Revolution in Egypt

[Published by Talon Magazine in 2012 based on interviews done in late 2011. Since published,  Mohamed Morsi has been elected president. Images here are public domain images also used by Talon.]

January 25, 2011 – this day was originally intended to be National Police Day in Egypt. Instead it became a day of change: the beginning of the Egyptian Revolution against the almost 30 year reign of President Hosni Mubarak, a revolution which would eventually end with Mubarak’s resignation and a drastic transformation in Egypt.

Kennesaw State University Master of Business Administration student, Nader Wahba, is from Cairo, Egypt and experienced the revolution first hand as well its aftereffects –an increase in crime, a decrease in business opportunities, and Nader almost being carjacked. Why the President Fell According to Nader, the revolution started in retaliation to the police for being so brutal.

An article during the revolution from the Guardian, a British national newspaper, cites the WikiLeaks cables in a discussion of the brutality. One cable estimated that there were hundreds of cases of torture each day at Cairo police stations. Middle class citizens often did not report crime such as theft in fear that the police would torture all the doormen and suspects. Such torture methods allegedly included electrical shock and sexual abuse to female detainees.

As for everyday life, Nader said that giving the police tip money or “tea money” was routine, even when getting or renewing a license plate. “If you didn’t pay they wouldn’t let you go home.” The police would lose paperwork and “make your life a living hell.” As for why he paid the police: “I buy by my dignity.” Nader also said the police were known for falsely accusing people of driving under the influence and planting drugs in people’s cars.

President Mubarak kept a strong Internet police force as well. Those who complained about governmental policies online could find Amn El Dawla, meaning Security of the Nation, at their doorstep. Bloggers would often disappear. “You didn’t want to get tangled with them,” Nader said.

According to the Guardian, in 2009 about 160,000 bloggers were active in Egypt, usually those between the ages 20-25. These bloggers played a major role in the demonstrations at the beginning of the revolution, which, in return, led to the Egyptian government‘s decision to temporarily cut off the internet.

Nader said the president failed in developing the country and the public education system which contributed to his fall. While public education is generally free in Egypt, the quality of the education is dismal. Many high school graduates have trouble reading their own language. Meanwhile the wealthy attend accredited international schools which teach the students English and other languages. The poor never receive the proper education needed to get a well-paying job. Thus the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

“A typical every day image would be me at a stoplight, finding the newest BMW and next to it a guy on a donkey and cart picking up garbage on the street for a living,” Nader said.

Dr. Samia Siha, an Egyptain and a KSU professor in Department of Management and Entrepreneurship, calls it a never ending circle: “If you have money you’ll speak English and get an international good paying job. [For example] I might be smart but my parents couldn’t send me to an international school. I don’t have language or computer skills. So I would not be hired, they would hire the rich.” Siha said that people cannot afford the high prices of the food, even those who have graduated from college. Even government jobs are often low in pay because one job is divided among 3 or 4 people. Having many people employed looks good for the government’s employment percentages. Many people cannot afford the essentials. As for Nader and his life in Egypt, “I couldn’t complain.” Nader was able to attend New Cairio British International School. Both of his parents had jobs; his dad ran his own business. But through church outreach projects Nader was able to see the oppression of the Egyptian people.

“Mubarak stayed too long,” Siha said. “He closed his eyes… letting people steal and be dishonest. If he had stepped down after 8 years [as president] he would have been a hero.”

Instead Mubarak stayed in power almost 30 years and planned for his son Gamal Mubarak to eventually become president. These plans would never come to fruition. During the Revolution January 25 started off like any other day for Nader. He went to work. He knew there would be protests, “It wasn’t the first time there was protests.” However, more and more people showed up every day. While earlier protests were mostly non-violent, violence quickly took over. Nader said the government hired thugs on horses and camels to trample protesters.

Nader was glued to the TV. Al Jazira, a major television network based in Qatar, covered the majority of the revolution in Egypt. Nader said their reporters were always there reporting and on time with the latest events. The station even kept a hidden camera in Tahrir Square, the focal point of the revolution.

A curfew was imposed and the people went into a new mode, buying all the food and supplies they could. “They didn’t know what was going to happen,” Nader said. Eventually the police were pulled off the streets as the military took lead, creating a power vacuum on the street. According to Nader, neighbors had to guard their own streets throughout the night from looters and thugs. These thugs also attacked police stations and stole police cars, uniforms, and guns. “We didn’t trust anyone who said they were police.”

On February 11 while at his home, Nader heard that the president was about to step down and attempted to make his way to Tahrir Square. He didn’t make it as the road was totally blocked with people singing, dancing, drinking and shooting fireworks. Many cars were parked and left in the streets. Nader sat down on the top of his car, was joined by friends and waited for the announcement. The vice president of Egypt spoke: Mubarak would step down from his role as president, giving the reins over to the country’s military leaders for the time being.

Al Jazira showed the resignation while the state news showed programming they felt was more important: “The state news station had a boat sailing down the Nile talking about how Egypt was a wonderful place,” Nader said. The night ended with celebration. Almasry Alyoum, an Egyptian media organization, reported that at least 684 Egyptians were killed during the revolution – most of them being students, workers, or people from the lower class.

