Em Abril de 2008, a liberdade de expressão e criatividade foram atingidas intimamente no Egito com o confisco do romance gráfico para adultos Metro, criada por Madgy El Shafee. Desde então o autor e seu editor estão em julgamento e enquanto todos estavam ocupados com a guerra futebolística entre Egito e Algéria, a corte oficialmente baniu o romance.

O blog grupal Bikya Masr vê o veredito como “Mais um golpe à liberdade de expressão no Egito, já que os romancistas gráficos não recebem amor do tribunal“.

It was supposed to signal a new era in Egyptian novels. The country’s first graphic novel, Metro, was supposed to be a show of free speech and artistic merit. Instead, it has become the hallmark of what rights groups say is the Egyptian government’s continued censorship of what its citizens can write. On Sunday, a Cairo misdemeanors court fined author Magdy el-Shafei and publisher Mohamed Sharkawi 5000 Egyptian pounds ($900) and demanded the confiscation of the novel after accusing them of writing and distributing a novel, which included statements and phrases considered “offensive to public morals.”

Sarah Carr está furioso; as pessoas ficaram tão absorvidas pela guerra futebolística entre Egito e Algéria que esqueceram todas as outras coisas:

Shahinaz Abdel Salam está desapontada.

O autor Magdy El Shafee se nega a desistir e promete apelar:

O povo egípcio testemunhou o mais inesperado veredito na história do sistema judiciário do país: O bilionário Hesham Talaat Moustafa [en], assim como o assassino profissional contratado por ele, Mohsen El Sokary, receberam a sentença de morte [en] pelo assassinato da cantora libanesa Suzanne Tameen [en]. O terrível assassinato aconteceu em Dubai, nos Emirados Árabes Unidos, e a sentença de quinta-feira foi recebida com choque e surpresa enquanto a blogosfera local começa a absorver as notícias do veredito.

A prolífica blogueira Zeinobia [en] foi a primeira a dar a notícia:

On May 21, Judge Muhammadi Qunsuwa announced the case will be referred to Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, the nation's highest religious official, who will rule on Moustafa's death sentence on June 25.

Um choque para todos, o veredito deixou o réu sem ação. O jornalista Ahmed El Desouky [ar] estava entre os primeiros a relatar as reações da corte à comunidade online egípcia, dizendo:

انتابت المتهمين حالة من الهياج بعد النطق بالحكم وعبروا عن غضبهم الشديد وصدمتهم ووصفوا الحكم بانه قاس جدا بينما تفاوتت ردود الفعل خارج المحكمة لكن السائد ان الحكم قصاص عادل من شاب استغل سلطته ونفوذه وامواله فى العبث ظنا منه انه فوق القانون

As reações variaram entre a aprovação e apoio ao veredito à tristeza e simpatia com o réu. Em seu post, a blogueira Desert Cat [ar] mostrava-se surpresa com a passagem do mesmo veredito para Moustafa e El Sokary:

للأسف الحكم جه النهاردة عكس توقعات الجميع وهو إحالة اوراق المتهمين لفضيلة مفتى الجمهورية .. وبعد النطق بالحكم سادت حالة من الهرج والمرج داخل قاعة المحكمة بسبب صراخ الجميع غير مصدقين من عائلات محسن وهشام والعاملين فى مجموعة طلعت مصطفى بينما هشام ومحسن انتابتهم حالة صمت تااااااامة انا نفسى مش كنت مصدقة لأن جريمة هشام هى التحريض على القتل بينما محسن اللى نفذ ازاى يكون الحكم متساوى

Ahmed Shokeir respondeu à pergunta da blogueira na área de comentários do post, dizendo:

في معظم القوانين يعاقب المحرض على الجريمة بنفس عقوبة الجاني وفي بعض القوانين تغلظ العقوبة وتكون أشد من العقوبة التي تقع على الجاني

Os apoiadores do milionário do mercado imobiliário no Facebook reagiram ao veredito no grupo “Free Hesham Talaat Moustafa” (”Libertem Hesham Talaat Moustafa”) também.

Ashraf Elmanwaty disse:

I still have hope HTM will be free… This is an over reaction judgment

Enquanto isso, Miral El Ramlawy escreveu:

90% of Egyptians do NOT believe he did it and the court owes it to the Egyptians to announce what they based the verdict upon!! Phone calls that don't have any explicit message is NO PROOF…we are waiting for justification!

Depois do choque, as pessoas começaram a analisar. Zeinobia [ar] explica:

• when the judge says that that the papers of the convicted will be sent to the grand Mufti for consulting means in most situations that that convicted will face the death penalty. The death penalty needs the opinion of the grand Mufti to support it from the religious point of view ,the Sharia point of view to fulfill justice.It is not everyday that you order the death of someone.
• In most cases if not all of them the grand Mufti approves and supports the judge’s verdict.

E ela então continua:

• Second in case of Hisham and Sokary,the judge will announce the final verdict on the next 25th of June 2009 ,which is nearly about month and 5 days ,I believe it is a long period to stand in the death row.
• Third when the judge announces the final verdict , the lawyers of the convicted will have the right to [appeal].

Então, pode ser que haja um segundo round, e é isso que vamos descobrir no dia 25 de junho.

