The legacy of the Egyptian Greens
An idea that emerged against the will of Mubarak`s regime
who refused to approve it for 3 years since 1987 till 1990 ,an anticipated
response from a military/police state that cannot tolerate the idea that adopts
“A political solution based on scientific basis” ,the case was taken to the
court by the founders of the idea & a big victory was achieved against
Mubarak`s regime when the supreme constitutional court approved founding the
party with a greatly appreciated statement by those who call themselves the
Egyptian Greens ,a statement which points out that this party is a pride for every
Egyptian ,a party which advocates the right of future generations on scientific
basis challenging the stereotypes of the past & the habits of creating
pharaohs/dictatorships. The idea initiated when some Egyptians heard of a story
coming from Germany about a group who call themselves the Greens stood against
a carcinogenic kids milk cargo which was going to a “3rd world`s
country” and this 3rd world`s country was Egypt,Here come the calls
specifically from the journalist/writer AbdulSalam Dawood that it is our duty
as Egyptians to protect our children, environment & future generations.
Hassan Ragab
Around 1000 membership applications were submitted to the
party once it was officially launched ,around
70-80% were university professors,
intellectuals & researches ,which could have been a disadvantage of
creating an academic,isolated,theoretical,elite party or it could have been an
advantage of effectively figuring out scientific solutions for our problems,
causes & plans,The first party`s president was not the person who initially
called for founding it (AbdulSalam Dawood) ,He was Hassan Ragab a patriotic
scientist, researcher & politician.
The Egyptian Greens then had started to make a noticeable development,
worth mentioning that the party is one of the oldest Egyptian parties in terms
of the date of foundation (The 7th party in terms of date of
foundation) ,The Greens by that time represented the third path a different
approach from the socialist/communist camp & the NDP camp. A scientific approach
discussing the right of future generation & adopting social justice in a
different approach as well ,The Egyptian Greens were proactive in advocating
& promoting for several causes creating national awareness about them as :
The world war two`s landmines in
Al-Alalameen-Northern coast ,pollution & the human environmental rights ,sustainability.
The party`s platform discussed & highlighted several significant issues including
-but not limited to- social justice, environment & resources, sustainable
economical approaches…etc,The party demonstrated it`s commitment in acknowledging
youth & future generations by accepting members starting from 16 years old
in contrary to all the other existing parties.
Campaign advocating the northern coast landmines cause
Several intellectuals & scientists were involved in
writing down the party`s platform ,in addition to Hassan Ragab & Abdulsalam
Dawood we have to mention Bahaa Bakry a guru who enlightened the green movement
in Egypt in different fields & he was the fourth president for the party
after Hassan Ragab,Abdulsalam Dawood,Kamal Keera & then Bahaa Bakry
something which the Egyptians Greens are proud of as well as it was a unique
democratic practice under Mubarak`s regime that a party elects 5 presidents in
few years ,as AbdulMoneam Alasaar was chosen as the 5th president
for the Greens.
Bahaa Bakry about the Egyptian Greens
Bahaa Bakry about climate change
The Egyptian Greens campaigned for several protests for
various causes, with a rising popularity which of course pissed off Mubarak`s regime
and here started the plan for screwing the Egyptian Greens through expected
& common practices by that time ,the breaking point was the clear
opposition of the Greens to a project in upper Egypt called Toshka ,the Greens
stated that this is an unfeasible project on no scientific basis and it is a
political propaganda for achieving personal fake glory after that campaign
Mubarak`s regime shut down the party for 3 years from 1995 to 1998 ,during this
period most of the Greens activists were gone & Mubarak`s regime mission
was successfully accomplished by "militarizing the party" and stamping
it as just another part of the"
political décor/cover" for an undemocratic regime & the Greens
resistance against this did not find its way back to success.
The regional & international impact was also noticeable through
the "Arab Greens" which the Egyptian Greens played a proactive rule
in initiating & supporting it, and the global greens which the Egyptian
Greens are a member of , and even though entities as the Arab Greens has not succeeded
in achieving the expected impact but it remains the seed of an important
regional movement which advocates common regional causes.
A photo for the "Arab Greens" in 2008
The Greens during & after Jan25 revolution
The Greens rejected any sort of political abuse for the
revolution based on a genuine belief that this is a revolution from the people with
demands of freedom, social justice,basic rights & better life conditions
,Demands which should not be politically abused, After the revolution a young
man(Hisham Zayed) who has been a Green & Jan25 activist was delegated as
the 6th Green party president ,And Bahaa Bakry the 4th president
stayed as an executive director preaching the ethics that the Greens should
stick to in the new era for the Egyptian Greens till his death in November 2012
(RIP),Again the "expected success" was not achieved by the Greens due
to many reasons in addition to internal reasons ,the revolutionaries act of
refraining from effective political participations and their concerns about
political polarizations which negatively affected their potential impact
,Moreover most of the environmental activists in Egypt preferred to proceed
their activities through NGOs & voluntary work without going
political,& of course this does not justify the dereliction in conducting
the message by those who believe in it.
The Greens have had some significant inputs in several
issues during & after Jan25, starting from revolting against Mubarak`s
regime, rejecting the constitutional declarations, campaigning for invalidating
the votes during the presidential elections, campaigning for voting against the
new constitution, campaigning for participating in June30 protests ,in addition
to several protests in solidarity with the people against pollution in several governorates
(More details here),campaigning against the nuclear energy, campaigning against
sexual harassment…etc.
This was a summary for an honorable legacy for an idea which
promotes the right of future generations,human dignity,non-violence,social
justice,grassroots democracy & ecological wisdom ,and I ask anyone who has
more documents,photos & videos about this legacy to share it in order for
future generations to know that there was someone who stood for them &
advocated their rights, and to go on conveying the message more effectively.
Resources :
Best regards and solidarity to Egyptian Greens from the Green Party of Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all your good work!
Kristina Gronquist