As a general rule of thumb, acts of terrorism (whether executed
by persons, armed groups or even governments whether “democratically” elected
or no) are solely representing the sick mentality of those
specific persons or groups and could not be blamed -through stereotyping and
generalizing- on a full race or ideology.
The international reaction to those acts should be unified
in the right directions through clear understanding of the definitions, roots
and motives for such acts. Where up till now there is a clear misunderstanding and
misleading interpretations for such acts.
The Paris unfortunate attacks represent a new paradigm shift
in the technique of such attacks. Unpredictable, hard to control and barbaric
techniques.
Violence only triggers more violence, a whole race for an
eye not only leaves the whole world blind ,but soaked in a bloodbath in a self-destructive
mood as well.
The only way humanity could survive that ,is “International
Social Justice” ,fair distribution of wealth & resources in addition to
human intellectual development internationally.
Our diversity should be acknowledged and celebrated instead
of abused and manipulated.
If extremists from the U.S. ,Europe and Right-wing followers
continue to call for “a whole race for an eye” war calls without acknowledging
their human duty in supporting intellectually and economically other parts of
the world like Africa, parts of the Middle & Far East ,the process of stimulating
further terrorism with even developed techniques will go on in an endless, unpredictable
manner.
The same way those extremists think of other ideologies is
mirrored in the way extremists from the Middle East and other parts see them
through stereotyping and generalizing as well. As tens of victims fall annually
due to acts of terrorism in Europe & The U.S. ,Tens of thousands of innocent
Muslim victims fall annually in the occupied land of Palestine due to the Israeli
occupation, in some parts of Asia & Africa as well, without getting the
same international attention.
It is critical that we understand that we need to resist
extremists from both sides ,and educate them as much as we can. Terrorism
stimulated by warlords ,money and ignorance could not be faced by more violence
and terrorism.
A call for an “International Conference against terrorism”
is a must in order to develop a common accurate understanding of the roots and
motives and a united action plan based on that.
Managing resources in a sustainable approach with people in
mind should be based on a thorough understanding of the ecosystems and the
impacts of our decisions and actions on those ecosystems, Environment &
social justice are two essential pillars of sustainable development.
Progressive& innovative methodologies of sustainably developing communities
should not be a “to do list” or a manual of guidelines imposed rather than an
inclusive process understanding the diversity & variety of ecosystems &
communities.
As an example mostly calls from socialists & activists
regarding labor rights & minimum rates of wages…etc does not foresee that
in a country like Egypt for example –which is applicable for many other MENA
countries- even if you gave an employee minimum of 1200 EGP per month after
struggling all his/her life to save an acceptable amount of money, He/She will
eventually spend most of it on curing a disease caused by pollution and
environmental deterioration in the first place. This is an ineffective,
disappointing scenario that urges us to revise our approach and understanding
the social & economical impacts of environmental deterioration. There are
even few studies linking the Arab spring uprisings in MENA with the environmental
deterioration, climate change and their impacts on increasing the prices of
food & commodities. Among those studies was : The Arab Spring and Climate
Change,A Climate and Security Correlations Series,By Caitlin E. Werrell,
Francesco Femia, and Anne-Marie Slaughter | February 28, 2013 http://climateandsecurity.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/climatechangearabspring-ccs-cap-stimson.pdf
,which argues in one of its chapters that the Chinese drought, global wheat
prices & the revolution in Egypt are related in what could be called as
“hazard globalization”, a once in a century winter drought in China reduced
global wheat supply and contributed to global wheat shortage and skyrocketing
wheat prices in Egypt ,the world largest wheat importer. Protests in Egypt
focused on poverty, bread & social justice.
In the poorest village in MENA we can introduce some
sustainable ideas that can generate income for the residents like planting roofs,
installing PV modules on rooftops and buildings to generate electricity for the
village, generating electricity from waste, recycling ….etc. Feasible incentive
programs should be studied & developed by governments to apply such ideas
& developing communities that can sustain themselves & meet the basic
needs. As of 2010, feed-in tariff
policies had been enacted in over 50 countries http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feed-in_tariff#Description. Trainings & awareness
campaigns should be provided; even the income generated from such activities
can be used in improving the infrastructure of such villages if applicable. It
does not have to always be a mega investor coming to recycle some stuff or to
generate electricity from waste without involving or generating any benefit to
the local community. Unfortunately CSR & corporate environmental activities
in most scenarios are just “Greenwashing” a practice which causes lots of harm
to the environment & results in dramatic social injustice a good study
about this named “When do companies greenwash” by Christopher Marquis &Michael
W. Toffel
In order to name a couple of examples for case studies of
sustainable development of communities vs. environmental degradation &
social injustice. A study in Egypt for the city of Fayoum as the “Fayoum
ecotourism development plan 2005-2015” http://www.cissong.org/it/press/news/il-piano-ecoturistico-del-fayoum involving the whole community with many job
opportunities in sustainable activities like the famous
handicrafts,birdwatching…etc such plans are usually opposed by “big visions”
and mega projects that in most cases have very negative impacts on the
environment with no benefit to the local community.