Enquanto isso, há perguntas e dúvidas sobre os importantes negócios imobiliários de Hisham. O blogue do editor do The Mideast Institute relata [en]:

The Talaat Mustafa Group (TMG), a huge real estate conglomerate through which Mustafa made his billions, doesn't want any stockholders to worry just because the company's founder and namesake is under a death sentence. A TMG official reassures investors:
Sawaftah said that TMG’s corporate structure prevents “the absence of one individual” from affecting its activity

Vamos falar de energias positivas. Na sexta-feira passada, dia 15 de maio, o distrito de El Korba [en], um dos mais antigos do Cairo, celebrou o seu quinto festival da paz. Muitos residentes de Heliópolis e do Cairo esperam ansiosamente por este evento anual, no qual podem se divertir e mergulhar na beleza do sempre movimentado distrito heliopolitano — que é fechado para o trânsito de carros no dia.

Entretenimento e atividades culturais são a ordem do dia, quando a paz e a diversidade se encontram em um só lugar.

Em sua blogada sobre o festival, Fattractive [en] diz:

Korba is one of the oldest districts in Heliopolis. All these gorgeous old buildings. Sadly, it’s become extremely crowded and annoying, but on one day every year, it becomes a pedestrian street, and it’s true beauty shines through

E ela continua:

All the cafes set their tables outside, bands entertain us up on a stage, kids draw on the street with chalks, and companies fall all over themselves to market their products in the most innovative ways. Entertainment is varied: the traditional tanoura/ oriental dances, and then guitar/ jazz bands. It got way crowded at night, but still very fun

Depois do evento as pessoas voltam para suas casas com excelentes fotos e ótimas lembranças, e os partilham no grupo do evento no Facebook [en].

O grupo descreve o dia da seguinte forma:

For Heliopolis residents and admirers and guests from across Cairo, this is the day we celebrate peace in Cairo's oldest and vintage quarter “korba Heliopolis”.

E aqui vão algumas fotos do festival:

Creditos das fotos: fotos 1 e 2 por Nermeen Edrees.

A DigiActive, organização que se dedica a ajudar ativistas do mundo inteiro a usarem a tecnologia digital, acabou de lançar o The DigiActive Guide to Twitter for Activism (Guia DigiActive de Como Usar o Twitter Para o Ativismo, ainda não traduzido). Na sequência dos últimos protestos em Moldávia, o Twitter se valorizou como ferramenta para ativismo digital, ficando mais proeminente que nunca. Ainda assim, além de trazer mais visibilidade para a ferramenta, o exagero em torno do que aconteceu em Moldávia revelou uma incompreensão sobre o valor do Twitter para o ativismo, e apesar de haver análises do uso da ferramenta, não existia um guia independente que definisse claramente como o Twitter pode ser usado para o ativismo. DigiActive espera que esse tutorial venha a preencher essa lacuna.

Clique na imagem da capa para baixar o tutorial (em PDF)

O guia oferece uma grande quantidade de informações sobre o ativismo via Twitter. Ele começa com uma introdução à plataforma (p. 5) e à terminologia usada (p. 6) e, em seguida, define cinco usos do Twitter para o ativismo, cada um ilustrado por um estudo de caso (p. 6-11). O tutorial então apresenta um passo-a-passo de como montar uma estratégia de uso do Twitter para proporcionar mudanças política e social (p. 12), juntamente com uma lista do que fazer e do que evitar (p. 14) no decorrer da campanha. O guia termina com recursos adicionais para usuários do Twitter, tais como aplicativos que ajudam a usar a ferramenta de maneira mais fácil (p. 16), outras leituras recomendadas (p. 20) e até mesmo alternativas para o Twitter (p. 18).

O tutorial foi escrito por Andreas Jungherr, candidato a mestrando em Ciências Políticas da Universidade de Mainz na Alemanha, e foi revisado e aprimorado por acadêmicos, ativistas e pela equipe do DigiActive, para que sua leitura seja informativa e agradável.

(postagem cruzada, com pequenas alterações, do DigiActive.org)

Na blogosfera israelense raramente se tem a impressão de que todo mundo esteja ouvindo e que ninguém fale, e hoje parece assim mesmo, com o lançamento de um curta-metragem chamado “Closed Zone” [En] [Zona Fechada]. Um filme animado de 90 segundos que fala sobre o bloqueio na fronteira da Faixa de Gaza, “Closed Zone” já teve 31.600 acessos e 200 comentários no YouTube, cifra que aumenta a cada dia.

Os sites Cinemascopian [En], Israelity Bites [En], One Jerusalem [En] e Promised Land [En] publicaram o vídeo com suas informações de pano de fundo, mas evitam fazer comentários.

Dion Nissembaum de Checkpoint Jerusalem, oferece [En] também o contexto e a descrição do filme, explicando que “Closed Zone” foi criado para a ONG israelense Gisha [En], a qual trabalha para proteger a liberdade de ir e vir dos 1.4 milhões de moradores [En] da Faixa de Gaza.

