The Egyptian Media: Poised on the Precipice

“It was as if I was reading about or watching the events unfold in two different countries.” This was a sentiment echoed by a large section of the Egyptian public, commenting on the stark contrast in the coverage, in the state-owned media and the independent media, of the 18 day protests that rocked the country earlier this year. 

At a crucial juncture in the history of Egypt, its state-owned media had failed the people. Post the 25^th Janaury Revolution, as the country is poised on the threshold of writing a new chapter in its history, will the media in Egypt evolve into an independent and free media and become a cornerstone of the march towards democracy? Community Times takes a look at the changing media landscape in Egypt.

Egyptian Media over the Years

As compared to other Arab countries, the presence of the Egyptian media in the media landscape of the world has been marginal. Adel Iskander, a media scholar and lecturer at Georgetown University and columnist in Almasry Alyoum (English) points out this had not always been so and “even prior to modern broadcasting, the Egyptian press had significant influence across the Levant and beyond given the country's strategic regional role.”

In fact, the Egyptian radio station “Voice of the Arabs” was the most influential broadcast medium in the Middle East and North Africa during the 50 and the 60s. Its success was tied to Nasser’s accomplishments in propagating Pan-Arabism. As Egypt’s influence in the politics of the region waned, the Egyptian media suffered a similar fate.

During the last two decades, the biggest impact on the Egyptian media has been that of the Gulf countries’ based satellite channels that were able to present the Egyptian public with unfettered information. The Egyptian state media was increasingly being used as the mouthpiece of the government, to propagate the party dogma, while dismissing any opposition or criticism of the regime. Obviously, the submissive state media was not able to keep pace with the foreign satellite channels- neither as a source of entertainment or news. 

Independent Egyptian media arrived on the scene as a breath of fresh air, when the first private satellite channel was started in the year 2001 and the first independent newspaper Al Masry Al Youm was founded in 2004. Through the chat shows on the private satellite channels and editorials in the independent newspapers, Egyptians for the first time were apprised of the problems that plagued the country; which hitherto had been dismissed as rumours by the state media. 

However, these strides in independent media were not without limitations. Control of information is a tool of any authoritarian regime and this control was very effectively wielded by the previous government. The freedom to express political opinions is vital to guarantee the freedom of the press; but the Egyptian penal laws greatly curtailed this freedom. Egypt was one of the few countries that provided for imprisonment of journalists in publication cases, for some vague offences like “threatening national security.” Due to government pressure, even the independent media exercised self-censorship of some sort. 

Against the backdrop of such draconian control over the media, when the revolution happened, “the Egyptian state media was totally unprepared to deal with the revolution. The biggest challenge in covering the revolution was the tight control over state media. The editors, anchors and reporters were heavily censored and had to rely on press releases from the Interior Ministry or directives from the Minister of Information or head of the news sector. They were not able to report freely on the events in Tahrir Square,” Shahira Amin tells Community Times.

Amin resigned from her position as Deputy Head of Nile TV and as Senior Anchor/ Correspondent, in protest over the coverage by the state-owned satellite television.”It was [as] if state television was broadcasting from one place and other satellite channels from another place.”

Aftermath of the Revolution

Once it became clear that the protestors were going nowhere, the complete shift in the editorials of the state owned media would be almost comical, if it were not indicative of the pathetic hand-holding culture that pervaded its corridors. 

Amina Khairy, a journalist with the Saudi-owned pan Arab newspaper Al-Hayat says of the state media “They were like a child who had suddenly been abandoned. They really couldn’t believe that the regime that they had been used to [knowtowing] had ended.  Their confusion was clear from their headlines.”

Have they redeemed themselves?

The days following the revolution saw the dismissal of a number of editors and other high-ranking officials of the state-owned media and a spate of new appointments. It was a euphoric time when the country seemed poised at the threshold of rapid changes in all domains, including the media. 

The Egyptian media had won some breathing space, but the optimism soon wore off. The changes seem more cosmetic, rather than a precursor to the rapid revamping of the media.

Iskander explains the post-revolution scenario thus “I have seen very little from the Egyptian state media since January 25 to imply that there is an encouraging shift in stance. While they have rightfully decided to memorialize the revolution and now have shows celebrating Egypt's youth, the difficult questions are not being asked.”  

It will not be an easy task to eradicate the habits and the legacy of decades of misinformation, the culture of taking instructions from the top-down and to tell the truth.

“The most important obstacle is the mentality. There are people who started careers in the television building. They would not think about what they were given [to read and] it was unacceptable to go outside the scenario,” explains Khairy

Amin, who has worked with the Nile Television for the last twenty years, nails the situation when she says of the people associated with the state media“Sadly many of them are used to excercising self censorship for fear of losing their job, they have lived and worked in a repressive climate for far too long. Many would like to maintain the status quo and are resisting any kind of change. ………. they are still waiting for the press releases and directives.”

