Cairo, a lively city that
never sleeps, defiant as ever.
I recently visited Cairo for
the first time in seven months. Back in April, it was still under the rule of
the Moslem Brotherhood. People then grumbled about economic devastation and
political restrictions: these included fuel shortages, power outages, the
Brotherhood’s attempts to monopolize power, chaos, restriction on the freedom
of speech, and lack of security, among others.
In November, Egypt’s former presidents, Hosni Mubarak and Mohammed
Morsi were both in jail, the military was in charge, and the Gulf were pumping
money into the economy to help the county’s second transition. Society has
become extremely polarized and intolerance of the other prevailed.
This time, people were still
complaining about the economy and political domination, but there was a general
sense of hope that life could gradually improve. There were some who shyly
expressed concern about what they called “the culture of fear” that was seeping
back into their lives.
The Islamists, reeling from a
devastating defeat after the June 30 ousting of Morsi, seemed to have lost much
of their support, not only in Cairo of 18 million, but also in villages and
towns throughout the country. Morsi’s supporters, the core of the Moslem
Brotherhood, lamenting what they see as the unlawful ousting of their rule, are
convinced they can salvage their losses if they resort to the streets. There was
sporadic violence in Cairo, and the new regime was pressing forcefully with
what they called “the fight against terrorism”.
The interim government is
driven by determination to restore normalcy, and to ensure there was no turning
back.
People were handling the change differently. The media hails the military rule. The notion of eliminating the other side has become widely accepted as the people were fed one narrative. Those who question the logic behind the firmness in dealing with the Islamists are a minority. Army Chief General Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi is glorified a national hero, and a pro-army song “Tislam al-Ayadi” or “Well-Done” has become the number one hit in Egypt these days, a symbol of the resurgence of nationalism in the country. Another song called “A Message from the Egyptian Children to the Whole World” has school children dressed in military suits saluting the Egyptian flag and singing of their love for their country.
One can easily be put in the
mind frame that the nation was pitted against an enemy. The people rallied around
a “person”, not an ideology or a political program. They now seek a military
ruler, hoping he would end the chaos and restore the sense of security lost
since Mubarak was toppled. Issues such as democracy or human rights are
secondary as the country undergoes its second major transition.
A taxi driver told me that
democracy and human rights are a “luxury”.
“People have other more
important things to worry about, such as security and bread. We want to feel
safe, we want tourists to return, and we want the economy to improve. I have
not slept for two nights driving this taxi to try to come up with enough money
that will pay for the cost of renting this taxi. I have not made enough money
to buy dinner for my family,” he said.
Others I chatted with in
shops or on the streets, even in the well-off neighborhoods of Zamalek and
Garden City, echoed the same sentiments.
What needs to be done to
change things for the better? I asked a friend, an academic.
“The people need to get angry
again so things can happen. The situation is not expected to get better soon,”
my friend said.
The liberals, united in their
opposition to Morsi and his movement, no longer face the Islamist threat, but
they still have not organized, and still have little grassroots support. Some people
are also asking: where have the January 25, 2011 activists who sparked the
revolution and were expected to lead, gone? I was told those young people, who
called for freedom and social justice, are dispersed. They say some may have
left the country, such as Wael Ghuneim, others gave up in frustration at the
democracy failure, while others are defamed and accused of acquiring funds from
foreign countries.
“Nobody knows where the
country is going,” a journalist colleague told me.
Diplomats however, paint a more
cautiously positive picture, and believe that with time, security and political
conditions will improve. They are however concerned about the apparent hesitancy
to implement economic reforms for fear of a popular backlash. The Gulf will not
pour money forever, and unless reforms are carried out, Egypt could find itself
in a worse situation than it was under the Moslem Brotherhood, several
diplomats noted. The other challenge for the new rulers is to hold elections as
planned next year, and proceed on the path to democracy, they added.
Businessmen said foreign and
Egyptian investors have not returned after the June 30, 2013 ousting of Morsi,
and neither have the tourists. Stable owners at the Pyramids complained they
have not seen a foreign tourist in months, and they did not have enough to feed
their horses. I felt sorry for Jamil, the horse I rode around the Pyramids. He
was skinny, and undernourished.
What will you do if the
economic situation doesn’t improve after a year or so? I asked an unemployed
father of eight sipping tea in a café in one of Cairo’s less privileged neighborhoods.
“We might revolt again
against the revolution. I want a job, I want to feed my children, that is all I
care about now,” he said.
