Walk Like an Egyptian
By Hamid Maker
Pakistan
Egyptians have filled the hearts of all those who believe in a just social and economic order with joy and hope and proved to the world that we, the citizens matter, and deserve better.
They had stood brave and tall and faced sticks and stones, brutal beatings, torture, tear gas, baton charges, water canons and even bullets, but did not waver and, in fact, inspired more people to converge on Tahrir Square, now known as the famous Freedom Square.
They faced them all and proved that with determination and commitment to the cause of freedom, the voice of the people can change the destiny of nations and remove the most powerful tyrants and dictators.
The cities of Egypt are returning to normal and to their credit, the volunteers have cleaned up the garbage that had accumulated in and around the square during the protests and have helped in repairing the roads.
However, widespread strikes could undo all the goodwill created by the protestors in their struggle to oust President Mubarak. What happens next is not clear, but the Military Council has assured the world that they will respect the Peace Treaty and all other existing Foreign and Trade agreements. Now it is up to the Generals to respect the wishes of their people.
The Tunisians and the Egyptians have joined the proud league of men and women of the world, who were responsible for removing the infamous Berlin Wall, the disintegration of the Soviet Union and all the citizens who have freed their people from the iron grips of army dictators and tyrants.
The fall of the two governments has already started to wobble the dominoes on the map of the Middle East and has sent jitters and shivers right across the Mediterranean Sea to the sand dunes of the Sahara Desert, with the battle cry of the legendry Three Musketeers, ‘All For One and One For All’.
Even the citizens of far off countries like Siberia, have been inspired and want to ‘Walk Like An Egyptian’ and have taken to the streets against their oppressive government, demanding an end to corruption and a better quality of life for themselves and their future generations.
However, the people of Thailand and Iran had also tried to change the destiny of their nations through a revolution. Many citizens had taken to the streets, but had failed to mobilize the crowds that made the Egyptian revolution a success.
In the process, many innocent citizens were arrested and lost their lives in pitched battles on the streets of their capitals, while the world watched anxiously. But after weeks of protests, the citizens failed to achieve their objectives and the protests fizzled out.
Our political pundits, TV anchors and their promoters, are of course having a field day, giving their ‘expert opinions’, to the failure and success of a revolution and whether it can happen in Pakistan.
I do not claim to be an expert in such matters, but having been around our political, hard-to-predict, merry-go-round, for many years, a ‘Spontaneous Revolution’ is not possible in Pakistan.
The Tunisian and Egyptian Revolutions had no leader and were purely a People’s Revolution, through Facebook and cyber space, in which each citizen was just a dot. But when the dots were joined together, they became a huge sea of people, which became a human tsunami, which finally swept the Egyptian government and its ruthless President out of his palace.
Even the powerful army generals were helpless, as they did not know who the ring leaders were, who to arrest or who to negotiate or make a back door deal with.
The incredible triumph of the People’s Revolution has given citizens around the world new hope.
The countries now on the radar screen are the Middle East and Burma, where the fragile, petite and charming Aung San Suu Kyi, with the help of her dedicated supporters has been fighting a brave battle against the powerful and ruthless generals of her country. The Burmese people may now be inspired to renew their struggle for freedom and bring an end to the Days of the Generals and join the league of free nations, in which the citizens matter and have a voice and a stake in their country.
Can we, the citizens of Pakistan, also learn from the recent history that has been written on the streets of Cairo? Can we put aside our ethnic, religious and social differences, stand united, shoulder-to-shoulder, and demand that ‘we, the citizens matter and deserve better?’
Unfortunately, we as a nation are not united and are divided into political, regional, religious, sectarian and ethnic groups, under different leaderships. Having run with the hare and hunted with the hounds for many years, I have come to the sad conclusion that a peaceful, People’s Revolution in Pakistan is not possible.
We excel as individuals, but fail to work collectively or as a team. Whether it is politics, sports, education, etc., all efforts are usually doomed to failure, due to our ‘Self Above All’ mindset.
Therefore, a revolution that might take place in Pakistan would be at the instigation of a misguided leader to the have-nots to take up arms and attack the rich and the famous. However, would that solve our problems?
When that Day of Judgment comes is there a leader in Pakistan who could save the country from this dooms day scenario?