Iskander echoes the point Khairy makes about the state-owned media being left out in the woods. “……Egyptian television is not geared towards reporting news but simply reading it. For the first time in decades, journalists are having to "cover" news and in extremely complicated circumstances, they appear utterly confused as to how such events should be covered. How do they report on the military, how do they address the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis (groups they had been trained to either ignore or admonish), how to speak about Copts (until recently a practically invisible yet sizable minority). So it appears there is a complete cacaphony largely because the state media are having to relearn journalism.” 

State Media: To Be or Not to Be?

The Egyptian state media- which comprises eight TV channels, numerous radio stations, dozens of newspapers and magazines and more than 40000 employees-is a colossal monolith that cannot be wished away. 

But can it be transformed into an autonomous, independent and pluralism-serving democratic institution?

Iskander raises questions regarding the future of the state television and what direction it should take. “Should it be an instrument of government or the state? Should the Ministry of Information, disbanded since the revolution, be reinstated? Should the Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU) be reformed? How does one oversee Maspero? Should state television borrow ideas and personnel (thereby learn from) private television? What kind of broadcasters will channels 1 to 5 be? Should they be responsive to the public interest? Should they become public networks, much like the [British Broadcasting Corporation] BBC?”

Khairy concurs that the state media in Egypt might consider fashioning itself on the lines of BBC, which despite being a public service broadcaster is autonomous and not accountable to the government. A media that is answerable to the Ministry of Information cannot play its rightful role in a democracy.

However, after the disastrous performance of the state media during the 25^th January Revolution, does it stand a chance at resurrection and is it a battle worth fighting for. There is a parallel in history when the Voice of the Arabs, the most popular radio station in the region, lost all credibility during the 1967 war, when it falsely reported the gains being made by the Egyptian army and it never regained the trust of the Egyptian people. Will a similar fate befall the Egyptian state media of today?

“Unfortunately, state media has lost all credibility and it will take a long time for it to rebuild trust and regain the confidence of the public,” rues Amin. 

But she is not willing to abandon it as yet and has gone back to hosting a weekly talk show on Nile Tv and reading the news in English once a week on Channel 2. She is optimistic about her second innings on Egyptian television and explains her decision “I feel it is a 'national duty' to continue to push for media reforms and for the opening up of the media for without a free media, there can be no democracy. This can only be done if I am an insider”

Unarguably, the state media in a country has an important civic function to play. In Egypt, a large section of the population cannot afford to subscribe to satellite channels and have only the terrestrial television to turn to. The Al Ahram, Al Akhbar and the Al Ghoumariya have a subscription base that cannot be rivalled by the independent newspapers. 

With such an extensive reach, the reformation of the state media is not only essential but also a priority. Post the Revolution, the Egyptians’ zest for news has increased; many who were politically apathetic are now taking a keen interest in the affairs of the nation. It is imperative that the state media is able to provide them with news that is objective and accurate.

“Today, the Egyptian people have proven their maturity and wisdom. It is time for the Egyptian media to follow suit and treat them like the agents of change that they are, like the emancipated public they have proven themselves to be,” says Iskander elaborating on the role of the state media at this point of time.

He prioritises the removal of all major authorities in the institutions that govern the Egyptian state media and the complete and irreversible dissolution of the Ministry of Information as a step towards its reform. Further, he suggests the reassessment of the state media employees depending on their skills and their absorption into other instruments of the state. “As far as the journalists among them, there needs to be a process of rehabilitation that ensures journalistic principles and public interest are the prime thrust of their work.”  

A Backtracking and Apologetic Media

Building a democracy requires the active participation of citizens. In these early days of transition, it is the role of the media to keep the citizens engaged in the business of building the blocks of democracy by informing, educating and mobilising the public. At the centre of this role is freedom of expression; in short it is essential to create an enabling environment.

But “the climate of repression still exists,” warns Amin. The military and especially the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) have not shown itself amenable to scrutiny. 

“While State media appear to have been conformist in this regard and have posed the least questions to the council, they are not alone in this dilemma. Private channels as well are walking on egg shells as they try to discuss different topics that relate to the military's administration of the country post- Mubarak,” says Iskander 

In mid-April, a blogger was sentenced to three years in prison for allegedly insulting the military by commenting on their performance on his blog. The same week, SCAF distributed a letter to Egyptian editors asking them not to report on the armed forces without advance permission.

When an independent newspaper reported on the purported amnesty deal for Mubarak by SCAF, they were at once hauled up by the military council. “They [the independent newspaper] immediately backtracked and a new red line was established,” says Iskander. 

 “This can only intimidate other journalists and it is clear that the red lines still exist... In the past Mubarak was untouchable, now the armed forces have replaced the regime in that they do not accept criticism,” rues Amin.

