A Journalist’s Guide to Egypt

This is aimed at providing a quick but intensive briefing for a journalist making a visit to Egypt.

With one of the richest cultures and oldest civilizations in the world, Egypt has been the heart of the Arab world and the epicenter of Islamic learning. Egypt has long been known for its pyramids, but surprisingly little is known how they were formed. Being the largest and the most populous country of the Middle East, Egypt has played a major role in Middle Eastern politics in modern times. 

Freedom of Press in Egypt
 

According to the CIA, Egypt attained independence on 28 February 1922 from UK protectorate status. Then another revolution began on 23 July 1952 that led to a republic being declared on 18 June 1953 and all British troops withdrew on 18 June 1956.
 

“Gamal Abdel Nasser became the President after the revolution in 1952 and continued till he died in 1970. Then President Anwar Sadat ruled till 1981. Hosni Mubarak took over in 1981 and ruled for thirty years till he was overthrown in 2011 by the protesters. All the three Egyptian presidents were from a military background and they used to exercise unchecked powers and control over people. Nobody was given the right to express opinions. The police used to crack down on civilians unreasonably,“ Mohamed Khater, 54, the former president of the Islamic Society of Central New York, said.
 

Khater has been a Syracuse resident for about 30 years and he visits Egypt every year. He couldn’t visit his home country this year as all flights were cancelled due to the revolution.
 

Khater said that Mubarak started to allow some freedom to the press, but with red lines that one couldn’t cross. People were allowed to speak about anybody up till the Prime Minister but nobody could discuss the President.
 

“Last year in Alexandria, which is the second most populated city after the Capital city Cairo, the police killed a young man in his 20s because he was an internet blogger and he posted allegations against the government and the deplorable state of the youth. The police claimed that he died due to drug use, but later a photograph was obtained which showed his face brutally beaten,” Khater said.
 

“But now after the revolution, things are different. Press is given unlimited freedom. Anybody can say or publish anything about anyone.” Khater said
 

“One of the most influential channels is Al Jazeera which started in 1990s. Young people who lacked exposure to places outside Egypt, started to see a different picture than what their state channels and newspapers would show. This realization was one of the reasons that sparked a need to improve the state of the country. And gradually  the resentment found its way into the revolution that happened in January 2011,” Khater said.
 

Khater said that after the protests people have become more aware and involved in social issues.
 

Campaigns are held almost every Friday. The government doesn’t stop them anymore… they only say that don’t stop production… and don’t do on a day when there is work,” Khater said.

Politics
 

Following the resignation of President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak in February 2011, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, headed by Defense Minister Muhammad Hussein Tantawi, assumed control of the government.
 

Egypt has two legislative bodies - the Advisory Council or Majlis al-Shura (Shura Council) that traditionally functions mostly in a consultative role (264 seats) and the People's Assembly or Majlis al-Sha'b (518 seats).
 

Al-Geel, Democratic Peace Party, Nasserist Party, National Democratic Party or NDP, National Progressive Unionist Grouping or Tagammu, New Wafd Party or NWP, Social Justice Party and Tomorrow Party are some of the prominent parties which are vying for seats in the next election.
 

According to the CIA, “Despite a constitutional ban against religious-based parties and political activity, the technically illegal Muslim Brotherhood constitutes Egypt's most potentially significant political opposition. President Mubarak has alternated between tolerating limited political activity by the Brotherhood and blocking its influence.”
 

“Before the protests, President Hosni Mubarak was in control of almost everything. National Democratic Party (NDA) was in control of about 90% of the parliament.The President led the NDA and exercise complete autocracy. But now this is no longer true,” Khater said.
 

“These uprisings in 2011 were not the result of religious reasons but suppression of political participation and freedom of speech, uncontrolled corruption, privileged ruling class controlling all aspects of the society, state of emergency laws, police brutality, lack of free elections, social inequities, a wide gap between the rich and the poor, high unemployment, rising food prices, low minimum wage and little hope for a bright future for the youth,” Khater said.
 

“You would see people in some areas live in palaces not just nice villas while other live in shacks. And they are not second class citizens … They are not from a different clan … They are just regular people,” Khater said.
Khater said the reason for the wide disparity between haves and have nots was the widespread corruption. Most of the well-off people had political connections and so they had illegal access to money, property and other benefits.
 

“One guy, who probably became the third or fourth richest person in the country, owned a steel factory. He started from nowhere but made political connections and was able to climb his way to the top. But now he is in jail. He is Ahmed Ezz from Ezz steel industries,” Khater said.
 

