By Karim Ahmed
(Karim Ahmed is a native of Egypt, now living with members of his family in St. Catharines, Ontario, although many of his relatives remain in Egypt and have been participating in the demonstrations for a democratic government there.
Niagara At Large is pleased to give him a voice here as he makes a case for the Canadian government and Canadians at large to support his Egyptian brethren in their longing to enjoy the same democratic rights that we have.)
Canadians enjoy a great privilege that many of them take for granted and don’t realize how appreciated it should be. That privilege is democracy.
Karim Ahmed, left, and friend Hanafi holding an Egyptian flag during a demonstration for democracy in their native city of Alexandria, Egypt in 2008. It has been at least that long coming!
Only those like me, who come from a country, ruled by a dictator government like Egypt greatly appreciate democracy and the freedom of speech that we enjoy in Canada.
Born and raised in Alexandria, second largest city in Egypt, my generation was brought up in fear. Fear from the police, fear from the undercover security and fear to actively participate in politics or even talk about it! Everybody’s dream was to leave the country and immigrate to a free country like the United States and Canada where they can enjoy freedom, fair opportunities and good life style.
Our families always warned us, growing up, to stay away from politics. It is very well known back home that you can get in serious trouble, and disappear overnight, if you were suspected to dislike Mubarak and his party. There is a special security unit back there known among us as “the midnight visitors”, that is part of the National Security Police. Those officers go knocking on harmless people’s doors late at night, arresting a family member, who is anti-Mubarak, telling his family that he would just be “interrogated” for couple hours. Many of those never come back to their families, and many of them are still missing!
The Egyptian system is corrupt right from the very top; the president and his gang-like cabinet, down to the bottom; such as the Universities’ students union! The presidential elections are composed of one person only, Mubarak himself, with no other nominees! The elections card had one question; asking if you agreed that Mubarak stays president with only “yes” and “no” options! And of course you had to say “yes” for fear there are hidden cameras in the private voting room. The results were always an astounding 99.9% nation-wide “yes”.
Even the students unions do not
run fair elections. You actually have to be a member of Mubarak’s political party to be able to join students union. The only funny thing about Mubarak is that his party is called The National “Democratic” party!!!
People’s hatred for the system wasn’t just because of oppression, but also for the very bad economic status of the majority of population. Egypt is a very wealthy country, as opposed to what many individuals may think. We make hundreds of billions of dollars every year. Among our top sources of income are tourism, natural gas and Suez Canal. The only problem is: that money doesn’t go towards salaries and public services, but ends up in the bank accounts of Mubarak, his family, his cabinet, and their allies of filthy business men.
For many years, people’s life style has been getting worse. The average Egyptian lives on two dollars a day. Yet, everyone lived in fear; scared to complain, and scared to be the next person to go to jail for dissing the government. For those reasons, nobody wanted to be the first to make a move and regret it for the rest of his life, if he was lucky enough to stay alive.
These days we are living now had to come. People had to explode, and they did so after they had nothing left to lose. To them, life and death are the same. If it wasn’t for our religious beliefs back home, thousands of that 80 million population would have committed suicide.
What’s happening these days is a crime against humanity. Mubarak is doing his best to try to stay in power. When police were not able to suppress the revolution, he then ordered that criminals and outlaws be released out of jail, and paid them to attack, kill and scare the protesters.
He is an arrogant dictator whose hands are dirty with blood of his own people.
It is very important for all world countries, especially the powerful decision making ones, to take action. Mubarak has to leave IMMEDIATELY. If we allow him “some time,” as he requested, he will kill every single one of us before he leaves. Canada is a world leader, and can take vital steps that can save thousands of lives now, and change the future of next generations forever.
(Karim Ahmed is a new generation Canadian, residing in St. Catharines, Ontario, and a native of Egypt. NAL is honoured to have him offering his insights on the struggle for freedom playing out in the streets Egypt’s major urban centres.)
(Visit Niagara At Large for more news and commentary on matters of interest and concern to residents in our greater binominal Niagara region.)
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I agree with what is going on in Egypt. It has been a long struggle to get where they are today. I do believe our government needs to step up to the place and be more vocal. I see lots of trouble ahead before they can experience full democracy…..if it is not handled correctly… .or others worse than Mubarak will take .
I do support the people of Egypt to have the desires of their heart met.
I have some very close acquaintances that are Egyptian and are very wonderful, caring passionate people.
I will keep an eye to see how this story unfolds and wish every one patience and blessings in the days ahead.
brenda
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The international community needs to act together to support these forces of democratization.