Mirette Mabrouk, a non-resident fellow in the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings and the founding publisher of The Daily News Egypt, agrees. “Some things have really not changed. The media is still not objective enough and there is an attempt to filter information.”

An apologetic and backtracking media sounds ominously familiar and does not augur well for the future. Iskander feels that the media in Egypt has their task cut out for them. “They are to focus their energy and work on democratization, pluralism, good governance, the rule of law, the fight against corruption in every institution of government and the private sector, showcasing the needs of Egypt's poor etc. They must abandon the established wisdom of having the political elite dictate what is news on any given day.” 

What should be the role of media today?

The free-for-all environment that now prevails in the Egyptian media has brought home the fact that a free media is not enough; what is required is a responsible and credible media. It is essential that the media should be able to rise above stereotypes and scapegoats. In the ensuing chaos, the politics may have changed but lack of professionalism still plagues the state media. And the state media is not the only one. 

Mabrouk has a word of caution for the independent media as she says that post-revolution some newspapers are veering towards ‘tabloid coverage’, rather than investigative reporting.

A free and independent media is one of the cornerstones of democracy and at the heart of it is a media that is accountable for its actions. As Egypt takes the first tentative steps towards democracy, is the Egyptian media mature enough to play this role? 

Before the revolution, the Egyptian media could easily be classified into three different categories- media sponsored by the government, media that is the mouthpiece of the opposition political parties and the independent press. Their content and coverage was guided by their allegiance and affiliation. 

Now, these demarcating lines are blurred and each of these media has to re-define itself and have a clear vision as to how it will conduct itself.

“Each media source has an agenda, that is ok; but the important thing is that they should be objective in their reporting,” explains Mabrouk.

Over the short period succeeding the revolution, the coverage in the Egyptian media, on certain issues, has already come under a lot of scrutiny and many media pundits have decried the lack in professionalism. Sectarian violence that escalated in the aftermath of the revolution was one of the first trials by fire for a newly unshackled media. 

Iskander says that reporting on the sectarian violence is not something that the Egyptian media is trained to do and “so the prevailing public sentiment in the Egyptian press has been a denial of any sectarianism in Egypt and the redirection of accusations against untraceable non-entities such as "baltageya" (thugs) or foreign interests etc.”

Though the Egyptian media showed restraint in reporting the sectarian violence so as not to fan the flames of sectarianism, it brings up another interesting question-should the media always tell the truth, even though the truth can harm?

 “There is an urgent need for the media to find a balance between frank and honest reporting and ensuring the public good is not compromised,” says Iskander.

The SCAF recently described the media as “irresponsible”, reacting to an episode of Reem Magued’s talk show on OnTv, where a guest on the show alleged a deal between the Muslim Brotherhood and the SCAF.

“Though the allegation was made by a guest on the show, as an anchor [she] should have known that accusing the army of something like this is not done, [it] can be done by a guest but as an anchor, you need to quickly say that there is no proof. It is not as if they were [having a conversation] sitting in a coffeshop,” says Khairy. 

The gains made by media in the newly enabled environment will be frittered away if they do not move beyond prejudice, innuendo and inaccuracy. “We have not always had a good tradition of responsible journalism, the stringent laws were there to protect the regime [not to enforce the journalistic standards],” says Mabrouk. 

She stresses that the need of the hour is to “move towards responsible journalism” and to adhere to journalism ethics and journalistic standards.

The Future Outlook 

The impending political changes make this an important moment for building a more democratic media. However, there is no easy recipe for remapping of media laws and policies.

According to Naila Hamdy, professor of journalism at the American University in Cairo, the key is to “enable the environment” for the development of a free and independent media. “It is not as if media does not fail itself in the most democratic of countries,” says Hamdy, “but they criticise themselves, introspect and move forward.”

Mabrouk says that enumerating the reforms in media is a question that cannot be answered shortly; after all it is not only particular laws themselves that must be addressed, but also the institutional structure which administers those laws, including regulatory agencies and courts. 

She is most concerned about the press laws and says that they should be changed to reflect the new found freedom and responsibility. “Especially, the libel and defamation laws that allow for imprisonment of journalists should go. In all cases, the liability must be on the institution, rather than on a personal level.” The laws must be more consistent with human rights and free speech principles. 

Any kind of enabling environment will, of course, be futile without the right journalistic talent; it is absolutely essential to take a look at the institutions in Egypt that train journalists. “The journalists should think about the public interest rather than their personal interests,” says Khairy. She stresses on a system of reward and punishment to enforce the journalistic principles and better remuneration for them.

However, the evolution of journalism and a systematic change in media is a transition that cannot happen overnight; it is a change that will require societal changes. The independence of the media depends on the ability of its audience to assess the information wisely and critically and to draw conclusions from it. 