“Even the head of the parliament, the head of the people’s assembly, and many more are in jail. The interior minister, for instance, has already got a sentence of 12 years and he is waiting for other trials… because they all are corrupt,” Khater said.
 

Khater said that now after the protests no one can dare embezzle funds. “Things are at a standstill… People don’t know where the country is going, what kind of government will take over. But they are going to keep the same political structure although they have changed some articles of the constitution,” Khater said.
Khater expects the election to happen in November this year. “When the military took over in February, they said they will be in power for six months only and after that they will transfer power to a civilian government… but for practical reasons, it’s not feasible. We don’t have the structure for a civilian government,” Khater said.
 

“There are so many parties, around 20 of them. But any party that succeeds it has to have an Islamic basis and value. Egypt is not going to be a secular country. But also not autocracy... It will be somewhere in the middle,” Khater said.
 

Khater said it may take 10-12 years to rebuild the country.
 

The Ancient Egyptian civilization
 

“The Egyptian civilization is the first recorded one in the world history. It started 7000 years ago, around 5000 BC. The pyramid of course… everyone knows. But how the pyramids were built, we still don’t know,” Khater said.
 

“The Egyptian civilization built up around the Nile. Egypt is mostly a dessert and the Nile is the bloodline of Egyptians… Nile is the reason why it’s fertile on some parts of Egypt. Sometimes you say, there’s something like the pyramids we don’t know how they did it… and there are some things that later became a model for things that came after – such as the first irrigation system built by the Egyptian civilization. That civilization continued till around 1000-1500 BC and then moved to different places around the area,” Khater said.

Society
 

With around 82 million of population, Egypt has mostly Muslims and just about 10% Christians.
“There are incidents of fighting between Muslims and Christians… mostly in poor and less educated areas which can get easily influenced and become extremists. They don’t understand that even in the Quran there’s pluralism. That god allows all religions to exist,” Khater said.
 

“A Christian store owner would not sell goods to a Muslim. A Muslim person would say he will only help other Muslim. This does happen even now but it’s not prevalent,” Khater said.
 

“And people say the Christians are oppressed in Egypt… the answer is that in the Forbes list of billionaires, there are three from Egypt and they are all Christians, and not Muslims. This doesn’t mean all the Christians are rich… No they are not. Not all the Muslims are rich either. It just means that if you want to make billions of money, your religion won’t be a barrier,” Khater said.
 

Cultural Significance
 

“Sometimes you hear similar music in different Arab countries. The Arabic music evolved over the years in the middle east area in Egypt,” Khater said.
 

“Before 30 years, there were no movies in the Arab countries, other than the ones coming from Egypt. All the television talent, soap operas were exported to other Arab countries from Egypt. And that’s true even now… the Egyptian cinemas and theatre and the cultural life… is much more prevalent than any other Arab country,” Khater said.
 

Khater said the reason behind the Egyptian dominance in in Arab culture is that the Egyptian cinema is the oldest among Arab countries; it started around 1910s and being the most populated Arab country, theatre and art found a large audience.
 

“Nothing changed in the Egyptian culture after the protests. Some things will never change… no matter what the government is. You can’t take their culture away from them. Moreover Egypt will never be ruled by an Islamic autocratic regime… Egypt will never be like Iran or Saudi Arabia. Because people in Egypt are just different. They want their freedom, they want to be Muslims or Christians… they also want to go out to movies… they want their theatre… they want to go to play, sing or dance,” Khater said.
 

Regional Importance
 

“Because of the revolution started in 1952 by Nasser, which was almost the first revolution, in the area…Nasser wanted a united Arab republic… “One voice for the Arab” was his dream… it was never materialized but he was always trying to export the revolution… export “help” – politically, financial and help with people - from egypt to other Arab countries. Egypt had a huge manpower and population more than any other country. There were just people from Egypt going everywhere,” Khater said.

“All Middle East countries speak Arabic… but they have a dialect… so there’s an Egyptian dialect which is understood everywhere in the Arab world… because of the effect of cinemas and culture, singers, engineer, doctors, teachers in Egypt who travelled to overseas starting from 1950s,” Khater said.
 

The Azhar University in Cairo is the chief centre of Arabic literature and Islamic learning in the world. People from Azhar University go overseas to spread the Islamic knowledge to other imams (religious workers) and people.
 

