Wednesday, December 10, 2014

The Square- extra credit assignment.

1.
The Square was a documentary, directed by Jehane Noujaim, about the evens over the last few years in Cairo, Egypt. There have been a lot of riots and protests, along with a lot of violence. The biggest of these places to protest, by far, is Tahrir Square. People believe the best place to go to voice their opinions in Egypt is Tahrir Square. Located in the middle of the city, it is a place flocked to by people to protest. In the documentary, the events over the last few years are recorded in detail. Beginning in January, 2011, the oppression of the people by the military, and the government leaders, in particular the leader Mubarak. By the spring of that year, Mubarak is removed from power, however, the oppression continues. This is because his people are still in power. As protests in the square continue off and on over the months, by summer of 2011, things get much worse. Thousands of protesters have been arrested, and the military is stepping in, making things worse. On top of this, the Muslim Brotherhood is acting like they are with the protesters, but are actually only with them for their own interests. I big problem throughout this documentary is that there is always a struggle for elections to exist, yet there are no parties, and no one knows anyone to vote for because the place is in such chaos.
“Good and free people are being called traitors, and bad people are being called heroes.”
The chaos is so real, and there is so much anger and confusion in this place. People feel as though they are all alone. The army that is meant to help them is hurting them. One man, when interviewed described, “Our army is killing us”.
Later on in 2012, Morsi, with the Muslim Brotherhood, is elected president. He soon gives himself unchecked powers. This only adds to the tensions between the Muslim Brotherhood, and the protestors.
One thing to note throughout is, the use of technology plays a role in this ongoing protests. Leaders tell people to use websites such as youtube.com to show the world the injustices done here, and the urgent need to help Egypt. In this way, the people of Egypt can have their voices heard all over the world.
However, in 2013, on June 30th, one year to the day of Morsi’s term, the protests are beyond anything ever seen. One news source says that it is perhaps the largest demonstration of a protest ever. The people get what they want, but at a cost.
A voice tells how, “The people pay the price for everything. The people always pay the price.”
As the documentary concludes, one of the narrators ends with, “We are looking not for a leader, but for a conscience.”
2.

For today’s news, I found something from the New York Times. “Egypt’s New Police State” by Sara Khorshid, posted on NOV. 16, 2014.

As I was reading through, to see changes over time, this part in particular stood out to me.

“This is worse than the situation under Mr. Mubarak, when only state-owned media adopted an unwavering pro-government editorial policy whereas privately owned media were more open to diverse views.”
In the article. President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the current president, is a dictator without limits. He controls the media, the basic goods and services, including things such as electricity, and so on. He is oppressive, and has put many political opponents, journalists, and civil rights’ activists in jail.
The biggest challenges in Egypt today are, that he people want change, but they do not have a face to turn to. Every time a leader is selected, that leader only works on his own personal agenda, and so nothing changes.
However, I do believe there is a chance for things to get better. I say this because, the optimism and determination of the people who want change in Egypt will not lay down, or give up.

Here is the link to my source, check it out here. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/17/opinion/egypts-new-police-state.html?_r=0

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