Coffee Art- Community Times

Cairo has always been known for its ‘ahwas’ or coffeeshops, where one can enjoy the sheesha, play backgammon and watch the world go by. From the Fishawi café which is said to have been frequented by the Nobel Laurete Naguib Mahfouz, to those that are part of an international chain, Cairo has it all. Amidst this abundance, there are a few that have positioned themselves as promoting creativity with coffee.

Art Café was started in the year 2002 by Hoda with the aim of providing a space where art and craft could be done in very pleasant surroundings. She started with a small room in the garden of her grandfather’s villa in Maadi and today the Art Cafe extends to cover almost the entire garden, with plans afoot to set up in 6^th of October city as well as New Cairo.

Hoda admits that the idea of providing refreshments was an afterthought. The caffeine kick is known to inspire creativity and camaraderie-the perfect ingredients to create that masterpiece. Jewellery making, decoupage, patchwork, candle making, photography and even cooking can be indulged in to unleash the creative side of you. Drop-ins can take jewellery classes, wood-work and other art classes. Also, recently the walls of the enclosed space at the Art Café, display paintings, collage and photography work by budding artists. Not all of them are for sale though, as some of the exhibitors are only looking for critique on their work.

Hoda had been inspired to start the Art Café by a ceramic cafe that she frequented in Dubai with her children-much like the Il Penello Café that has three locations in Cairo. Maher Boghdady opened the first outlet in 2004 in Heliopolis and has already expanded  to cover Mohandisseen and Maadi with plans have more than 20 oulets in the next five years.

Boghdady, in turn, was inspired by the success of paint-your-own pottery concept in the American markets and decided to introduce a similar model in Cairo to provide for ‘constructive distractions.’

This café offers a ceramic experience with a chance to paint your own pottery and to create that perfect piece to be displayed on the mantle in your living room or as a gift for your valentine.  One can choose from the wide range of earthenware designs available at the café; there are flower vases, toy cars, candle holders, figurines soap dishes and many more. Paints, paintbrushes and aprons are all provided by the café.  The staff will put your “masterpiece” in a kiln and the glazed pottery will be ready to take home after five days. The warm interiors of the Il Penello are very inviting and their menu has Italian coffees, pastas, sandwiches as well as a breakfast menu. 

Borghady had sought to provide an alternative to the done-to-death and completely non-productive cafe scene, accented by smoking sheesha and gazing at large television screens.

Echoing Borghady, Amgad  Emam went into business with ‘Da Club’, that opened its doors a couple of months back. “A home away from home” is how he describes his venture in Heliopolis. The sheesha and television sets are conspicuous by their absence at this new leisure space and have been replaced by canvas, chess sets and books. Emam has designated five recreation corners at Da Club – a reading corner, chess corner, an art space, kids section and craft section. The interiors have been artistically and thoughtfully done up. The wall of the chess corner has been done up with black and white cloth draped to resemble the chessboard. Comfortable lounging chairs as well as a rocking chair complete the reading corner, with books provided by the Al Balad bookstore in downtown.  The lanterns hanging from the ceiling are all hand crafted by Emam and he will help you to make one for your home with the supplies available in the craft corner. The artworks by some of the patrons adorn the wall of the art section and Emam has plans to hold bi-annual exhibition of the work done at the DA Club. 

“All the people think that a cafe is sheesha and television and lots of people making noise and this is the mindset that I hope to change,” says Emam, while elaborating on the reasons for starting Da Club. He readily admits that this is going to be a big challenge but insists that he has already received positive feedback with people appreciating the chance to spend their leisure time in a much more constructive manner. 

Kunst Gallery in tree-line alley in downtown has been on the scene for the last year and is aimed at “presenting an art gallery, a cafe and a bookstore altogether under the same roof.” The Ethos Cafe in Maadi displays work by local artists on its walls and the customers are encouraged to put up their artwork on the board that is covered with photos and sketches. 

On a similar note, the Arabica Cafe in Zamalek provides sketch pens and paper to doodle, while waiting for the food to arrive. And if your squiggles and scribbles resemble art, then your work will be immortalised on its walls.

The meaning of leisure and what to do in the leisure time is slowly but definitely undergoing a change; every minute of the idleness needs to be accounted for. These concept cafes are like a breath of fresh air on the otherwise lacklustre recreation scene.

But then again, is it not that the luxury to do ‘nothing’ with your time the kind of stuff that dreams are made of in these busy times?

Mona Makram-Ebeid-Woman of Substance

“To ignore the street is to ignore moral sensibility at the expense of the wise conduct of politics.” These words penned by Mona Makram-Ebeid in the year 2009 sound prophetic, in light of the recent events. Makram-Ebeid insists that she could see it coming since the situation in Egypt had become “unbearable; the gap between the have and the have-nots had widened and the conditions were reminiscent of those prevailing on the eve of the revolution in the year 1952.”

