Two years after the revolution that led to the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, the changes in Egypt have been less than stellar. Unemployment is high, unrest is higher; tourism is way down while the value of the Egyptian pound falls even lower.
Nearly a year after the election of President Mohamed Morsi, demonstrations demanding changes continue nearly every weekend. Each demonstration brings crowds of supporters of the "cause of the week" and simultaneously attracts their opponents--usually, this leads to clashes between opposite opinions, and when the police or security forces attempt to intervene, the protestors usually end up fighting them.
Case in point, this weekend there were announced demonstrations at the Court of Cassation and
Prosecutor's offices; according to a US Embassy caution email, these were to be held by Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups who were opposing a recent court decision that recommended the release of former leader Mubarak. Usually, Friday gatherings start after the "1:00" prayers; however, the gathering began early Friday morning and was loud enough for me to hear the chants within the St. Andrews United Church of Cairo nearly a block away before their morning worship at 10:00 am. After the service, I walked past the Metro stop to take a look and the picture here and a video I posted on Twitter. Within hours, opposition groups joined those gathering and then the clashes broke out--rocks, bottles, and fists flew as property was damaged and order dissolved. When security forces attempted to restrain and restore order, the demonstrators attacked them. According to this article, 39 were arrested (for destruction of property, terrorizing citizens, etc.) and dozens had injuries requiring hospital attention.
This is not indicative of a country heading in a positive direction.
It's events like this that have led President Morsi to announce a "Cabinet Reshuffle"; Al Jazeera news conducted an interview with President Morsi about these plans, and here is part of that video:
As stated, it is uncertain which Cabinet posts and governors will be replaced, but this article from Egypt Independent cites, "A senior government source had previously said a Cabinet reshuffle would be announced soon, changing five ministers, including Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim, Culture Minister Saber Arab, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Omar Salem and Justice Minister Ahmed Mekky, in addition to 10 governors..."
But the question remains whether or not these changes will in fact change anything.
A major problem arising out of post-revolution Egypt--and this appears to be a growing problem in a variety of national contexts--is the idea that a new government can make all things new. When a new president, new parliament, new cabinet, new set of judges, etc don't bring the desired changes to society, order, entitlements, economy or whatever, then it's time for another revolution to overthrow and install someone else new. Not only is there a deficit in willingness to respect and debate differences of opinion, to work together, and to compromise, there is a larger deficit: that fundamentally, "change begins with me."
Every citizen has to begin to not only respect one another, but to respect authority--order within society has to begin with a sense of personal responsibility and respect for those around you. Disorder is the result of everyone looking out for only themselves or for those that think like them.
The government does obviously play a role in recovery and reform--but not without the patience and participation of the people.
We'll add a post ("Review: Will Changes Change Anything?") in the next day or so when President Morsi announces the Cabinet changes and the initial responses.
Pray for Egypt...
Nearly a year after the election of President Mohamed Morsi, demonstrations demanding changes continue nearly every weekend. Each demonstration brings crowds of supporters of the "cause of the week" and simultaneously attracts their opponents--usually, this leads to clashes between opposite opinions, and when the police or security forces attempt to intervene, the protestors usually end up fighting them.
Case in point, this weekend there were announced demonstrations at the Court of Cassation and
This is not indicative of a country heading in a positive direction.
It's events like this that have led President Morsi to announce a "Cabinet Reshuffle"; Al Jazeera news conducted an interview with President Morsi about these plans, and here is part of that video:
As stated, it is uncertain which Cabinet posts and governors will be replaced, but this article from Egypt Independent cites, "A senior government source had previously said a Cabinet reshuffle would be announced soon, changing five ministers, including Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim, Culture Minister Saber Arab, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Omar Salem and Justice Minister Ahmed Mekky, in addition to 10 governors..."
But the question remains whether or not these changes will in fact change anything.
A major problem arising out of post-revolution Egypt--and this appears to be a growing problem in a variety of national contexts--is the idea that a new government can make all things new. When a new president, new parliament, new cabinet, new set of judges, etc don't bring the desired changes to society, order, entitlements, economy or whatever, then it's time for another revolution to overthrow and install someone else new. Not only is there a deficit in willingness to respect and debate differences of opinion, to work together, and to compromise, there is a larger deficit: that fundamentally, "change begins with me."
Every citizen has to begin to not only respect one another, but to respect authority--order within society has to begin with a sense of personal responsibility and respect for those around you. Disorder is the result of everyone looking out for only themselves or for those that think like them.
The government does obviously play a role in recovery and reform--but not without the patience and participation of the people.
We'll add a post ("Review: Will Changes Change Anything?") in the next day or so when President Morsi announces the Cabinet changes and the initial responses.
Pray for Egypt...
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