It is not over yet

Acquaintances and friends have been asking me if the Egyptian revolution is over. My short answer is no. Those of us who were in Tahrir Square on the 25th January 2011 experienced a rare episode of humanity discovering its deep, positive essence of existence. We experienced a Camelot where a group of people were not simply united for a social cause but could for the first time see what values they shared as human beings, experience happiness and safety despite their individual or group differences and understand that the limits of their potential could inspire the world. Many of us witnessing some of the events happening today shake our heads quickly, concluding that this is not quite the same spirit we experienced on January 25th. This may imply that I am saying that the revolution is over but I am confident that it is not. There are at least three key reasons why I make such a confident statement.

First and foremost is the increasing awareness of the revolutionaries about what they need to do to succeed. To a large extent we were naïve on the 25th January. The days that followed Tahrir’s glorious 18 days along with the 3rd July 2013 events revealed many things about the nature of change required in Egyptian society. Actually, and this may anger some people, the events of the 3rd July were a huge blessing that enabled us to revamp the Egyptian revolution.

Many of us already knew that the military leadership and its puppets needed to be deposed as much as Mubarak, but few of us knew the extent of weakness and corruption existing in the rest of society. The nostalgic aura of Tahrir and our thirst to believe that there is still some good left in us overwhelmed our hearts and logic. Some of us would never have understood the degree of incompetence of the Muslim Brotherhood in running a state had they not come to power. We assumed in good faith that because they had survived for so long in the face of persecution and demonstrated some organisational capabilities in the square and the elections that they could lead the country. Well it is obvious now, they couldn’t.

Some of us could never have imagined that our own family members would accept that the people in power would kill their own kindred for having different political beliefs. We could never have imagined that they would go to the streets chasing after the protestors with guns to help the police arrest some of us. Many of us did not know or comprehend the extent of the reach and control that the military had on the key institutions and social groups in Egypt. Only a few of us could claim that they knew the significant influence some of our neighbouring countries had on the people in power and the elites in Egypt. Beyond the abstract rhetoric chanted during our marches, many of us did not know what sort of social system we wanted and did not put sufficient effort into defining our thoughts and dreams and rallying people around them.

The second reason is that as we have become knowledgeable about the task we need to accomplish; we are also learning more about the tools and tactics required to execute the task. We know now that this change will not be brought about by simply occupying a square to depose a military dictator and some of his puppets. We know that to begin with we need to possess and implement a variety of tools and tactics that can bring down a military institution that has rooted itself in almost all aspects of our social system. So when I see students organising and participating in protests; the strikes of the labour unions and workers all over the country; and the increasing participation of women, I see an increasing variation in tactics and tools that tells me that our revolution is far from over. We know now that this is a struggle that will take time. We know now that the effects of the revolution will be felt in every Egyptian home. When I see groups organising themselves to engage with the community in discussions around social change, or groups formed to define what we want and how to rally people around those ideas; when I learn about groups organising to tackle the abuse of women in the public domain; when I hear music groups forming to sing against social injustice and call for freedom, I know that the revolution is reorganising itself to unleash its potential in an unprecedented manner.

My third reason is the practices of the current regime and certain factions of society. The increasing police brutality in dealing with civilians, the deterioration in public services, the unprecedented rate of arrests that is reaching almost all social demographics and the polarising hatred message promoted by the media are among a few of the usual dictatorship practices that will fuel the spirit of the revolutionaries and take it beyond the political struggle of two powers.

When we wake up almost daily to learn that a twelve year old student was arrested for possessing a ruler with the Rabia sign on it, or 10 year old girls have been sentenced to prison for participating in a march against the coup, or a pathetic military statement about discovering a cure for aids, or the sentencing of 700 people to death in a trial that lasted two days without the presence of the accused and their lawyers, our determination to continue our revolution continues.

When we hear of parents informing the police about their own children for their participation in anti-coup protests, or neighbours becoming informants about people they have lived with for years in the same building, or business owners sending discontented employees to jail on the premise that they are “terrorists”, we are reminded why our revolution must continue.

When I see the Brotherhood and its coalition still adopting their slogans of legitimacy; when I hear them still calling what happened on July 3rd a military coup; when I see them failing to rally the different revolutionary groups to their cause; and when I witness the rising discontent among their lower levels and younger generation my belief is reinforced that this revolution never was and never will be about the Brotherhood and the military. This is a revolution of social paradigms that is not over yet.

In all confidence, therefore, I am sure that the revolution will never end. Our generation and at least three others younger than us have first-hand experience of what social injustice at the hand of military dictatorships can and will do to our lives in the deepest sense. It is engraved in our memories; the pellets are in our bodies; and our emotional injuries are lasting reminders of a social system that we no longer accept or wish to belong to. My children will remember, among many other painful experiences, that their father disappeared from their lives overnight for fear of being persecuted by a regime and a society that would in cold blood kill those who dissent from the state-imposed “norms”. Mark my words; we will never be short of revolutionaries for generations to come. So when someone asks if the revolution is over, tell them in all confidence, it’s not over yet.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.