 “It also shows that I have a strategic mind,” says Makram-Ebeid cheekily. That she does and so does she have many other claims to fame -a member of parliament from 1990-1995, advisor to the World Bank for the MENA region, professor of sociology and political science at the American University of Cairo and an activist for women’s rights and human rights are just some of those. More recently, she was part of a group of women that was invited to meet with the Prime Minister, Mr Essam Sharaf to offer suggestions and insights on the current situation.

However, what epitomises Makram-Ebeid is her fearlessness in speaking her mind, which has, on occasions got her into trouble. Like the three times when her candidature for ministerial posts was cancelled or the time when her stint in Parliament came to an abrupt halt. “I was considered to be too independent minded and as one who could not take orders,” says Makram-Ebeid. 

Her foray into politics can be considered to be a natural progression; she is the granddaughter of the illustrious Makram Ebeid Pasha, who was a leading figure of the struggle against the British mandate, in the year 1919. As a child, she loved sitting at his feet and hear him recount his experiences in exile. “My grandfather would always say of me ‘the girl has personality’,” she recalls fondly.

Community Times speaks to Mona Makram Ebeid on a range of issues afflicting the nation, at this point of time, and Makram-Ebeid offers her opinion in her trademark fearless and outspoken manner. 

Building Blocks of Democracy

Even though it looks that the hardest part has been accomplished with Mubarak’s departure, but the real challenges lie ahead. Amending the constitution and holding elections are only part of the story. Makram-Ebeid agrees that this is the most difficult phase and says that the need of the hour is to build and strengthen institutions so that individual rights can be protected; as well as to build credible alternative opposition forces to the Muslim Brotherhood (MB). 

The Threat of a Theocratic State

Elaborating on the power enjoyed by the MB, Makram-Ebeid attributes it, in part; to the fact that they have been the only organised political force opposing the regime. “Standing against the dictatorship gave them a certain mystique. The idea is not to oppose them as a party; on  the contrary, the great mistake of the former regime was to isolate them from the political arena through harassment and arrests, which increased the sympathy towards them. Today the challenge is to incorporate them in the formal political arena, and with time they will become just another political actor, assuming that time allows for the development of a range of other credible alternatives.”

Minority Rights 

The 25^th January Revolution saw all Egyptians; irrespective of gender, religion or social status participate with equal fervour to achieve the goals of the revolution. Yet, the women and Coptic Christians are at risk of being marginalised in the decision making process. Their representation in the Parliament, over the last few decades, has been woefully low. 

Quotas and reservation for minority groups are used by governments all over the world to ensure their participation in mainstream politics. Makram-Ebeid rejects such reservation as ‘demeaning’ and advocates electoral reforms that will make it mandatory for every political party to follow the system of proportional representation electoral lists and to ensure that women, Coptic and youth are included in the candidates that they field. A level playing field will promote the principles of equal citizenship, instead of dividing people on the basis of gender and religion. 

She has great hopes pinned on the new generation of Copts; she hopes that they will participate in force in the upcoming elections by joining the new or the older parties, in greater numbers. 

She also suggests having a mixed proportional representative system that will allow independent candidates, who do not subscribe to the ideology of any of the parties, to contest elections. 

Sectarian Violence: Danger of Losing the Bigger Picture

The days leading up to the referendum on amendments to the constitution split Egypt’s political scene, with Islamists urging people to vote ‘yes’ and the secular forces urging them to reject the amendments. The period also saw an increase in sectarian violence, which resulted in several deaths and injuries.

Makram-Ebeid was witness to the Muslims and Coptic solidarity at Tahrir Square during the 18 days of the 25^th January Revolution. She, herself was, urged to take the podium on two occasions and to address the protestors. She recalls the time when a Christian priest conducted a mass in the Coptic language at Tahrir Square and the Muslim audience responded with an “Amen” at the end of it. The escalating sectarian violence angers her after such “magnificent and beautiful’ episodes of unity and she attributes the sectarian divide to “outside forces.” But she is quick to clarify that she does not mean the foreign forces, but forces outside of Tahrir, like “the thugs and the remnants of the NDP, who are trying to provoke chaos.” 

She is proud of the fact that the Copts are coming out of the shadow of the church and demanding their rights in front of a government institution; “For the first time, young Copts act as Egyptian citizens, not as Egyptian Christians”. 

She is referring to the recent demonstrations by the Copts in front of the state television building, Maesparo, denouncing sectarian violence and demanding the rebuilding of a church burned down earlier. “The old formula was that the decision was between Mubarak and the Pope; today that formula is dead and the young Copts are taking the initiative.”