Em um relatório sobre o bloqueio na Faixa de Gaza durante esses 18 meses, Gisha escreve [En]:

Gisha's position is that the closure is illegal because it punishes civilians in the Gaza Strip for acts they did not commit and for political circumstances beyond their control. The closure inflicts harm to the civilian population and civilian institutions by blocking the passage of goods necessary for health, well-being, and economic life.

O criador de “Closed Zone” é Yoni Goodman [En]. Goodman é mais conhecido por ser o Diretor de Animação de “Waltz with Bashir” [En], ganhador do Globo de Ouro como Melhor Filme Estrangeiro e fortemente indicado [En] para ser o melhor concorrente da mesma categoria na Premiação do Oscar em 2009 (porém foi o filme japonês “Departures” a ganhar o prêmio).

Em uma entrevista ao Jerusalem Post, durante a apresentação de “Closed Zone”, Goodman explica [En]:

“I hate Hamas. They're out to kill us. Of course they are my enemies. I feel sorry for the Palestinian citizens who want to live their lives… People don't like to hear that Palestinians are real people. People prefer to think of them as evil, that they're all Hamas. It's easier to say, ‘let's punish them, let's kill them all.' It's a lot harder to regard them as ordinary people who want peace.

No filme correspondente “Closed Zones: Behind the Scenes” [Zonas Fechadas: Nos Bastidores], Goodman enfatiza:

The war made this project a mission for me. The character is a kid, he is kind of a kid and kind of an adult, a bit Arab and a bit Jewish, something that everyone can connect to. It is important not to turn this into a stereotypical film.

Sari Bashi, Diretor Executivo de Gisha, acrescenta:

We chose the medium of animation to try to get viewers to recognize the humanity of the residents of Gaza. It is increasingly difficult to remind people that residents of the Gaza Strip are human beings who wish to raise children, to earn a living, to realize their dreams, both small and large.

O lançamento de “Closed Zone” coincide com a primeira viagem do Secretário de Estado dos EUA, Hillary Clinton, ao Médio Oriente, onde ela anunciou o compromisso dos Estados Unidos em ajudar com 900 milhões de dólares para a reconstrução da Faixa de Gaza depois da guerra com Israel [En], nesse inverno. Esse valor será significativamente reforçado com os 5 bilhões de dólares arrecadados através de doações na conferência dessa semana [primeria semana de março] em Sharm el-Sheik, Egito.

Mas Israel terá a palavra final sobre a abertura da fronteira ao tráfego comercial e civil. Será solicitado o apoio da comunidade internacional para garantir que venham supridas as necessidades de ambos os lados da fronteira. Mark Regev, porta-voz do Primeiro Ministro Israelense Ehud Olmert, afirma [En]:

With supplies like concrete, with steel, unfortunately you could have a situation where that is diverted by Hamas, and instead of helping people to rebuild houses, they'll be building underground bunkers for their own military machine. So I think we in the international community have to find mechanisms to make sure that aid for the people of Gaza is precisely that.

Egyptian Chronicles [Crônicas Egípcias, em inglês] nos conta que o sobrinho do ex-presidente iraquiano Saddam Hussein tem um blogue. O nome é, no mínimo, estranho: Crime is a human instinct [O crime é um instinto humano, em inglês].

Durante os últimos meses, os egípcios têm sido perseguidos diariamente por manchetes e matérias principais catastróficas - desde assassinatos até escândalos de corrupção, uma sucessão de incêndios, assédio sexual… sem falar nos efeitos da crise econômica global, que as autoridades egípcias insistem em afirmar que não tem afetado de forma significativa a economia (já) em deterioração. Falando sério, foi como se um feitiço tivesse sido jogado sobre o Egito e causado uma série de eventos infelizes.
Em meio a esse horror, os blogueiros egípcios decidiram se revoltar contra o atual estado deplorável do país, trazendo à tona alguma energia positiva através da campanha “Troque de Canal”.
A campanha foi uma criação do blogueiro Tarek Amir, um dos autores do Global Voices Online, que a descreve da seguinte maneira:

أنا كانت عندي بوادر عقدة نفسية عشان كل مأقرأ المدونات المصرية ألاقي تعذيب و تحرش و إعتصامات و محاكم و بلاوي سودة.
و بعد كده لما شاركت في جلوبال فويسز لاقيت نفسي مطالب بإنتقاء تدوينات كل فترة لكي أترجمها للغة الإنجليزية حتى يقرأها العالم. و هنا إتحولت العقدة إلى عقدة و شنيطة و كان شبه مستحيل إني ألاقي في وسط هذا الكم من السواد بصيص أمل يحسس الناس إن مصر برضه بلد حلوة مش مستنقع.

Ele então continua:

عشان كده إتناقشت مع بعض المدوناتية أصدقائي و إتفقنا نخلي ولو يوم واحد كل شهر ننقل فيه حاجات كويسة في بلدنا للناس.
مش شرط تكون كتابات, ممكن صور أو رسومات أو بلوجات صوتية أو أي حاجة.
يوم واحد كل شهر نغير فيه المحطة السودة و نروح لتردد أكثر بياضا.

