It's really all about the West, isn't it?

Amidst angry calls for their governments to do more about the treatment of Muslims in the West, the Middle Easterners have been remarkably silent on the treatment of Uyghur people in China. If the death of one Egyptian woman in Dresden should provoke such furor, then the deaths of many Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang should have provoked a more violent reaction towards the People's Republic.

If one looks back at all the recent international incidents involving mass demonstrations and public censures in the Middle East they are predominantly, if not solely, targeted towards the "West".

Danish Cartoon Scandal, the El Sherbini murder, Muslim veil issue, etc. The Muslim world seems so focused on the abuses on the Muslim faith and faithfuls, but when the Chinese authorities crack down on the Uyghurs there is little to no reaction from the parts of the world that were burning flags and throwing projectiles at western embassies days before. Why is there such a disproportionate focus on the abstract West?

Professor Sreeram Chaulia concluded in an Asia Times Online article that this phenomenon existed because of:

"complicated construction of enemies by Islamists... when atrocities or slights are seen to be committed against Islam and its adherents in a European or North American country, they confirm the pre-existing prejudices and hatreds nursed by the Muslim street and its instigators in positions of power... China does not fit neatly into the binary jihadist classification of the world into dar-ul-Islam (a land where Islamic laws are followed and the ruler is a Muslim) and dar-ul-Harb (a land ruled by infidels and where Muslims suffer)."

Funny considering that the Mongols and forces from the East did as much to bring ruin to the "golden age" of Islam as did the Ottoman Turks and in due time the French and British.

In short, it seems as though the proclaimed Muslim internationalists are doing a great disservice to their own great cause of Muslim solidarity. In the end it's all about hiding their own socio-economic inadequacies than about God or people. If only hating the west generated more dollars... is that an oxymoron?

Treat others as you want to be treated

Egypt has many intolerable ills, but what I have seen in the last few days have really dealt a blow to my capacity to empathize with Egyptians ever again. It's very tiring constantly attempting to reaffirm the simple notion that not every Egyptian is as rude, crass, and vile as the ones on the streets, those who go out of their way to make the lives of others miserable. This is an exceptionally difficult task when I do not see anybody, not a single person, coming to reprimand the bastards who have inflicted some degradation to some innocent pedestrians. This has been the case with the treatment of foreign travellers, women, and Sudanese.

I have spent some time amongst a group of Sudanese refugees living in Maadi, a neighborhood in southern Cairo. The abuse that they are subjected to on a daily basis is disregarded by the Egyptian society because the abusers and violators of human dignity are Egyptians. I must admit, I could not scarcely believe how barbaric the Egyptians were capable of being.

Walking down the street in their proud company, an Egyptian on a bike rode by giving us the middle finger yelling out "Fu** you!". Further along the street, a group of Egyptian youths yelled out obscene insults in English and Arabic. The projectiles of hatred, sounds and gestures, did not cease and came from all directions. Those who did not yell added to the racist bonfire by staring down the Sudanese with suspicion or remaining silent while their neighbors spat on the idea of humanity.

Upon reaching our destination, a coffee shop, we began reading together some material that I had brought for my friends. The Egyptian employee came to me and explained that he nor his [Egyptian] customers appreciated "them" studying in the shop. As if this was not enough of an insult, the attendant treats the group with sheer contempt and bare minimum service.

In the midst of our discussion a nail dropped down from above. Seeing no construction and only apartment houses above us (we sat outside) I can only assume that someone had deliberately attempted to harm or annoy us. When we told the attendant about the incident, he scarcely gave any attention or thought and took the nail from my friend's hand and threw it behind his shoulders. Such vile contempt, where does it seep from?

Have the Sudanese not suffered enough? And yet it is the Egyptians who accuse the west of mistreating Egyptians, Arabs, and Muslims. I must conclude that Egyptians must believe that they are superior and thus should receive preferential treatment above others. When an Egyptian woman is murdered in Germany this is clearly a precedence for an all out international tribunal, not something that the German courts have the right to deliberate upon. Yes, Europe may have bits and pieces of racism that lead to violence time to time, but never forget that there were many Germans who testified on behalf of Mrs. El Sherbini.