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Thank you Karim for sharing your story and concerns. The morning of Febuary 4, myself like many others are glued to our TVs and computers for news from Egypt, very hopeful that the youth uprising will win and Mubarak will resign within hours, but also fearing that he will cling to his delusion and attack Tahrir Square. Mubarak still controls the newspaper and today’s paper doesn’t show any sign of him resigning. In my heart I continue to believe he will have to bow to the people’s pressure to step down today and allow democracy to build. Wishing you and Egypt freedom, justice and democracy.
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Well said Karim. All thoughts and heart with Egypt and may God grant them freedom.
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Another thank you to Karim.
Mubarak must go and it’s long overdue. He is a thug and so are his paid agitators. The protests were peaceful prior to their appearance. He has blocked access to information except for the government run Nile TV. Even one of it’s anchors courageously resigned in protest. Prisoners conveniently “escaped” to create chaos that, of course, only he could contain. He is using all the tricks of a dictator in trouble. Meanwhile he has stockpiled personal wealth in the billions while average citizens, including many who rely on tourism, have been hung out to dry.
The west has interfered in the region negatively for so long that perhaps it is time for them to do so to positive effect rather than just installing western- friendly, despotic puppets. (Hussein, the Shah, Mubarak).
Canada needs to find some guts and speak up. Remember when Canada was considered ethical and a peacekeeper – before it became a US bootlicker?
I love Egypt and found the people friendly, generous and, above all, very proud of their history and culture as exemplified by the citizens barricade around the Egyptian Museum. They deserve better.
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Unfortunately Canada’s international image is so tarnished that its voice doesn’t carry the same weight, but the international commnity can step up and support the Egyptian people. As Canadians, at least we have the freedom to change our government at election time (the sooner the better).
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Remember it was a looney Moslem who murdered Sadat, paving the way for Mubarak..
So for 30 years you lived in fear… on your knees, basically. Groveling at the feet of an alleged brutal US puppet regime.
Then you ran away at your first opportunity.
Now you want us to go fight for you in a battle you’re too chicken to fight yourself?
Screw off.
The universe seeks entropy — random disorder. Things rarely stay out of balance for long. They only remained so in Egypt for three decades because you lacked the guts to fight and die for your rights and beliefs.
You’re only a prisoner if you allow yourself to be kept as one.
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Well… too bad I hadn’t read Mr. Chappelle’s response sooner, to respond to it. But I find comfort in knowing that: I didn’t even have to respond, because our achievements spoke for itself. It was a good enough reply to any “angry comments” driven by pure ignorance. When we asked for outside intervention, we meant on the political aspect, not the military aspect. Our people have always refused, and will always refuse external military intervention. But words can make huge changes. And that’s why you can change the world by peace talks, peaceful protests and loving everybody, not by war, shedding blood and hating everybody. And it’s funny that you mentioned that I “escaped”, because I actually went back home during the revolution, and have just returned. My generation defeated the threats that have been surrounding it, and ovecame all its fears. And the man who was ruling the Country with an iron fist for 30 years is now in jail. We succeeded in changing the Country’s future. I am proud to be Egyptian, just as I am proud to be Canadian. Canada is a great democratic Country, and so will Egypt be. Thanks Doug, Suzan and all the others who supported the historic revolution that will change the lives of all future generations in Egypt.
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As the publisher of Niagara At Large, I feel like I owe Karim Ahmed an apology for allowing the personal attack on him by Dave Chappelle to filter through our moderator, which is ultimately me.
To characterize Mr. Ahmed as cowardly or gutless, and to punctuate it by offering Mr. Ahmed a “screw off” as a crescendo is an insult to a new citizen of Canada who was showing concern for his friends and relatives in his native Egypt during the democratic revolution that unfolded in that county this past winter.
Contrary to Mr. Chappelle’s suggested that Mr. Ahmed and the people of his country may have been hoping that Canada would intervene militarily in the Egyptian peoples’ campaign for democracy, there is no record of the Egyptian people calling for such intervention.
All Mr. Ahmed and his friends and family members in Egypt were calling for was diplomatic and moral support from free and democratic countries like Canada and the United States. Too bad there are some here who found that offensive. I wonder where some of those same people are on Canada’s past eight years of military intervention in Afghanistan, where the popular movement for freedom from a corrupt, democratic government has hardly ever been as robust as it was in Egypt this past winter.
Doug Draper, publisher, Niagara At Large
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