المهم الحملة ديه إتفقنا نسميها
غيَر المحطة
و حاتكون في اليوم إل رقمه زي رقم الشهر
يعني واحد يناير و إتنين فبراير و تلاته مارس لحد إتناشر ديسمبر

A iniciativa está sendo altamente encorajada e bem-recebida em toda a blogosfera egípcia, e alguns blogueiros estão se divertindo muito com a idéia de usar lentes cor-de-rosa. No seu blogue, Jessy decidiu mudar o tom até segunda ordem:

I am going to limit this negative input and replace it with more positive and healthy messages, at least in my own pink bubble life.

Mulheres: Deveriam elas ficar em casa e criar filhos ou trabalhar e dar sua contribuição? Uma dúvida polêmica que Fantasia's World tentou responder em seu blog: Você está fazendo com que seu país fique ainda mais pobre? [en]

Fantasia dedica seu blog a

all the bitter, ever-complaining, dissatisfied housewives.. who were once my school buddies, university comrades, and work colleagues, but have chosen to stay at home after marriage.

Fantasia descreve a natureza de seu relacionamento com as amigas citadas acima, ao dizer:

Sorry, all. You have always found me to be your comforting pillow.. always an attentive listener, with whom you can split your pains, and someone you can always count on for relief. You've always found me to have a great ability to sympathize, or even empathize.
I've always understood your weaknesses, and swallowed your follies.. being careful not to criticize you or blame you until you are totally in the right mood for thinking and re-evaluating your acts. I was extra gentle with matters of the heart.. less with life-defining decisions.. yet constantly focusing on absorbing your pain and frustration. I am still the same.

E agora vem a parte que atiçou a fogueira:

Only one thing is too many for me.. and that is when you complain that you are stuck in a bad marriage, having to stick to a tight budget (complaining about the high cost of living), and that you can't help transferring your anger unto your kids! Now, that's way too much. I can't absorb that.. and you'd better be ready to find your emotional sponge turn rock-solid.
I seriously don't get it! You said that your family needs all your time, so that's why you don't need a job.. then you complain of loneliness and the huge spare time you are never able to fill! You said that your husband has got a handsome income that would make your slim salary seem ridiculous, that's why you're better off without your work.. then you complain that prices are rising and that your budget is getting tighter! You said that work for women is not primary.. then you envy your ex-colleagues whenever one of them gets promoted or whenever you see one of'em on TV! You just turned into one of those horrible women you once hated and criticized. You are searching for the faults in others to prove that nobody is perfect, as if this will calm you deep inside, instead of trying to improve your life or make it a happier one.

Depois disso, se aprofunda em explicar como as mulheres que ficam em casa tornam o Egito mais pobre:

Belonging to the third world is not like being a member in a club. A country earns its place in the so-called third world because it belongs there.. it is poor, has a slow development rate, and does not contribute much (if any) to global economy or development (for example, in scientific research). Hence, if a country does what you do.. that is, become dependent on other productive countries.. it fits into the third world. And as long as half the population in those countries think the way you do, then those countries have got zero chance in improvement.
To be able to imagine how weak our production rate is, I'll just give a couple of examples.. The average productivity of an Egyptian citizen is estimated to be around 1000$ a year.. and it tends to be fixed around this figure through many years.. while in Israel for example, a citizen produces the equivalent of 15000$/year.. And in a country which used to belong to the third world only a few years ago like Singapore, this amount reaches 45000$ per capita.. meaning that the productivity of the Singaporean citizen is 45 times as much as that of his Egyptian counterpart!! Now, where can this get us for God's sake?
It is as simple as this.. there are 78 million Egyptians.. half of them are brought up to think that their primary role in life is to reproduce and serve their households. Then the whole population is dependent on the other half to feed them and satisfy their basic needs.. How lovely!

Sugere, sem papas na língua, que

By sitting at home, you are just turning into a huge burden on economy. You keep adding to this burden when you keep getting more children to keep yourself occupied at home. The end result is more poverty and misery for thousands. Urban women are the worst of the lot.. they are not productive at all. A rural woman bakes her own bread, plants her vegetables, raises chicken, sews clothes…etc. While all what urban women do is consume, consume, consume. Not only do they consume goods.. but also endless hours on the phone and in front of TV to keep themselves entertained. They consume energy.. which (in case you don't know) is becoming rarer and rarer, and is expected to be the number one reason behind endless wars to come.
So, back to urban women.. What do they produce? What is their share in the national income? Zero.

Fazendo uma ligação com o papel do governo,

The government has contributed to this crisis when it failed to provide adequate daycare service to help their female employees stay in the workforce; hence, making it easier for the private sector to get away without having any obligation towards female workers. Why on earth would a company owner bother to provide a service that the government itself does not require or care to provide?
The ridiculous alternative of the 2 years maternal leave (in the public sector) only means that those women do not actually work, or else how would 2 years of absence be OK with them? Those women then return (if they ever do) to resume their work in the same position they occupied before their leave, falling back behind their colleagues who got their promotions on time. The private sector is even worse.. it gives a maternal leave of 3 months, after which you can bid your job goodbye. Most probably what a woman pays for daycare and transportation to be able to carry on this daily tour (home-daycare-work-daycare-home) will be enough to swallow her full income. Thus, she finds herself compelled to stay at home with her baby.