Education and Unemployment
 

According to CIA, the literacy rate is high 71.4% (83% for males and 59.4% in females).
 

“We definitely have many people going to universities for education… it’s both good and bad. Good because they are getting educated and bad because there are no jobs for them. Unemployment rate its worse at this point, around 24.8% for youth… It turned worse after the protests as some people who owned companies have fled the country. Some are in jail waiting for trials,” Khater said.
 

“You don’t have a real future in Egypt as a young person… you are going to get a job that will barely cover your living expenses. One-third of Egyptian population is less than 25 years of age. The youth population is high and so the demand for jobs is very high.”
 

“Whichever government comes, they will face the huge problem of unemployment. Everyone now expects with the new government, the living standard of a common man would improve. Else they will look at themselves after a year and wonder ‘What did this revolution do to us. My life is still the same and maybe even worse’,” Khater said. 
Khater expects things to get worse before it gets better. “But in the long run, I think its definitely going in the direction it should be,” he said.
 

Mina Fakhouri, 27, left Egypt and came to the US in June 2006 to pursue his education and doesn’t plan to go back.
 

“There are no jobs in Egypt. Many young educated people are working in cafeteria on the streets. With a Christian name, no muslim would offer me a job in Egypt. So more and more Christians are leaving the country,” he said.
Fakhouri said that people in Egypt are quite conservative. “They will be either with you or against you. They are not liberal or understanding.”
 

Economy
 

According to the CIA, in the northeast side of the African continent, Egypt is bisected by the highly fertile Nile valley, where most economic activity takes place.
 

Egypt ranks 27 in its GDP compared to the rest of the world and ranks 68 in its GDP growth rate.
 

“Oil, Egyptian textiles, cotton are the main sources of revenue for Egypt, with textiles being the main industry. Egypt also has Suez Canal that brings a lot of revenue. The tourism industry is also very developed. Pyramids, temples and red sea. It’s not of the best places in the world for divers,” Khater said.
 

“The economy now is not in good shape. People say that it’s the price of freedom.”
 

International significance
 

“The allies and enemies of Egypt changed over the last several years. During the revolution of 1952, President Nasser tried to align Egypt with the Americans.  In the 1950s, Egypt approached the World Bank to receive funding for a dam on the river Nile to produce electricity. However they were denied,” Khater said.
 

“So they asked Russia and they agreed to give Egypt the money and support in building the dam in Egypt. The influence of Russia continued for the whole period in up until early 70s. So for 12 years there was no communication at all between Egypt and US. Everything was run by the Russians,” Khater said.
 

“However after 1973, President Sadat was more pro-western. He pushed Egypt to the American side. He opened up the country for foreign investment. This is when people started having alliances with people outside Europe and US.“
 

Tips on travel and access 

There are direct flights from the US to Egypt. “Egypt Air goes directly to Cairo. Else American, united, delta airlines have connections to Cairo.” Khater said.
 

Khater said that Cairo is the safest city to live in. For a journalist, he said it will be best if he/she has a local contact. If not, the journalist should contact the Egyptian Association of Journalists for the next steps.
The average stay in an Egyptian hotel would amount to USD 60-70.
 

Khater said that with their newly found freedom, Egyptians would be ready to freely give information to journalists. In order to ensure safety, it is advisable to obtain information about the cities where the journalist wishes to travel. One should also try to move in groups rather than being alone to unknown places.

Biases of Mohamed Khater
 

“I have no influence or interest towards any political party. I like some more than others. I like the center party. It’s a mix of islamic and non-Islamic values.”

Discovering Ireland

‘Go mbeannaí Dia duit’ (meaning May god bless you) said Dierdre McCarthy, 49, as she taught Gaelic to a bunch of people from diverse origins in an Irish language session in the Guinness Syracuse Irish festival at Clinton Square on Saturday. Her voice appeared to be diminished by the Irish band The Elders that was playing songs of history, characters, places and events - some distant, some recent, some real and some imagined. As the class ended, she exclaimed, ‘Erin go Bragh’. I wondered what that could mean.

An Irish woman in an American society

McCarthy, who came to Syracuse 25 years ago, has been teaching Gaelic for three years at Le Moyne College. Unlike other immigrants who came here because of the oppression of the British, romance brought her to Syracuse. Her husband, an Irish American, gave her complete freedom to pursue her Irish interests.