Post-Revolution

With the regime toppled and the police ordered not to tamper with the people, crime swiftly became prevalent. During the revolution guns were very cheap and easy to buy so many purchased firearms to defend themselves. “A bunch of people were buying guns they didn’t know how to use,” Nader said. Farid Ezzat Wahba, Nader’s father, found his business broken into twice. When he reported the first robbery to the police they simply replied, “Protect yourself.” In the first robbery the thieves only took cash, in the second robbery they removed a five-ton safe.

Carjacking is another problem in parts of Egypt. “You’d be driving alone at night in no traffic when a car would try to cut you off,” Nader said. Armed, the men often carry a bill of sale, forcing their victims to sell the car for nothing. According to Nader, he was almost among these victims.

Almost Carjacked 

One night around 1 a.m., Nader drove his 1975 Super Beetle with two friends. They had just visited a house a friend was constructing and were on their way home down a deserted highway. No one else was around except one car – a beaten up white Nissan Sentra. The car had three men in it.

The men in the car were staring at Nader and his friends. Nader figured it was because of his car. Once off the highway, the men in the other car waved for him to stop. At this point Nader had not registered danger as he figured the men wanted to buy his car –an offer he often heard. He slowed down. “Stop the car,” one of the men said, still waving.

“Tell me what do you want?” Nader replied. Suddenly he realized how strange and dangerous the situation was. There were no other cars around them. They were alone. Nader drove off but the men followed in their car and cut him off, Nader’s Super Beetle skidded to a stop. “I told you to stop,” said the man, exiting the car. Nader estimated the man was between six-foot-two and six-foot-three, a big man wearing a checkered shirt. A scar ran from the man’s eye to mouth.

Rather than be mugged and lose his car, Nader hit the gas. There was a small space between the other car and the sidewalk, barely enough room for a Super Beetle to fit through. Nader aimed for it and hit the gas pedal. The large man was in between Nader’s car and the gap. Hitting the scarred man was a possibility, but the man gave way and Nader’s car broke free. Nader said the men followed them for six or seven miles in the city. A few cars passed them by oblivious to what was occurring. Eventually they lost them. Nader parked his car in front of a police station and took in what happened.

According to an October article in Caravan, the student newspaper of the American University of Cairo, these incidents of carjacking, theft, and other crimes are more common since the revolution. These crimes occur more frequently on deserted highways and less populated areas. Due to crime like this and the uncertainty of the region, tourism has slowed in Egypt. According to an AFP article, tourism supports 10 percent of the country’s active population. In the first quarter of 2011, tourism was down 45.7 percent and in the second quarter down 35.4 percent.

Nader said there are horse grave yards; with no tourists coming to visit, horses previously used on tourist trips have become unused and unfed. Nader volunteered at an animal shelter which organized weekly horse feedings to keep the starved skeletal animal alive.

On the Road to KSU

While in Egypt, Nader graduated with a degree in journalism and minor in business. He never used his journalism degree, instead finding himself more interested in business. Eventually Nader began working at Heineken, a beer company based out of Amsterdam. Nader worked to market Fayrouz –a non-alcoholic flavored malt drink. Summer was generally highly selling season for Heineken but the country was still unstable.

Six locations were broken into. No one wanted to risk investing in the area so budgets were cut and profits down. “I had hit a plateau in my work,” Nader said. He had experience working in marketing, now he wanted theoretical experience. A MBA would be a perfect tool. Nader decided to go back to college. However he realized that many colleges in Egypt were not the accredited from the world’s perspective so he decided to leave Cairo. His parents supported his decision. “They definitely supported me. They didn’t want me to stay in the country.” Nader said.

“I’m only getting one MBA so I might as well do it right… America is a better, organized way of learning.” Nader began applying to a variety of colleges. He wanted to stay in the Atlanta area since his family often visited Atlanta for business. After making a few calls asking people about various colleges, Nader decided to come to KSU for his MBA.

The Future of Egypt 

“I don’t see it getting any better in the next few years,” he said. His reason: No clear leader. Right now a variety of groups have risen seeking to take leadership of the country and currently the military is in control. According to CNN, elections for Parliament begin Nov. 28, 2011. The results will be announced January after which work will begin on a new constitution. The presidential election will follow later that year.

Nader fears the election will not happen the way he believes it should. He said, either the vote will be fixed or spoiled by people trying to gain power. He believes there is no trustworthy party to insure a fair voting process. Siha agrees.

“The election does not make me feel better,” she said. Assuming the vote counting is free of corruption, she said that there is still a chance politicians could go to small towns and pay people for votes. Siha said Egypt needs someone who really loves the country, an assertive individual who will make the changes that need to be done. “I don’t think there is freedom now; there is chaos.”

One major part of Egypt is slowly recovering: the tourism industry. According to AFP, the industry is starting to recover, expecting the number of tourists to reach 11 million by the end of the year [2011]. This amount is 75 percent of the number of tourists that arrived in Egypt in 2010. Egypt launched a new promotional campaign to bring in more revenue to the industry. Will Nader go back to Egypt after getting his MBA? “Currently if I go back there, there is no reason for someone to hire me” Nader said. “If I get a good job here, it would be better for me to stay in a developed country where an individual is treated valuably and not like they are 1 among 80 million.”

Regardless, Nader still loves his country and hopes for the best. “It’s a gorgeous country,” he said. “It has amazing beaches and beautiful deserts.” That is the image he likes to call home.

“My heart is aching from what is happening to it.”