Levando-nos das ciências sociais para a matemática básica, Fantasia nos ajuda a descobrir porque o Egito continua a ser uma nação pobre:

1- With the gender gap in favor of males in literacy rates, we have to confront the fact that only 59.4% of females could read and write, 93% of which complete the primary stage, while only 67% attend secondary school.
2- Only 23% of women join the labor force.. they make 22% of the total labor force in Egypt.
3- Of those women in the labor force (23%), only 22.6% hold a university degree, (which means that only 5% of Egyptian women are highly educated working citizens! Freakish!) 16% of those are in administrative posts, and 28% hold professional and technical posts.
Aside from those horrifying figures, one might think that a crisis of this magnitude must be a top priority while designing reform programs.. yet, unfortunately, we can not count on that.

Citando a Professora Mahassen Mostafa Hassanin em seu livro: “Egypt: A Poverty Profile” [Egito: Um Perfil da Pobreza]:

Reform programs tend to work to the benefit of men than to the benefit of women. Macroeconomic policies concentrate on the reallocation of resources to achieve both stability and growth rather than on microeconomic issues and gender differentiation. Development programs usually address males while neglecting females.

Not only so, but the pop culture is another huge obstacle, acting as a strong barrier, preventing girls from aspiring to play an active role in society. And I quote again from the same source:
Equality and equity among males and females represents the cornerstone of this new development paradigm which concentrates on sustainability of the development process and this requires changing the prevailing social paradigm, and re-educating men and women on how to work together to create a more humanitarian world order.

On why Egyptian women would ever consider having a job , Professor Hassanin says:
The pattern of women in the development process is controversial. Women devote nearly all their income to the welfare of their family and still have to comply with the constraints of their gender role in the society. This makes the cost of their participation in the development process rather excessive.
And that is so true.. Women are rather pushed into the workforce than deciding to join it out of a personal will.. They lack empowerment, ambition and a sound environment which might inspire them to be productive citizens.

Para uma maior elaboração desse tópico, cito o trabalho de Ms. Sahar Nasr intitulado: “Women and Poverty” [Mulheres e Pobreza] que fez parte do Joint Report of the National Council for Women and the World Bank [Relatório Conjunto do Conselho Nacional para Mulheres e o Banco Mundial] (2003):

In her research on women headed households, Nasr has found that most of those women are widowed. Which means that as long as there is a man at home, poor women would never consider having a job.
Poverty has Higher Price for Women and Girls. While poverty per se is not a gender concern, women, along with their children, tend to be more vulnerable to poverty than men.
Poor women often face a triple disadvantage:
• Heavy reproductive burden and their non-market contributions are often not recognized—undervaluing a significant part of their economic contributions.
• Social concerns may also limited women’s access to labor market and the type of jobs from which they can choose.
• Finally, women generally have lower educational achievements, reducing their earnings ability.

Em sua conclusão, pergunta a seus amigos e a todas às mulheres improdutivas

Do you realize now that you can not just sit there and complain? Your country needs you, because you are one of the very few young, healthy, well-educated women who expected to be productive, and any development would simply not happen as long as you insist on throwing all your education and personal skills against the wall and sitting there doing nothing.
BE RESPONSIBLE.. ACT RESPONSIBLE.. DO SOMETHING FOR THE FUTURE OF YOUR KIDS.. STOP MAKING YOUR COUNTRY POORER

O Voice of Egypt [En] sente-se envergonhado da advogada egípcia Nagla Al Imam, a mesma que enfureceu os egípcios[En], ao encorajar árabes a abusar sexualmente de mulheres israelitas durante entrevista na Al Arabia TV [En].

O blog Egípcio afirma:

نجلاء الإمام المحامية و رئيسة جمعية لحقوق الإنسان تدعو الشباب العربي للتحرش بالإسرائيليات و اغتصابهم كنوع من المقاومة و بعد كده بنتسائل ليه الغرب بيتهمنا بالتخلف و الإرهاب أما تكون دي رئيسة جمعية لحقوق الإنسان هيفتكروا المواطن العادي شكله عامل ازاي؟؟

O blog israelita [En], My Right Word, publicou excertos em inglês da entrevista emitida na Al Arabia TV a 31 de Outubro de 2008:

Following are excerpts from an interview with Egyptian lawyer Nagla Al-Imam, which aired on Al-Arabiya TV on October 31, 2008.

Interviewer: Egyptian lawyer Nagla Al-Imam has proposed that young Arab men should sexually harass Israeli girls wherever they may be and using any possible method, as a new means in the resistance against Israel.

[…]

Interviewer: We have with us the lawyer Nagla Al-Imam from Cairo. Welcome. What is the purpose of this proposal of yours?

Nagla Al-Imam: This is a form of resistance. In my opinion, they are fair game for all Arabs, and there is nothing wrong with…

Interviewer: On what grounds?

Nagla Al-Imam: First of all, they violate our rights, and they “rape” the land. Few things are as grave as the rape of land. In my view, this is a new form of resistance.

Interviewer: As a lawyer, don't you think this might expose Arab youth to punishment for violating laws against sexual harassment?