“I have fun teaching,” McCarthy said holding a Hurling ball in her hand. “Because when I was growing up in Limerick, my parents ran a pub. And it was one of the first pubs in Limerick to welcome people to speak Irish… openly. Because it was not too long that Irish language was allowed to be our own again after we got rid of the British.”

McCarthy sings Irish songs, dances to Irish music, and when at church she says the prayer in Gaelic, and not in English. Strangely enough, to retain her Irish origins she sometimes even talks to herself in Gaelic. “…and I keep my ears open, in the hope there is an Irish person walking by. If I hear people speaking Gaelic, I run towards them,” she said.

She visits schools and presents music and dance programs. She sometimes demonstrates the Irish national sport of hurling.

“I have been trying for years to get a Hurling team here in Syracuse. But it will take time as it’s an amateur sport and players are not paid,” McCarthy said. She then hit the ball or sliotar that she was holding with a wooden stick known as Hurley high up in the air.

Divisions of the Irish society

Syracuse has a huge Irish population. They have their whole neighborhood in Tipperary Hill. There are organizations such as CNY Irish cultural society, Irish American cultural society, James Joyce club and so on which are very active in the Irish community.

 “When the Irish came here first, thousands of them worked on the Erie Canal in 1820s, and that was a major water transportation system which ran from Oswego way down to buffalo to New York City. They started setting in a lot of towns around here. Tipperary Hill was one of them,” said Geordy Austin, 72, who works in the CNY Irish American cultural society.

Most of the Irish people are in New York City, other parts of New York State. Major cities such as Massachusetts, Chicago and San Francisco have many people with Irish ancestors.

Austin who is originally an Irish-Catholic from Belfast didn’t want to leave Ireland, but the oppression of the British against the Catholics forced him to take a tourist visa and immigrate to the United States 30 years ago. The unrest in Ireland started in 1968 when the Irish were trying to get civil rights under the British.

Austin didn’t go back to Ireland for years till he got a green card. “Now I am not an American citizen, I am a resident alien. I am not from out of space but I am a resident alien,” he said.

“All those who came to Ireland before 1600 were Catholics. After five years, they were marrying Irish women... speaking the Irish language. British brought Protestants from Scotland and England as colonists in 1642 and they forced the Irish-Catholics out of their lands. The British tried to disrupt the society with their philosophy of divide and conquer rule by favoring Protestants. The Protestants didn’t get absorbed in the Irish society, because they were so anti-catholic,” Austin said.

The British destroyed the Irish culture and forced them to speak English lest they would be penalized or imprisoned. They knew that by not creating jobs for them, the Irish people will be left with no choice but to join the army.

In 1700s those who chose not to adhere to the Anglican Church were forced to pay penalty – they were fined, their marriage wasn’t recognized and they couldn’t be in the military.   

“So there was a large influx of such people in this country. When they came to this country there were a lot of anti-Catholics from the puritan descendants here. This was mainly a protestant country. So when those people came who were also protestants, they were getting accused of being Irish-Catholics as they had our Irish accent and physical traits, so they started identifying themselves as the Scots-Irish,” said Austin.

And so the code of being a protestant from Ireland became “Scots-Irish” and it’s still used today in the southern states of America. President Andrew Jackson who served from 1829-1837 was Scots-Irish.

In 1847, Ireland had a potato crop failure. As the Irish were mainly living on potato, the famine caused around four and a half million people to perish.  

 “The British allowed them to die of starvation. It was a means of clearing off the land,“ Austin said.

Nearly 113,000 Irish people, mostly Irish-Catholics, came to America following the potato famine to get more economic opportunities and escape the troubles.

Austin likes the fact that in America he doesn’t have to face discrimination of the kind he experienced in Ireland. “If you had a certain name, they would know you are catholic. You would get all the low paid jobs or no jobs, and bad housing… really bad,” he said.

He thinks that being white and speaking English really helped him in America. “The darker you get the worse you are treated,” Austin said. Black people earlier wouldn’t get a job or wouldn’t even apply for one. When Austin worked in Texas and hired a black person in Texas, he faced a lot of heat from his seniors. He thinks racism goes on even now but it’s subtle because laws of America are strong to protect people of color. “Even now we see African American housing is dilapidated. People in prison being profiled are mostly blacks. The more you go towards the south, the more discrimination you’ll find.” he said.

But the Irish don’t face any outright discrimination in America, only subtle, if any. Austin says it’s because the Irish fought for the rights of this country. America has had Irish American presidents including John F Kennedy whose grandfather was from Ireland.