Is equality not a universal concept? Either Egyptians are drowning in some misguided superiority complex or the masses are too thick to recognize the hypocrisy of their actions.

While I am on the point of hypocrisy, a word on the Arab reaction to the French attitude on the veil. If the Egyptians have the right to harass and reprimand women, foreigners or their own, for wearing clothes that they do not deem appropriate for their country, do the French not have the same right to comment and reprimand things that they do not deem appropriate in their society? I have some reservations regarding the full ban of veils in French public schools 5 years ago, but at least the French are taking legislative measures and deliberating upon these issues.

It's so sad to see a society so far behind from being able to integrate into a borderless world. And Egyptians wonder why immigration into Europe or North America is so difficult. tsk tsk, Looking at a mirror is a good thing, one notices dirt on one's nose time to time.

Middle East, Europe, and their mob mentalities

On July 1st, Marwa El Sherbini was murdered in Dresden by a racist. The Egyptian, Middle Eastern, and Muslim responses have shown how easily mobs can be incited to march in step to the drums of hate. This in turn will bring equally negative responses from the far right denizens of Europe who are increasingly turning towards nationalism and protectionism. We have all taken a giant leap in the wrong direction.

The seeds of this rift have become more evident earlier this summer when the Dutch, British, and other denizens of the EU opted to elect some members of the far right nationalist parties to represent their states in the European parliament. All this amidst increasing tensions surrounding Sarkozy's statements surrounding the Muslim veil.

Mob mentality does not merely signify the narrowing of one's own identity, but the narrowing of others' identities regardless of the others' desires to prioritize one identity above another. Simply put, it's a form of oppression.

11 days after the tragic death of Mrs. El Sherbini, Shia Muslim Pakistani student activists marched in a protest rally in Karachi, burning German, Israeli and American flags. There could be no better example of an incensed mob attempting to make "Western" nations indistinguishable. (The spectacle of a flag burning deserves more anthropological and philosophical analysis - much like Foucault's analysis of the scaffold)

According to Al-Ahram newspaper Mrs. El Sherbini's brother declared that "The assailant should be sent to Egypt and stand trial in an Egyptian court; otherwise [Marwa El Sherbini]'s blood will have been shed in vain... Diplomatic relations with Germany should be broken off, and the trial should be held in an international court at the very least... The government is not doing anything more than it has to... their reaction is merely proportionate to the size of the incident."

Alright, one may say that this is the voice of a distraught brother in a house full of bereaved, but his outrageous demands are supported by the empathetic Egyptian masses. This is the mob's demand for justice most familiar to them (and why should they expect less in a society where tortures and deaths are so whimsically bestowed by the most generous leader - a comment for later)

This far fetched anti-western rhetoric is aimed at not just the one crazed German man who went berserk, but also at all the Germans who testified on behalf of Mrs. El Sherbini, Bosnian Muslims, and German Muslims of Turkish descent... Who and what is this "West" that the Middle East points to?

El Sherbini family is not the only one using the vague identity to materialize a monster which does not really exist. In the opinions of Khaled Abu Bakr, the lawyer representing the family of Marwa El Sherbini: "Apparently the Western media's (apparently he reads all of them) depiction of Muslims as aggressors and terrorists has so blinded German people that they could not see that this Muslim woman was being attacked,"

Well said, then what about the murder of a 50-year-old German man in Istanbul on the 20th? The Germans accept the fact that a crazed Turk committed a vile act and we do not see German students burning Turkish, Iranian, and Egyptian flags on the streets of Munich calling for the German government to take things out of proportion. The German people have all the rights to be incensed, but they react based on precedents set by the political system within the country. A rational people with a rational political system. Something that will hopefully prevent further victories for the ultra nationalists in the future elections for the EU.

Interestingly enough, I hardly believe every Egyptian fuming over the death of Mrs. El Sherbini cares about her. I think the public is having fun with hate, with the sudden sense of purpose and the opportunity to be publically enraged. This taste for unity and anger may bring much more anti-western rhetoric, but there also will be a time when all the anger and rage of the Egyptian people spill inwords at their own dysfunctional political system.

