What a strange time to be away from Egypt. As I read of the violence and unrest from the comfort of my parents' backyard, my immediate surroundings could not feel further from the protests, smoke, and blood in Egypt. My heart yearns for a country and people to whom I now feel inextricably linked. And if I think about it enough, an ocean of sadness and worry comes over me.
I have been in touch with many friends and colleagues over the past week, soliciting perspectives on the uncertain present and future. Replies have been mixed- a variance reflective of the general mood in Egypt of elation, confusion, fear and rage.
The majority of Egyptians wanted Mohamed Morsi to go. The Muslim Brotherhood precipitously lost much of the public’s goodwill over the past year. The economy was a disaster. Fuel and electricity shortages were constant. Inflation ran rampant. And overall Egyptians became tired of the lack of security, and Morsi’s perceived incompetence in general.
Part of the problem was that the President’s entourage was dominated by old-style politicians. Having spent decades hunted and imprisoned during Mubarak’s reign, they developed a strong sense of victimhood. A closed-circle mindset came out of this fear and distrust of outsiders. And Morsi’s clique was arguably ill-suited for the negotiation and compromise necessary for a democratic process (as evidenced by the Brotherhood’s handling of the constitution last November).
However none of Egypt’s political forces were truly interested in compromise. The behavior of Egypt’s opposition was marked by complete intransigence. Powerful and wealthy remnants of the old regime worked constantly to undermine President Morsi. Many pursued an après moi, le deluge mentality from the moment things first unraveled in early 2011. In addition, Egypt’s sizeable and active Christian minority was never going to warm to the Brotherhood President.
Now Egypt is a mess. And perhaps it is too simple to lay all the blame at the feet of the Muslim Brotherhood. The poor state of the economy is the result of decades of mismanagement. The political culture is marked by an arrogance and high-handedness from all political groups. And there should be no doubt that this culture of exclusivism and corruption goes back far further than Morsi’s short time in office.
A most awkward aspect in all of this is the fact that Morsi was democratically elected. Because for all the millions who descended into the streets earlier this week, Morsi’s removal would simply not have happened without the active participation of the army and security forces. Egyptians are now forced to wonder what kind of role the military, with all its vested interests, will play in the country’s future.
Currently people are dying. One of my best friend’s co-workers was killed yesterday in Cairo while protesting in support of Morsi. A Coptic priest was shot down in Northern Sinai. Dozens others have been wrapped and buried due to the unrest. Egypt is on a knife’s edge. Bigotry increasingly rears its ugly head and Coptic friends have described thinly-veiled hostility in the street.
Ultimately the overthrow of a democratically-elected President has raised the stakes considerably. The internal divisions and rivalries in Egypt are complicated, and the coming struggle will not be a tidy one. If only it was a case of ‘good guys versus bad guys’. Alas it is not.
And so suddenly Egypt looks like a scary place. In many ways I wish I could be in Beni Suef to feel the pulse of the street. We lived through unrest there before. However recent developments in Egypt are largely unprecedented, and the changes have been just as dangerous as they were dramatic. One cannot help but have misgivings about Egypt’s future.