Although Austin loves to makes friends with people of different nationalities, he tends to lean towards his own culture. “Because we lost a lot by the British colonization of the country and by being anglocised. So we are trying to bring it back and keep it alive for passing on to posterity,” he said.

He visits his home country every year to meet his siblings and children.

Cultural significance

On being asked if the Irish schools of music, dance and literature only welcome students with Irish ancestry, Austin said, “You don’t have to be an Irish to love Ireland or to share our culture… It is for everybody.“

“The main issue that Irish educators face is to get Americans to learn about the real Irish culture which is beyond the “cartoonish” representations to which they are usually exposed. Americans feel that leprechaun and color green and things like broga are somehow the sum of Irish culture,” said Dr Kate-Costello Sullivan, who runs the Irish literature program at Le Moyne College. “Broga is actually shoe in Irish. So an Irish Broga doesn’t mean an Irish person but that he has an Irish shoe. So the main focus is to give students a better understanding of Irish culture. The complexity of it… The very ability of it.”

She said leprechaun is actually a minor figure in Irish mythology. But they just have been misinterpreted as an important figure in Irish American culture.

Le Moyne’s Irish Literature program had 10 minors last year. It is housed within the English department. She finds Syracuse a great place for teaching and studying Irish culture. “We have such a huge Irish population here,” Dr Sullivan said.

“And it is an inter-disciplinary program,” Dr Sullivan said. “So students take classes in Irish literature but they also take classes in history or global studies… to give them a sense by analogy if not directly, of Ireland’s political, social environment.”

“The things that have happened in the Irish economy in the last several years - particularly since the bank crisis in the US and Europe, Immigration has peaked again in Ireland but it’s hard to say how many will leave the country,” Dr Sullivan said.

To me it seemed that the Irish loved traditions. No wonder where they are today and where they go tomorrow, they will carry Ireland along. The Irish culture has taken thousands of years to develop, so they cherish every moment of their cultural discovery. Ireland is beyond the fancy restaurants, food, music and dances that people know of, and one needs to go deep in the crevices to discover what Ireland truly is.

I looked up the translation of the words Erin Go Bragh that I heard in McCarthy’s class. It meant “Ireland Forever”!

Distances are important

I still remember the days when I used to spend weekend afternoons peacefully snoring on my bed next to my parents' room. I also remember how my mom used to wake me up with a cup of steaming coffee and her freshly baked plate of cookies, just the way I liked it. I remember when I wrote letters to my uncle, aunt and to all my relatives in far-off places fearing that I too may be gone so far from my family some day! My dad had taught me how to pen those letters, among many other things.

Now life's completely changed. There's a CONSTANT adrenaline rush. Travelling from one corner of the country to the other, from pillar to post, to find that no costly couch can fetch just as much solace as sleeping next to mom!

I miss those days!

In this fast moving corporate world with distances ever-so-widening, relationships have become just another formality to adhere to, a responsibility to stand by.

Conversations have become much shorter now that the loved ones stay miles away! Getting a glimpse of their faces and meeting them physically has become a costly affair entailing endless travel, flights and hotel bookings.

But I can't complain. This is a choice I have made!

Well on second thoughts, what my mother's comfortable couch couldn't teach I have learned in the hustle bustle of the city. Such is life!

Today I was searching for an apartment in Kolkata, when old memories of the person I loved went past me. I wondered, "Wasn't it just yesterday we decided to buy a house together? Then why is it that today I don't see you around?"

"And mom, was it not yesterday that I said how beautiful and comforting your hands are? Then why is it that today I can't find those hands holding me?"

"Dad, I always thought building and living in a house alone was not easy. But was it not just yesterday that you said how proud you'll feel to see me build one of my own? Then why is it that today I have to share the apartment with my colleagues and not with you?"

"God, was it not just yesterday that you said "Do as I say"? Then why is it that today you have left me all on my own to figure out life?"

But then I thought it didn't really matter. Whether I was in Delhi or Kolkata or Mumbai or US, or in any city of crap, I shouldn't wake up in the same disturbed mood as before. I must learn to look beyond physical barriers. This would not only give me peace of mind, but also the wealth of hope.

I realized that nothing really has changed. My people are still with me, far off yet growing strong! 

Distance never separates two hearts that really care, for it can only suppress the weak and reinforce the great. 

So I don't mind even if you're a distant star, I remind myself that you deserve the love through miles... and I feel luckier!

In this world where apparently nothing is permanent, all it needs is a bit of "reaching out"... and love!