The second example for sustainable development of
communities vs. environmental degradation & social injustice is the
displacement of millions of Egyptian Nubians from their community to several other
places all over Egypt, the problem is not merely in the geographical
displacement rather than taking a heritage & culture from its roots with
severe negative impacts on the environment and ecosystem. This genuine Egyptian
heritage & culture can be sustainably developed through a holistic
inclusive plan as in the first example. This can benefit the local community
and conserve the environemt.
Air & water pollution in MENA is already generating a
long list of diseases with dramatically rising rates; Studies in Egypt show
scary statistics stating that annually 17,000 children die of intestinal
infection & diarrhea caused by Nile pollution*. climate change is already
badly affecting the Nile Delta in northern Egypt & some other parts through
MENA.Studies states that if the Mediterranean sea level increased by 0.5 m this will lead to
destroying 1800 square kilometer of fertile agriculture land & displacing 3.8
million residents from Nile delta , if the Mediterranean sea level increased by 1 m this will lead to destroying
4500 square kilometer of fertile agriculture land & displacing 6.1 million
residents from Nile delta http://www.grida.no/publications/vg/climate/page/3088.aspx.Rising
food prices is yet another effect noticed by every single individual. And
unless we understand the roots of the problem, how to manage the ecosystems and
handle this environmental deterioration, those effects & even more will
keep alerting us that we need to act. Social justice cannot be achieved without
environmental justice.
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.
One definition of politics states: Politics is
the art of settling for the imperfect, Pursuing perfection in a democratic
model in Egypt now is not exactly the right approach & actually has been
one of the mistakes of Jan25-2011 revolutionaries (and this by no
means justifies compromising or forsaking values & ethics ,but this is a call
for understanding how to build a "sustainable imperfect model"), This
mistake has isolated them in ivory towers which led to a rising audience
against them not only the pro-Mubarak `s regime audience but from the audience
described as the "silent majority" a justified impression given that
the revolutionary forefront either refrained from effectively getting involved
in the political fabric or were polarized to straying movements & parties or adopted the
approach of aggressively criticizing everything
without offering alternatives
or solutions.
Egypt and the world should pass the stage of
"A revolution or a military coup debate" & some immediate steps
should be acknowledged & executed, a common understanding that a perfect
model is not applicable & has never been applicable anywhere in the world
throughout history ,an inclusive imperfect model is a basic foundation for a
sustainable model ,The aggressive calls for "excluding & terminating
the others" is leading us to nowhere ,more or less to a "swing
model" where we are ruled by extremists from one side which
leads to a revolution getting us the extremists from the other side and so on
in an endless loop.
Negations should immediately start for a
"sustainable inclusive imperfect model".
Do we believe in the tweets of the super stars of the revolution, do we believe in the potential "anti-SCAF" candidates for presidency, do we believe in Mohamed Albaradei ?? Do we believe in "revolutionary media"?
I have been trying lately to ask, who are we following and in whom do we believe? Now I suppose that we are free, truly & extremely free ,which means we are free to follow & unfollow to believe & disbelieve. Are there
idols for the Egyptian Revolution?
For me I strongly & firmly believe that Egypt should not be run by a military regime, we deserve better, I
believe that we should not create Revolution Gods & worship them, I believe that we should be in a continuous process of upgrading & educating ourselves in order to be qualified to breathe in a free country, and with the so many "I" s in this paragraph ,I believe that ego is playing it`s magic in this phase in Egypt poisoning the big portion of tolerance that we need through the stage.
You still have the right to create idols & follow them, to enslave yourself for the opinions of some TV channel or a twitter superstar, even to believe in SCAF as you have the right to believe in the devil itself. And last but not least down with the military regime in Egypt.
