Witness to the growing brutality of the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq, thousands of Egyptians are clamouring to join in the battle. But as Shaden Shehab finds out, the gateway to Iraq appears firmly shut When the government, earlier this week, indicated that Egyptians were free to fight with the Iraqis if they wanted to, hundreds headed straight for the Iraqi embassy in Cairo to sign up. Their feelings of solidarity with their Arab and Muslim brethren in Baghdad, and their willingness to risk their lives for a cause, turned into disappointment and anger, however, as the men realised the government made promises it could not keep. "Egypt does not prohibit those who want to volunteer to fight with the Iraqis from doing so," said Minister of Information Safwat El-Sherif on 3 April. "The right to travel is guaranteed by the constitution." Clearly, El-Sherif, who is also the secretary- general of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) had not made the statements in haste; he repeated them several times over the course of the week, including at an NDP meeting on Monday. "There are no restrictions on Egyptian citizens' freedom of movement," he said. "Every individual is free to do as he pleases, but is not free to determine the destiny of a nation." With public sentiment against the war already highly strung, and a debate on the righteousness of jihad in full force, many saw the government's statement "as a dream come true". A few days later, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, gave his blessing to volunteers wishing to help the Iraqis. At a press conference on Saturday, Tantawi said the war on Iraq was an attack on all Arab countries. "Combating injustice is a religious duty," he said. "The door of jihad is open until judgment day, [and] whoever wants to go to support the Iraqi people, I welcome that, I welcome that, I welcome that. I say go, peace be with you, and I wish you well. We do not prevent anyone from going to help those who are facing injustice." All week long, dozens of young men gathered before Saddam Hussein's picture at the entrance of the Iraqi embassy in Zamalek, eagerly seeking out any information they could get about travelling to fight the invading forces. Over and over again, the man at the front desk of the embassy directed them to "go to the Bar Association, [where] they will explain the travel arrangements. The embassy cannot help," he said apologetically, repeating the line every few minutes to both those who had come on foot, and those who were continuously calling on the phone. Filled with hope and enthusiasm, thousands did in fact head for the Bar Association, which had announced that it would take care of the travel arrangements for those who wanted to go. "Fill-in an application and we will get back to you," said the man sitting at the entrance to the association's downtown headquarters. He had several stacks of applications in front of him; they had each been filled in with the applicant's name, age, profession, marital status, address, phone number and whether or not he had done his military service. "This must be a bad joke," said Mahmoud Amin, a university student from Helwan. "Baghdad is being occupied and they want us to fill out an application and waste even more time. Let's go home," he furiously told his colleagues. The crowd had come from different parts of Egypt and included different kinds of people. While some were clearly Islamists, most were just ordinary university students, graduates, or middle-aged men with no specific political affiliation but a clear goal: "to help the Iraqi resistance, or die as martyrs for Iraq". Tens told Al-Ahram Weekly that they were willing to fight with Iraqi troops, or take part in martyrdom operations, and that they expected to die and be buried in Iraq. They also felt certain that Iraq would lose in the end -- "but with honourable resistance, Iraqi pride and dignity will be saved". A crowd encircled a man as he recounted his failed attempts, with nine other men, to join the Iraqis. "We tried going via Jordan but were stopped by Egyptian authorities in [the Red Sea port of] Nuweiba. They told us there was no need for our display of heroism. We didn't give up. We tried to go to Syria using a tour operator, but they have orders to only allow non- Arabs to travel. We even tried to go to Libya, but met the same obstacles. Now we are here [at the Bar Association] and they want us to fill out an application. The naked truth is that we will never be allowed to go," the man said. He was willing to give the Weekly his name, but some argued that if it was printed he might get arrested. But why would they fear arrest and not death? "We are willing to die for a noble cause, but getting arrested here will only bring humiliation," said one of the group. "The government is treating us like children," said Ziad Hassanein, a university student. "The only reason they said the door was open for volunteers was to calm us down and keep us occupied until the war is over. What a shame." Shaker Mounir, meanwhile, was worried about what he was going to tell his neighbours, who had sent him downtown to find out more about the travel arrangements. "They are packed and ready," he said. "We were expecting to leave today or tomorrow at the latest." According to Emad Gad, a civil servant, "we are not unemployed, aimless men with no families, wanting to go on a suicide mission, like some would like to believe." Mohamed Metwalli, an accountant, agreed. "It is our national and religious duty to fight with the Iraqis. It is an honour, not a sacrifice," he said. "I have been hoping to go ever since the war began, since I'll be able to use some of the things I learned when I was an army conscript." For Shawki Abdel- Ghaffar Ahmed, a retired army officer, his military experience -- a specialty in weapons and ammunition -- would also help him fight alongside the Iraqis. "I took part in the 1973 war and I'm still in good health," he said. According to Ahmed, the Bar Association had told the volunteers that those with medical or engineering expertise would be given top priority right now. "Are they going to send us to work in Kuwait instead?" he asked sarcastically. A schoolteacher, meanwhile, who preferred to remain anonymous, said, "I don't understand. There are millions of unemployed Egyptians. Let them go and be useful -- wouldn't it be in the government's best interest to get rid of them?" Others were equally bleak. "I am fed up," said one man. "I have not been able to sleep properly for days and I can't stop crying. Iraq is being invaded and all we can do is watch it on TV." Bar Association Chairman Sameh Ashour told the Weekly that helping these volunteers travel "is the least we can do". Ashour said the association was still negotiating with the government, but that "the matter will eventually be solved". Association Secretary-General Ahmed Seif El- Islam Hassan El-Banna found Safwat El-Sherif's statements to be "a good sign". A leading figure in the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood (which his father founded), El-Banna said "the plan is to have the men go to Iraq via Syria, using just their identification cards, since visas are not required from there. Expenses will be covered by the great deal of donations we are receiving." He said that about 8,000 had volunteered by Monday, and that -- despite the rumours circulating through the anxious crowd -- priority would be for young men with military experience. El-Banna said he was also well aware of the fact that by the time everything had been arranged, it might be too late anyway. "It's true -- things are happening too fast." Actually, even if Egyptian authorities allow the men to go to Iraq, their journey (once out of Egypt) would not be easy. Getting to Baghdad is risky, especially considering the announcement from Central Command in Doha that US forces would not be allowing anyone to enter Iraq or cross borders into the region. Getting there via Jordan has also proven risky, with even non- military vehicles under threat of attack. The Americans have disclaimed eyewitness reports that all vehicles are shot at, saying there have only been a few accidents of that sort. Baghdad's oft repeated appeals to sympathisers in other countries to join its forces in battle against the US-led attack have resulted in numerous reports of thousands of Arab and Muslim volunteers travelling to Iraq to do just that. The US military said on Sunday that it had captured or killed fighters in Iraq from Sudan, Egypt and other countries. On 1 April Iraqi Vice-President Taha Yassin Ramadan confirmed that more than 6,000 volunteers had descended on Iraq, with more expected. Ramadan said Iraq would supply the volunteers with whatever they needed to help fight the invading forces. Analysts have expressed concern about the manner with which coalition forces might handle the volunteers if they are captured. Because they are not soldiers, the Geneva Convention might not protect them as POWs, and they may be classified as mercenaries instead, observers said. These details do not concern someone like Mustafa Hashem, a technician, and one of the thousands who have volunteered. "To demand that the government take action is frowned upon, and taking part in demonstrations without permission is forbidden," he complained. "So now, all we are asking is for the government to set us free. They don't have to worry about what will happen to us. We want to die for Iraq. Is this too much to ask?"