Nagla Al-Imam: Most Arab countries… With the exception of three or four Arab countries, which I don’t think allow Israeli women to enter anyway, most Arab countries do not have sexual harassment laws. Therefore, if [Arab women] are fair game for Arab men, there is nothing wrong with Israeli women being fair game as well.

Interviewer: Does this also include rape?

Nagla Al-Imam: No. Sexual harassment… In my view, the [Israeli women] do not have any right to respond. The resistance fighters would not initiate such a thing, because their moral values are much loftier than that. However if such a thing did happen to them, the [Israeli women] have no right to make any demands, because this would put us on equal terms – leave the land so we won't rape you. These two things are equal.

[…]

I don’t want young Arab men to be interrogated. I want these Zionist girls with Israeli citizenship to be expelled from our Arab countries. This is a form of resistance, and a way of rejecting their presence.

Projetado para acomodar 5.500 estudantes em tempo integral e 1.500 docentes e funcionários da administração, o campus novo da Universidade Americana no Cairo, de 260 acres e um custo de $400 milhões, é avançado em tecnologia e ecologicamente consciente. Os estudantes dizem que foi uma mudança prematura, pois têm sofrido assédio sexual e pagam caro pela alimentação, entre muitas outras questões.

O Chronicling Cairo [en] mostrou sua tristeza numa mensagem no blog [en]:

Since we moved to Heliopolis we've been dealing with an incredible amount of sexual harassment. Keep in mind that the entire time we've been living in the hotel so far has been during the month of Ramadan, the holiest month of the year for Muslims and the time in which all Muslims make extra effort to worship God and live in a pure and holy way.

As such, all sexual thoughts and acts during the fasting hours are technically forbidden. However, we cannot walk down the street in Heliopolis (in daylight or after sundown) without catcalls, honking cars, constant hissing, and what i'm sure are likely extremely lewd expressions in colloquial Egyptian being tossed our way. I was warned to expect the harassment, I can take the verbal abuse.

What I have difficulty accepting, however, is the physical component of the problem. Two weeks ago this sequence of events happened:

The fact that we're foreigners has no bearing on the level of harassment we're receiving–our Egyptian and Arab dorm-mates are harassed at an equal level. Surveys conducted of Egyptian women indicate that veiled women experience only 10% less harassment than unveiled women. My Palestinian suitemate told me that it will get even worse once Ramadan ends.

By deciding to house us in a completely isolated area full of military compounds that is hostile to outsiders in general, AUC put their female students in a terrible situation where there is absolutely nothing we can do to stop men from touching us inappropriately. And that makes me angry.

Scene and heard [en] publicou a seguinte carta de uma estudante estrangeira da AUC [Universidade Americana no Cairo]:

Dear S&H,

I am currently doing a semester abroad here at AUC at the new campus and am unfortunately really disappointed. My friends recommended the program after spending a summer studying Arabic at the downtown AUC campus and told me how amazing it was to be right smack dab in the middle of the city and cultural festivities. I had heard about the new campus but was told it wasn't “that far” from downtown and figured I had nothing to lose. I'm sure you can imagine my surprise when I arrived at the new campus and realized I was in the middle of a number of developing upscale communities surrounded by desert…not exactly the cultural experience I was looking for. I have to take a bus or Cairo Cab downtown to be able to experience the streets and true culture of Cairo. I wish I was able to walk down the streets near Tahrir square and eat koshari and falafel sandwiches between my gaps like my friends had told me about…and although Cilantro's not bad, that's not exactly what I flew thousands of miles to experience.

I recently read an article in the Daily News that really hit home and I thought that this was the best place to voice my opinion and maybe open a discussion forum. In the article, the reporter recommended: “For the sake of its foreign students, AUC’s Arabic Language Institute should seriously consider returning to the university’s old location in the heart of downtown Cairo.”

YES PLEASE.

Will Ward publicou um post com o título AUC: Batalha por comida no novo campus. [en]

On my first day at the AUC new campus I waited in line over half an hour to buy a cardboardy bagel from one of the three chain food outlets that were up and running.

This was because the university had sold a concession to Delicious Inc, a company that operates chain franchises like Cinnabon, McDonalds, Cilantro, etc, to be the sole foodservice provider on campus. A cup of coffee at one of these places runs 12-15 pounds, and a sandwich or salad would set you back at least 20.

For Ramadan this was not a huge deal because most people weren’t eating on campus anyway, but after Eid all hell broke loose. With fasting over, no one was prepared to wait forever in a line to overpay for meh food.

After a few days, something fantastic happened. Instead of complaining (my default response), a group of students set up small stands around campus and began selling snacks, apples and little packages of homemade pasta with roasted veggies. These were cheaper and more delicious than Delicious Inc’s products, so naturally, the company tried to shut them down.

I am told that, after being closed initially, the students appealed the decision to the AUC president and were given permission to continue operating. But then yesterday I noticed that Delicious had set up their own kiosk and had dispatched two Cilantro employees to hand out cookies to the passersby.

Getting warmer….but I’m not sold yet. When they start delivering free double macchiatos to my office, then we’ll talk. That may even earn them a coveted Friday in Cairo endorsement.

But in the end, even the student food is priced head and shoulders above the cheap filling lunch you can get for a few pounds at the downtown places. The real scandal is that, with November almost here, there is no sign of fuul, tamiyya or koshary on the new campus as promised.