Makram –Ebeid feels that the “The road map today should include the joining of the ‘liberal’ opposition with moderate Muslims, [there is a need] to have Muslims, alternate Muslims, who don’t want to see a repeat of the Iranian model. Egyptian democracy cannot work until Muslim religious and secular groups, who both care about freedom (excluding the MB), develop the ability to refrain from fighting with one another and organise themselves as credible alternatives.”

In fact, as one of the suggestions made to the Prime Minister Mr Sharaf, she has asked that attacks against religion and places of worship be regarded as a criminal offence.  

Deconstructing the ‘Yes’ Vote

What does the ‘Yes’ vote on the referendum mean? This is a question on the minds of all Egyptians. Explaining the ‘yes’ vote, Makram-Ebeid says that this means that the MB who wanted to have early elections, before the opposition forces have a chance to organise themselves, have won the first round. “Now they will try and are already trying to form a coalition with the different opposition groups to compel the military to accept civilian control this year.” 

“Following the referendum, it is clear that, now, there are three forces competing for control over Egypt-the army, the MB and the various opposition forces. [This situation is] reminiscent of old times, when before the 1952 revolution, there was also the monarchy, the British and the Wafd Party. Like in old times, the outcome depends on which two of these forces will work together and defeat the third. Will it be the two civilian actors, meaning the MB and the people, together, defeating the military? [In that case,], the MB, being the more organised and more powerful force, will gain enough power creating a religious dictatorship that sets back Egyptian democracy and all the gains of the 25^th of  January Revolution. ..........or a different outcome could be possible. If the military and the people (meaning the opposition forces) understand that the MB is their common and most dangerous enemy. Whoever stands alone will eventually lose.”

Moving Forward

Sequencing is essential to ensuring  a smooth transition to a functioning democracy but the ‘yes’ vote on the referendum means that Egypt does not have the luxury of time on its side.

“Ideally, I would have preferred that both the parliamentary and presidential elections take place after one year,’ reveals Makram-Ebeid, as it would give the youth a chance to organise themselves into political parties and the conservative and the established parties could use the time to restructure. “The increased time span would also give the chance to have a wider debate on the constitution, to get a consensus in order to achieve a social contract.”

She does not share the fear in some quarters that if the elections are delayed, the army may never leave and there may be a repeat of what happened in the year 1952. 

But the reduced timeline means that the nascent and the fledgling political groups will have to move faster to mobilise and reach out to the people, to create awareness and educate them on what constitutes a civil society. 

Makram-Ebeid is optimistic and feels that the young protestors, who were so successful at Tahrir,  will be able to rise to the occasion and organise themselves into credible and effective political groups in the four months leading to the parliamentary elections. 

Youth Capital

“I had never expected that the youth would be the trigger for the 25^th January revolution,” says Makram-Ebeid. She is highly appreciative of the political savvy that the youth have displayed, despite their lack of political experience and feels privileged to have been invited by them to join the “Council of the Trustees of the Revolution.” She loves interacting with the youth; “I love to listen to them because perhaps they have ideas that does not cross our minds. We have been much too theoretical all these years, we have said what we said, but we have never executed it.” 

The time for words is passé; it is now time for action. Egypt has the potential to become the region’s model of democracy. The challenge will be not to fritter away that opportunity.

Building Bridges - Community Times

Building Bridges

By Sankalita Shome

Pictures: Courtesy COSPE

Women, Children and Youth are the three pillars of society. Most of us would agree with this statement. Cooperation for the Development of Emerging Countries (COSPE ), a Italy based Non Governmental Organization (NGO) has been working at improving the economic conditions of sub-urban and semi-rural communities around Cairo, through promoting and supporting the initiatives of women, youth and children from these communities.

The Italian NGO started its operations in Egypt in the year 1998, in much the same manner as most NGOs start their operations in a country. They identified craftsmen and artisans that were engaged in producing the traditional goods of the country and promoted and encouraged them to keep alive this tradition. This intervention is still ongoing; but gradually COSPE has enlarged its area of intervention to achieve the vision that they have for Egypt; i.e. empowering communities to assert equal rights.

The Bridging the Gap project implemented by COSPE, with funding from the European Union and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a concrete step in that direction. 

At the outset of the project, COSPE looked at each community in isolation and tried to answer the questions “What is the gap in their lives, why are they living in such marginalized conditions?” 

“We realized that Egypt had the legislative framework in place, both in terms of being signatories to international conventions and enactment of local laws. But lack of awareness of these legislations and poor implementation of policies are what was responsible for the gap,” says Elisa Freni, Project Coordinator.

