamas. Palestinians who are genuinely committed to peace have the power to convince their Gazan leadership that terrorism is counterproductive towards achieving this goal. It is the responsibility of both innocent Palestinians and Hamas to recognize this fact and implement a more peaceful approach to establishing peace with Israel. Then, Palestinians would be able to truly unite.
Greg Collins
The University of Massachusetts Amherst ‘09 |
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