This whole "murder of an Arab woman by the West" drama shows the public's capacity to overract in a normally complacent nation of Egypt. But when the dust settles, expect nothing less than sheer brutality and pain. Democracy would be something too stable for the unleashed beasts of anarchy.

Ah, what is your cruel, crude, and arbitrary judicial system doing to you now Mr. Mubarak?

Of Garbage and Coppers

It's been quite a while since I wrote a post, my apologies. Usually when people first start a blog they tend to write voraciously then begin to tardy. Egypt is full of social woes to write about, so I will do my utmost to expunge my excess thoughts and rants at a timely manner.

Anyways.

Cairo is less than descent in terms of sanitation. Rarely does one see trash bins on the street and in places where one can marvel at the evanescent sights, the garbage itself collects dust from seasons of discontinued usage. Just the other day I was near Tahrir Square when I saw a car pull up at a curb just to throw out a bag of trash. Sure the street cleaners may sweep away some of the shit, but much remains to form the distinct pavements of underdeveloped nations. Such sturdy roads, Romans be proud.

Another unwelcome and perhaps just as unsightly scene is the excess policemen lounging about the streets of Cairo. A few stand in attention at embassies and a lesser number actually direct traffic. Yet those inadequately attempting to control the irreversible flood of irresponsible and less-than-respectable drivers of Cairo dwindle in number compared to those that sit in the shade and sip tea day-after-day.

Not to be entirely too unfair, the police that I have encountered when needing directions have been more than friendly despite the solid language barrier. At the same time, they contribute to social woes of this country by contributing to sexual harassment and having a hand in prostitution and drug trade. Yet one cannot blame the police for attempting to utilize their position to financially better themselves at the expense of social order; they too have hungry mouths to feed.

So we have two distinct problems: 1. excess trash and 2. lots of under payed police, some behaving criminally.

We have an easy solution. Supplement the wages of the police through fines on littering. And who better to levy the fines than the primary beneficiaries themselves. No, not the denizens of Cairo who will enjoy the clean streets, clearly they do not care about trashing their own country. The police of course will be delighted. They are sure to be highly motivated.

Adam Smith noted that: "Public services are never better performed than when their reward comes only in consequence of their being performed, and is proportioned to the diligence employed in performing them." (The Wealth of Nations, Book V, Chapter 1, Part Two)

Clean streets are essential for a healthier society and drawing out tourists from the five-star hotels into the streets of Cairo. The spread of their lucrative capital among Egyptian enterprises will enrich the masses and hopefully lower the ghastly high prices of luxury restaurants and hotels.

Of course this needs to be complemented by a public incentive to efficiently utilize their resources. This may seem like a jump, but a reduction and eventual suspension of food and oil subsidies must be enacted (I promise you more on this later) to best accommodate for the public good.

Perhaps with a little more police motivation, the traffic can be controlled as well. If trash and traffic is under control in Egypt, recycling is not far in the horizon. Then a more powerful private sector driven by green economy followed by democracy and roads paved with gold... ah I rant

A blog on women in the orient by someone from the occident

The title is a mouth full, eh?

Call me biased, but I am going to advertise my girlfriend's blog because I think her writing is well thought out and perceptive. Her focus is on woman's right in Egypt and her daily experiences being a woman in Cairo.

With that a short comment on her hypothesis that:

"many women here dress in conservative Islamic clothing to lessen the harassment and that men are the source of the unofficial dress code"

I can see the rational behind the analysis of women dressing more conservatively to avoid harassment, but what about all the girls in Cairo who wear a hijab with skin tight turtleneck shirt and skinny jeans?

Anyways.

Take a look around Abi in the Middle East, it will be a refreshing new look after being bored to death on my blog.

Spontaneity

I will not lie, I pass judgment too easily. On people, on cultures, on the world. It’s not the matter of hailing on the side of skepticism, I am just too damn judgmental sometimes.

