Mubarshock (noun):
In the context of Arab nationalism: The revolution of Arab dignity has prevailed! No more constant fear of the secret police, no more tyranny. This is what freedom must feel like. Take that, puppet government!
In the context of the Pax Americana: What!! A revolution against a despot that we didn't have to prompt and/or complete for the Arab people? You mean they didn't even consult us first? Blasphemy.
In the context of my homestay living room: WOOOOooooOOo “Irhall Mubarak, Irhall!!(Be gone), BRAVo, BRAVO!! TAYIB, Maashalla!
Suicide Protester (noun): New, sad phenomenon. Someone who feels the need to do great harm to themselves in order for their political message to get across. This occurred twice in the recent revolutions starting with Tunisian citizen Mohamed Bouazizi, who set himself on fire in response to the government prohibiting him to continue making a living for himself selling vegetables. A man in Cairo also recently immolated himself symbolically. This man was the spark that lit the fire (no pun intended) for the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12204999>
Some quotes on the pre-revolution political situation...
The following quotations are from Fouad Ajami a Professor of Middle East Studies at Johns Hopkins University, SAIS:
"Gone was the continuity between the ruler and the ruled that had been the hallmark and the promise of the advent of nationalism."
"The rulers grew older and obscenely wealthy, their populations younger and more impoverished."
The following two quotations are from my friend Dan White's Blog. He was a study abroad student in Cairo who was evacuated out of the country during the demonstrations. He has an incredible story to tell and he tells it well. For more details please read his blog: <http://mysemesterinegypt.blogspot.com/>
"The police have left Cairo entirely, presumably for their own safety, so now the looters run the town. Looters, who were in federal prison, but were freed by the government in an attempt to show power The prison guards, government puppets, told the prisoners: Run or get shot. Obviously they escaped. Then about 4000 of them were caught, in an attempt to save face for the government (“Look how quickly we recovered so many fugitives!”). But many more broke into police stations, stole the weapons and radios, and set the place on fire as they went to rob and terrorize."
"The call for democratic change yielded Mubarak to essentially fire the entire government, minus himself of course, call it a mass resignation, and appoint his own new puppet officials. Strike one. The call for a less military run government, and a hope for new people that truly understood Egyptians and their desires running the nation was promptly ignored by the appointment of Omar Suleiman, the new Vice President (first VP in Egypt since Mubarak held the position when Sadat was President), and the former head of Egyptian Intelligence—the hated, despised, torturous secret police—and a new Prime Minister that was the head of Aviation for the military. Strike two. The people wanted more freedom of speech, a truer media, you know, one that can actually report the news, not the government’s fabrication of the news. (Al-Jazeera was blocked on TVs in Egypt after the second day of protests) Mubarak responded by enforcing his emergency law that’s been intact for 30 years: he shut down all cell service and internet access across the country. A basic human right, communication, was cut off, shut down and downright forbidden. Strike three."
So what's changed here in Jordan?
In Jordan's capital of Amman, thousands gathered outside the Egyptian Embassy shouted "mabrouk, mabrouk," Arabic for "congratulations," as fireworks burst into the sky. The crowd included members of the 500,000-strong Egyptian expatriate community in Jordan. Some burned a portrait of Mubarak.
"The events in Tunisia and Egypt have given courage to Jordanians to publicly say what they have been whispering about for a while," a political analyst told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Such topics of Jordanian public concern include:
• Distaste with Queen Ronia's extravegent lifestyle.
• Corruption in the high executive and legislative governmental positions.
• Unemployment, high food prices and water supply concerns.
"The question now is to what extent the military elite will share power with its civilian counterparts."
No. More. Fear.
What a world this is when you feel like you have to set yourself on fire for someone to listen to you.
Yallah Bye, Mubarak!
-Al Hob
In the context of Arab nationalism: The revolution of Arab dignity has prevailed! No more constant fear of the secret police, no more tyranny. This is what freedom must feel like. Take that, puppet government!
In the context of the Pax Americana: What!! A revolution against a despot that we didn't have to prompt and/or complete for the Arab people? You mean they didn't even consult us first? Blasphemy.
In the context of my homestay living room: WOOOOooooOOo “Irhall Mubarak, Irhall!!(Be gone), BRAVo, BRAVO!! TAYIB, Maashalla!
Suicide Protester (noun): New, sad phenomenon. Someone who feels the need to do great harm to themselves in order for their political message to get across. This occurred twice in the recent revolutions starting with Tunisian citizen Mohamed Bouazizi, who set himself on fire in response to the government prohibiting him to continue making a living for himself selling vegetables. A man in Cairo also recently immolated himself symbolically. This man was the spark that lit the fire (no pun intended) for the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12204999>
Some quotes on the pre-revolution political situation...
The following quotations are from Fouad Ajami a Professor of Middle East Studies at Johns Hopkins University, SAIS:
"Gone was the continuity between the ruler and the ruled that had been the hallmark and the promise of the advent of nationalism."
"The rulers grew older and obscenely wealthy, their populations younger and more impoverished."
The following two quotations are from my friend Dan White's Blog. He was a study abroad student in Cairo who was evacuated out of the country during the demonstrations. He has an incredible story to tell and he tells it well. For more details please read his blog: <http://mysemesterinegypt.blogspot.com/>
"The police have left Cairo entirely, presumably for their own safety, so now the looters run the town. Looters, who were in federal prison, but were freed by the government in an attempt to show power The prison guards, government puppets, told the prisoners: Run or get shot. Obviously they escaped. Then about 4000 of them were caught, in an attempt to save face for the government (“Look how quickly we recovered so many fugitives!”). But many more broke into police stations, stole the weapons and radios, and set the place on fire as they went to rob and terrorize."
"The call for democratic change yielded Mubarak to essentially fire the entire government, minus himself of course, call it a mass resignation, and appoint his own new puppet officials. Strike one. The call for a less military run government, and a hope for new people that truly understood Egyptians and their desires running the nation was promptly ignored by the appointment of Omar Suleiman, the new Vice President (first VP in Egypt since Mubarak held the position when Sadat was President), and the former head of Egyptian Intelligence—the hated, despised, torturous secret police—and a new Prime Minister that was the head of Aviation for the military. Strike two. The people wanted more freedom of speech, a truer media, you know, one that can actually report the news, not the government’s fabrication of the news. (Al-Jazeera was blocked on TVs in Egypt after the second day of protests) Mubarak responded by enforcing his emergency law that’s been intact for 30 years: he shut down all cell service and internet access across the country. A basic human right, communication, was cut off, shut down and downright forbidden. Strike three."
So what's changed here in Jordan?
In Jordan's capital of Amman, thousands gathered outside the Egyptian Embassy shouted "mabrouk, mabrouk," Arabic for "congratulations," as fireworks burst into the sky. The crowd included members of the 500,000-strong Egyptian expatriate community in Jordan. Some burned a portrait of Mubarak.
"The events in Tunisia and Egypt have given courage to Jordanians to publicly say what they have been whispering about for a while," a political analyst told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Such topics of Jordanian public concern include:
• Distaste with Queen Ronia's extravegent lifestyle.
• Corruption in the high executive and legislative governmental positions.
• Unemployment, high food prices and water supply concerns.
"The question now is to what extent the military elite will share power with its civilian counterparts."
No. More. Fear.
What a world this is when you feel like you have to set yourself on fire for someone to listen to you.
Yallah Bye, Mubarak!
-Al Hob
History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme. -- Mark Twain
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