Meanwhile, I continue to spend a great deal of time at the old campus. The wireless internet is still up and running, the cheaper, better coffee shop is still open, the bank is open with no lines. There are trees, birds chirping, no desert rats, you get the picture.

Estudantes furiosos conseguiram um pedido de desculpas [en] do reitor da AUC:

The head of The American University in Cairo apologized to attendees at a raucous and at times angry student forum today meant to address concerns about the new campus, which continued even as a blackout hit the university.

Flanked by two armed bodyguards, President David Arnold asked for the audience’s understanding and forgiveness for the problems the university has experienced this semester.

“I want to express my deep personal apology about the problems and suffering that we have encountered at the past two months,” he said.

The forum was hastily organized in response to a sit-in held by dozens of student protesters last week outside the administration building.

The group organizing the protest asked the school provide the details of its contract with food consortium Delicious Inc. and publicize all of its financial records, provide cheaper food alternatives, guarantee the campus is finished by spring, a reimbursement of four weeks of tuition, and a cap on tuition hikes.

During his address at the Motaz El Alfy Hall in the newly opened section of campus, Arnold acknowledged student frustration with the problems AUC has experienced in the move to Kattameya.

Arnold defended the move as the “right decision,” though he was immediately heckled for the comment.

He did not give a definitive answer about when the campus would be fully completed, but said he expected student housing would be ready for tenants at the end of the semester. An updated construction schedule is expected next week, AUC said in a statement.

To address student concerns about food on campus, the university has created a Food Services Committee, and will provide a summary of its agreement with Delicious Inc, the university said.

At the forum, Arnold announced that students would also receive a food coupon worth 200 LE.

He also agreed with the concerns that staff and students have raised about the bus service provided by Family Transport. Drivers for the Heliopolis-based firm have been in at least two accidents since the beginning of the semester.

“Bus service was not that good for the first two weeks of this semester, as many problems were taking place, such as the bus was sometimes full or it wasn’t on time,” Arnold said.

The bus services rebate will be worth 500 LE to each student, a third of the value of the bus pass.

But he said he was not entertaining a tuition refund of any kind. In its release, the university stated tuition covers 70 percent of education costs, the remainder covered by donations and AUC’s endowment funds.

“We have made a commitment towards offering higher education programs for you, so a reduction of tuition is unnecessary,” Arnold said.

In previous remarks to the Caravan, university officials said AUC has suffered a decline of almost $100 million in the market value of its securities investments, which were largely made with endowment funds.

No Facebook, diversos grupos foram criados pelos estudantes dando voz as suas frustrações: Petição para retornar para o antigo campus, [en] Odiamos o novo campus,[en] e Não venda o campus velho.[en]

Nora Younys, por 3arabwy no Flickr. Foto usada sob licença Creative Commons

A blogueira e ativista de direitos humanos egípcia Nora Younis [Ar] foi agraciada ontem, dia 23, com o Prêmio Anual de Direitos Humanos [En].

Human Rights First hosted its annual dinner and 30th anniversary celebration honoring those at the forefront of the struggle to defend human rights, featuring actress Sigourney Weaver, who will serve as the master of ceremonies, Caroline Kennedy, who will accept an award on behalf of her uncle, Senator Ted Kennedy, and singer Mary Chapin Carpenter, who will perform.

Fustat relata [En]:

She shares the prize with Oleg Kozlovsky, a young democracy activist in Russia - a country that slides further from the straight path of democracy for each day it seems. Senator Ted Kennedy is also awarded for his long and distinguished career as a human rights defender.

Human Rights First have been very supportive of human rights in Egypt, during the last years and Campaigned for Saad Eddin Ibrahim, who won the same award in 2002, Alaa and Kareem among others, and I would like to extend my greetings and humble thanks for your support on this happy occasion.

Fustat orgulhosamente partilha a descrição dada pela Humans Right First para a blogueira, dizendo:

This is how they describe Nora:

… When Egyptian soldiers used water cannons and nightsticks to brutally evict Sudanese refugees from a public square in Cairo, Nora Younis was there, taking notes and shooting photos. Her blog of the incident drew international attention to the Egyptian government's abuses against these vulnerable refugees. Nora continues to raise awareness about rampant human rights abuses in Egypt through her compelling blog posts.

Prisioneiros empilhados uns sobre os outros em uma jaula? O premiado blogueiro egípcio Wael Abbas expõe mais uma terrível violação dos direitos humanos em seu popular blog Misr Digital [Ar].

Wael explica:

هذه الصورة أرسلت إلي عن طريق المسنجر وقد إلتقطت بالتليفون المحمول لغرفة الحجز في أحد أقسام الشرطة - لا نعرف أي قسم حتى الآن - وكما ترون فغرفة الحجز عبارة عن قفص حديدي يتكدس فيه المحتجزين بشكل أقل ما يقل عنه هو أنه - قرودي - غير إنساني ولا حتى حيواني لأن اللي عنده حيوانات عمره ما يحطها في زريبة بالشكل ده لأنه ببساطة يخاف عليها تنفق - منظر لا يمكن تخيله حتى في لوحة سيريالية ولا حتى في خيال شخص فشار مهولاتي أبو لمعة قد يحكي عن تكدس البشر بعضهم فوق بعض لكن الصورة أهه بألف كلمة وليس من رأى كمن سمع وربنا يخلي لينا التكنولوجيا

Os comentadores da blogada estão sem palavras.