Therefore the crux of the Bridging the Gap project was to educate and train the community members on their rights and build their confidence. “We wanted the community members to ascertain their own requirements, to seek out their own initiatives rather than impose our agendas on them. Our aim is to empower the children, youth and women of the region so that they themselves can set the pace for community development and improve the economic conditions in the region,” explains Mary Seif, Communications and Program Officer from COSPE

In the year 2004, COSPE had implemented a project, in the Abu El Nomros community in the 6^th of October governorate, by trying to equip the Community Development Association (CDA) of the region to deliver better services to the residents. They helped to add more kindergarten classes to the ones provided at the CDA and also funded the CDA to start a library and reading place. In fact, COSPE’s intervention in the community was so successful that the women of the community came together to create an association for purposes of providing catering services for events held in the community.

But the euphoria did not last long and Seif explains the reasons for it “You have to understand that this is an extremely conservative community and hence the increasing independence of the women was frowned upon by the community members and gradually all the services had to be shut down as the women were restricted from accessing them.”

 “We invested in the CDA as an asset-in creating structures and enhancing the service providing capability of the CDAs but maybe the focus should have been on equipping the women to stand up for what they wanted,” says Freni as she enumerates the learning from the Abu Nomros project, which stood them in good stead when they started the Bridging the Gap project. 

Under Bridging the Gap project, COSPE has shifted the emphasis to educating the women, youth and children about their rights and empowering them so that “they can decide what they want and then have the conviction and courage to fight for it.” 

This change in strategy, in fact, proved to be the biggest stumbling block in the implementation of the project. The Bridging the Gap project has been implemented in a very unusual manner for the Egyptians; far removed from the classical way that most NGOs operate here. 

Freni makes a very important point when she says that most of the times the marginalized communities have misconceptions about the role of NGOs working for their betterment. They are regarded little more than a bank or a service provider. The participatory, a bottom up approach adopted by COSPE was extremely difficult to implement in the beginning and till January 2010, there was almost no progress. “It was like starting from ground zero; because we did not take the path that is usually followed by most NGOs, i.e. partnering with a local NGO or the CDA in that region. We did not consider the CDAs were responsive to the community’s needs and in fact the project aimed at reforming and strengthening the CDAs. It was difficult for the community to grasp that we were interested in knowing from them what is it they wanted us to do for them,” explains Freni.

The project started with a computer based literacy program for women in the communities in El Dessamy, El Saff, Abu Ragwan and Abu El Nomros in co-operation with the Ministry of Communication. 11 facilitators were trained, who in turn trained 90 women. 

In the communities of the El Saff and the El Dessamy in the Helwan governorate, the Bridging the Gap project has been the most successful and is close to achieving the desired results. In El Saff, they started with educating the women on various subjects and disseminating information on issues that they themselves wanted to get more information on. There were classes on sex education, rights and civic duties, as well as health issues, all delivered over a period of 6 months. At the end of it, the women felt empowered enough to decide to form themselves into an association that could serve as a reference for others in the area.

“They had changed from women who were afraid to even express themselves into confident individuals who knew what they wanted and were willing to fight for it,” Seif told Community Times.  

In El Dessamy too, the women have been empowered enough to form themselves into an association. The project is now seeking to train these women, who are already leaders in their own right, to encourage and to inspire other women in the community to also be part of the association. 

“It is extremely important to get a critical mass; we want it to be a democratic association, not be in the power of a few selected women. More membership means that they can even restructure the plan of the association. For example, currently, most of the women who are members are housewives and mothers. If women who are bread winners for their family also join in, then their peculiar problems would also, in that case, get addressed,” asserts Freni.

“We need to connect the scattered groups of women in the community to the association so it can serve the community in the real sense.”  

But the biggest challenge under the project, has been dealing with the youth as their requirements are unique and diverse. There is also the reality that the challenges faced by the girl youth are different from those faced by the male youth. To facilitate their work, COSPE tied up with an Egyptian Ngo that specializes in providing training programs to the youth. A two week training camp helped to break the ice and get rid of cultural stereotypes and inhibitions, with both the girls and boys, slowly becoming comfortable enough to speak about their problems in front of each other. Again, they have been successful in establishing youth communities in El Saff  and Abu El Nomros. 

Many of the youth members of the committee in El Saff work in the cement and the brick factories surrounding the area and are conversant with the problems faced by the informal labour sector in these factories, such as low salaries and no health insurance. After the 25^th January Revolution, with the increasing prominence that the issue of workers’ rights have received, COSPE arranged for meetings between the El Saff youth, lawyers specializing in labour laws and some labour syndicates. Gradually, they are working towards educating the youth on the requirements of running a campaign so that they can fight for more equitable working conditions.  

The other aspect of the Bridging the Gap project is forming social enterprises. The CDAs working in most communities have the assets to not only be the service providers but also become social enterprises in their own right. The project aims at providing the CDAs with training on management of the social enterprise and connection of initiatives to national and international networks so that they can become self-funding social enterprises. In turn, they can fund a number of social welfare initiatives in their communities. 