I’ve been in Cairo for a little over two weeks and I can’t say I viewed this city or its denizens with eyes untainted with contempt. But this is slowly beginning to change. Where there had once been nothing but doubt, specks of admiration are forming. From the most optimistic and far fetched areas, my mind yells out: There is yet hope!

There should be no objection to the assessment that Egypt is underdeveloped. However, the city of Cairo has all the underpinnings to lurch forward unto the global stage as a city of preeminent wealth.

Cairo has spontaneity. A deep and intrinsic social connection bind the people of this city to coexist. While riding the Cairo metro I noticed an elderly man step into the train. A soldier sitting nearby immediately stood up and invited the old man to sit in his seat. Nearby a child bolted up to let the soldier take his seat. A few minutes later, a woman with a baby in her arms got on and people made room for her. Try observing that kind of compassion on the metro in DC or New York.

Egypt bustles with tourists and its population is closely followed by the tour guides. The amount of entrepreneurship utilized to attract customers is amazing. Their tenacity and advertisements are extreme to those from anywhere else. It shows terrific yearning to become successful and expand the enterprise into a larger one. Many of those that start off on the street, enticing tourists, manage to eventually run their own hostel and tour services. It’s not just the tourism industry either. From Tahrir square in downtown Cairo to El Maadi in the far south (and no doubt beyond) there isn’t a single block without some business or shop nestled amongst the homes. Cairo is alive with entrepreneurs and businesses that are willing to go far to be successful (like the taxi service, literally).

This ancient country has both the entrepreneurship and the moral sentiments (compassion and sympathy as evident on the metro). So why has it not lurched forward into wealth?

I feel that both the government and society are at fault for some of its immediate setbacks. But let me speak on the government, for I can speak on that most readily.

Cairo is devoid of trash cans. I’ve discovered a few in wealthier parts of town like in Zamalek, but overall to say that Cairo has an inadequate trash disposal system is an overstatement. Trash is disposed by its residents by simply leaving them on the street. Street sweepers may or may not collect it when they go by, but this is hardly an efficient system to keep the city clean. Even residents of the city do not have dumpsters, they leave trash bags at a designated location where they are picked up at night. The appalling amount of trash inhibits tourists from spreading their vast capital on the wider entrepreneurial population outside the five star hotels and museums.

The government can do much more to set up trash cans and educate the public on using them. However, the funds are most likely used up to maintain the standing police force and military police that guard every corner of the city. Yes, Egypt is a socialist dictatorship and its government is the greatest hindrance to the wealth of this particular nation. The police perform certain critical duties like traffic guidance. This does not seem like much, but having experienced the harrowing roads of Cairo, these rare forces of authority are a welcome influence. The rest of the police force seems to be doing their utmost to 1) stagnate the society by squelching social and intellectual movements and 2) taking part in a growing problem of harassing women.

Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights in July 2008 reported that 98 percent of foreign women and 60 percent of Egyptian women are harassed on a daily basis. Another report from the government stated that 47 percent of married women between 15 and 49 are subjected at least once to physical violence. The police and the military police are a large contributing force to these appalling figures.

There are other government policies that are problematic like food and oil subsidies, but that’s for another time. I think I make my case clear here.

The Egyptian people have the will and the potential to make the money and communally share the benefits of the wealth; however, the government is a large part of the reason why the country cannot take that final leap into spontaneously turning their efforts into capital.

Nonetheless, the most important thing for me to realize was that there is yet hope. I am sure there will be more on the social and political roles of development soon.

Introduction

My name is Yong Kwon and I have been an expatriate for as long as I can remember.

My latest journey has landed me in the cross roads of three continents. From Cairo, Egypt I will attempt to narrate my experiences and thoughts.

Be forewarned, the content may shift from non-fiction to fiction, from history to development theories. I cannot reassure you that it will be any fun reading any of my rambling thoughts. My only hope is that from my capricious thoughts you take away a glimmer of my sentiments on the people and societies I encountered.

With that, jump in. The best dive is always the coldest one.

The day after the American Independence Day, 2009.