By Salama A Salama A few days ago, the president of a major European country stopped over in Cairo on his way back from an African tour. A senior official went to the airport to greet him, as per diplomatic protocol. The Egyptian official noticed that the delegation accompanying the guest included four students, boys and girls, under the age of 20. The visiting president explained that they were top high school students and the trip was a reward for their academic accomplishment. I thought of this as I contemplated the divisive scene in this country. Egypt has split into two halves. One half concentrates on a block of downtown Cairo, with thousands of security men chasing a few hundred young protesters. The protesters were out to support the judges in their bid for judicial independence. The second half is in Sharm El-Sheikh, relaxing under tight security for fear of terror, rubbing shoulders with world leaders and businessmen, and busy discussing the Davos slogan -- "The Promise of a New Generation". What generation are we talking about? Are we talking about the youths who have been arrested in hundreds downtown and on university campuses? Or are we talking about the youths Claus Schwab talked about in Sharm El-Sheikh? Is there anything in common between the two? How would one expect the downtown youths, the young people who we've inundated with empty promises for years, to feel affinity to the virtual world portrayed in Sharm El-Sheikh? In Sharm El-Sheikh, participants in the World Economic Forum painted a bright picture of economic security and jobs, of investment and reform. Experts called for more inter-trade among Arab countries. Economists urged the creation of 100 million new jobs by 2020. How could our young people relate to that? How could they believe us when they see the region teetering on the verge of a catastrophe? Forget about Iraq and Palestine. Forget about the turmoil in Gaza and the Syrian-Lebanese crisis. Forget about Sudan and the imminent international intervention there. Our youths are worried about more mundane things. They are worried about their day-to-day clash with society, with our own political, educational and police institutions. How could the youths believe our promises when political reform has ground to a halt, when judges confirm electoral fraud, and when the judiciary is under attack? How could the youths have faith when even Washington had to protest the court ruling against Ayman Nour? European countries are taking their young men and women out in official tours, to reward them for their achievement. European countries are allowing their youth to participate in political life and express themselves freely. Here we have emergency laws that stifle everyone, the young included. Even bloggers are getting arrested in this country, including one who received an international award for his work. We have made no real effort to train our young for decent jobs. When Italy provided us with 3,000 jobs, just to stop the lethal sea voyages in which hundreds of our young died already, alas, only 35 youths had the qualifications to fill these jobs, according to the Italian ambassador. There is a wide gap between Sharm El-Sheikh and downtown. There is a deep gulf between the ethos of Davos and the reality of Central Security deployment in central Cairo. That gulf will remain unbridgeable so long as the National Democratic Party insists that security measures are the only way to go. You cannot suppress political and civil freedoms and expect to win. You cannot deny the judiciary its independence and expect to win. This is nonsense. No economic stability is possible in the absence of political reform.