Looking towards the future, Seif says that the possibilities are endless for the youth, children and women associations that they have helped form in these marginalized communities. COSPE aims to help the women, youth and children to form associations, decide on the scope of this association and then treat them as equals, and masters of their own destiny. The important thing is to create a sustainable movement and association that will be able to survive in the face of discouragement of any form. 

For more information on their activities and projects, please visit http://www.cospe-egypt.org/

Al Nadeem Centre-Community Times

The El-Nadeem Center

By Sankalita Shome

Post the 25^th January Revolution, there has been an explosion in the number of initiatives taken by the civil society. Much is being said about the role that the civil society can play in transforming the nation.

But there is one civil society initiative that would be happier if it had no role to play after the Revolution.

 “We were elated when we heard about the Revolution, we thought that there would no longer be a need for this Center, we could pack up and do something else,” says Mona Hamed, a psychiatrist associated with the El-Nadeem Center for the Rehabilitation of the Victims of Violence.

But they soon realised that the Center was still needed and they were going nowhere. The El- Nadim Center is the only organisation in Egypt to offer treatment, rehabilitative and counselling services to victims of torture.

The Centre was started by three psychiatrist friends in the year 1993; before that, they had already been treating victims of torture as doctors  but they felt that treating torture was not only about medicine.

The first year, the Center concentrated on providing psychological rehabilitation to victims of torture but soon realised that it was essential to publicise the issue of torture, to raise voice against a practice that had become systematic and deliberate.

While documenting the instances of torture, the co-founders of El- Nadeem discovered that the torture victims were not only the political detainees as was widely understood. The torture victims could be just about anyone.

Since its inception in the year 1993, the El -Nadeem Centere has waged a relentless war against torture by fighting for redress or revenge for the torture victims. “Unless there is revenge, the recovery is not complete for the torture victim,” says Dr. Hamed,

The centre helps the victims that come to the Center to document the torture and when the victims are willing, it helps them to publicise the indignities that they have undergone, so that the perpetrators can be brought to justice. They help the victim to seek redress and civil remedies and to pursue criminal charges against the torturers. This approach extends beyond dealings with the police to obstacles in the legal system faced by lawyers working on these cases.

“The advocacy for redress is consistent with the services that the Center seeks to provide” explains Dr Hamed as “achieving justice is part of the healing process for the victim and also helps to prevent crimes against them in the future.”

But the Center leaves the decision for pursuing such recourse to the victim as the process can be traumatic for the victim and his family. The court proceedings are long drawn out and there have been instances when the torturers have resorted to intimidating the family of the victim so that they drop the criminal charges against them. 

In fact, at times, the doctors associated with the Center, have also been the target of violence for their work but it has not dissuaded them from continuing with their path breaking work treating men, women and children tortured by the police forces and the security apparatus in the country.

In 2003, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) honoured Aida Seif Al Dawla, one of the original co-founders of the Center, for her work to combat torture and promote women’s rights and freedom of association in Egypt.

The same year, the Center had release a report criticising the excessive use of force and torture by the Egyptian security apparatus in its clampdown on anti-war demonstrations, at the outset of the US-led invasion of Iraq.

In an interview with the Time magazine in the year 2004, after she had been honoured by the HRW’s highest honour, Aida Seif Al Dawla had said that her next goal was regime change.

When she said that, she must have thought that it would mean the realisation of her goal of eradicating torture from the country. But post the regime change, the challenge is probably only beginning.  

When the 25^th January Revolution happened, we all thought that things would be good now; but we were proven wrong. Within a few days of the start of the revolution, we had the first wave of torture victims arrive at the clinic; in their case, the perpetrators were the army. We had the physical evidence of the torture in front of our eyes, but our hearts refused to believe it. And now the second wave is of those victims who have been tortured by the police,” says Dr Hamed.

The Centre released a report the mid of June which stated that at least four people had died in police detention since the end of the Revolution. Though cases involving allegations of police brutality may not have been dramatically reduced by the 25 January revolution, Dr Hamed feels that what had irrevocably changed was that ppeople were no longer willing to remain quiet and are coming forward in larger numbers to talk about the police brutality and to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.

The El Nadeem Center is credited with being the first of its kind in the region and it has gradually expanded its services to provide psychological counselling to refugees. It also provides a psychological testimony, which is used by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees as a reference while deciding on the refugee status, on the basis of torture, for an applicant.

El-Nadeem has also helped to establish a similar center in Sudan with the help of former clients and has provided training on skills of management, rehabilitation of victims of torture and documentation of torture cases in Lebanon, Morocco and Sudan.

El-Nadeem’s work in Egypt and the other countries is commendable and a blessing for the victims of torture. But the real boon would be if there would be no need at all for such centres whether in Egypt or in any other country.