Misr Al Muslima escreve:

دول معملوهاش في سجن ابو غريب ولا غوانتنامو

ولا كانها لقطة في افلام الخيال العلمي

للدرجاتي هو دة مقام الانسان المصري بيتحت في اقفاص زي الحيونات ويمكن اوسخ من الحيونات

ربنا يرحمنا برحمته

Hamoodi diz:

نظام الشرطة في جميع الدول العربيه فاسد فاسد فاسد

E Mohamed completa sarcasticamente:

فعلا مصر ام الدنبا ومهد الحضارة

انتظروا مزيدا من الاختراعات المهينة للبشرية

Haitham, contudo, explica calmamente:

This picture is photoshopped :P

Dezenove pessoas que haviam sido sequestradas há 10 dias [En], entre elas onze turistas estrangeiros, foram libertadas [En] ilesas hoje, pouco antes do amanhecer, em uma ação realizada pelas forças especiais egípcias.

Zeinobia, no blogue Egiptian Chronicles, dedicou este [En] post às forças especiais egípcias por seu papel heróico no resgate.

I do not know if anyone of them will ever read this but thank you for bringing joy, faith and hope to people who are really missing a lot these days, thank you for standing up as usual as expected when it needed.

Entre os sequestradas havia 11 turistas estrangeiros — cinco italianos, cinco alemães e um romeno — que foram capturados em uma remota região de fronteira do Egito, na qual se encontram pinturas rupestres que são tidas como tendo aproximadamente 10.000 anos. A região é acessível por meio de veículo para deserto a partir das zonas de conflito de Darfur e do leste do Chade.

Enquanto isso, o blogue The Arabist [En] faz links para fontes de notícias e anuncia:

The word is the 19 hostages are now free and healthy.

Escrevendo no The Skeptic [En], Elijah Zarwan relatou mais cedo:

Sudanese government officials are telling reporters that the Sudanese forces killed six men accused of complicity in the abduction of 11 tourists and eight Egyptian guides after a high-speed chase through the desert. The Sudanese say they captured two people involved, who said that the hostages had been moved to Chad. If all the reports coming out have been true, then the hostages have been moved from Egypt, across the border to Sudan, across the border into Libya, then back into Sudan, and again across the border into Chad.

Com muito pouca informação emergindo hoje sobre a grande explosão [en] em Damasco, na Síria, um blogueiro que estava no local correu para o seu computador para descrever para o mundo o cenário de caos e devastação que ele presenciou.

Medad [ar], da Síria, estava a alguns minutos do local da explosão e nos apresenta um relato próprio de testemunha ocular do que aconteceu:

Dania [en], da Síria, tem um post chamado 17. Ela escreve:

17 people are killed… and no one knows any thing, no news agency knows any thing, no further details but … 17 people are killed.

200kg of explosive… who, how, and why…
17 people are killed…I can't think right now, my brother was on his way to the airport.

They say it might be an assassination, and they say it might be only a threat to the national security.

17 people are killed

Sasa [en], enquanto isso, se atualiza dos rumores e traz as últimas notícias:

So, it's been a few minutes since the bomb, and already people are spending their time wishing up conspiracy theories based on their filthy politics, instead of thinking about the fact that seventeen lives have been lost.

Here's what I've heard already:

- The bomb was near the Sidi Kadad Intelligence Headquarters, responsible for monitoring Palestinians in Damascus - it must be Palestinians taking revenge

- The bomb was on the airport road - it must be Israelis trying to hurt a symbol of national significance

- The bomb was in Sayida Zeinab - it must be the Iraqi problem being exported

- The bomb was trying to undermine the stability of the Syrian government - it must be the Americans

- The bomb was revenge for the killing of a top government official last month - it must be the Syrians

- The bomb was revenge for the killing of Hizbollah official Imad Mughniya - it must be the Lebanese

- The bomb follows other attacks across Syria by religious extremists - it must be Al Qaeda

Just think about the dead - instead of how the attack supports your filthy view of the world.

E o especialista em assuntos sírios Joshua Landis [en] linca para um artigo no Telegraph dando a notícia. Os comentaristas responderam rapidamente a esse post.

Offended disse:

Very disturbing news. What kind of a sick ideology or agenda is behind such attacks?

E IDAF respondeu:

Luckily it is a weekend and no children were in the damaged elementary school in the location.
Syrian TV was the only source of information and footage so far. Some images here:
http://www.syria-news.com/readnews.php?sy_seq=83046

Do país vizinho Egito, Zeinobia [en] explica:

This is the first terrorist act that targets the Syrian civilians since a long time. Also it comes after a serious of mysterious assignations assassinations took place across the country. Not to mention it comes at the same time the Syria seems to regain power in the region.

Till now the message behind this blast is not obvious , it is for sure sent to the Syrian regime but for what ?? For its Relations with Iran or the regime itself !!??