CAIRO: A total of no more than 15 people showed up on Tuesday November 1 outside C28 to show their support for Maikel Nabil. Of the 15 were a couple of Maikel's own family members and AlJazeera crew, which essentially dwindles the numbers down to about 11 protesters. It's Maikel's 70th day on hunger strike, but clearly it didn't concern many. Having just attended a march the previous night to free Alaa Abdel Fattah, where thousands by thousands had joined, I frankly expected the people's fuel had finally caught fire. Judging by the turnout that Tuesday however, I was mistaken and disheartened. It's difficult to point out why many have such a passive attitude towards Maikel's case in particular. We claim to seek ‘freedom of speech', no government censorship and the liberty to express ourselves. Yet where there is an opposing viewpoint we have a tendency to create boundaries – where is the freedom in that? Try having a conversation with a colleague or a friend in attempt to define freedom of speech, more often than not people will say ‘I do believe in freedom of speech but …' and wind up giving you exceptions such as it's okay to say anything as long as it's not ‘culturally insensitive'. As such, they subconsciously set limits on others freedom to express. The more conscious we become of it, the more we will be able to avoid it. Personally, I say it bluntly and simply, I don't agree with Maikel's campaign “No to compulsory Service” and I'm against his pro-Israeli views. I would assume a lot of Egyptians would share a similar stance on the latter. Regardless of my justification for these views I still feel the need to act based on principle and humanity. Maikel has been accused of supposedly ‘insulting' the military council in one of his blog posts and not for the ideas that have made him unpopular, which is a misconception I've been hearing frequently. And so, the way I see it supporting Maikel's case has become synonymous with being a believer in freedom of speech. During the three hours that I was there standing outside of C28 with the other protesters I was a approached by a German woman who had come to show solidarity with Maikel. According to her, around 100 people had said they where attending on the Facebook event for the page and she asked me “Who is he doing this for?” gesturing towards the few standing outside C28. Honestly, I wasn't sure how to respond to her question. It's difficult to know whether to be ashamed or slightly relieved to see that Maikel's case has been gaining more international recognition and concern than within Egypt. In a positive perspective, pressure from the international community could affect the military council and help rescue Maikel. After an hour and a half we where told by Maikel's fathers' uncle that Maikel had insisted his lawyers remain silent in court until his case is put forth in civil court. So while waiting outside C28 for the judge to rule one of the protesters standing started to chant slogans of her own creation and we all followed. Passersby would sneer, look up to the sky as if to pray “God bring us back to our senses” or simply shower us with insults. In the same way Maikel has been viewed as ‘insane' and sent to a psychiatric hospital for his unbroken determination to be tried in civilian court, we were viewed as a bunch of insane youngsters wasting their time. Many who take time out of their day to participate in a stand they support or make a genuine effort to stand by their principles can often perceived as crazy. When Maikel's lawyers came out eventually another hour and a half later they reported that the judge had called on four witnesses to attend and as a result the trial was postponed to November 13. That would probably be Maikel's 82nd day on hunger strike, a seemingly deliberate delay bringing Maikel closer to his death. When Maikel's car drove out of C28 heartfelt chants of ‘horreya' broke out in the hopes that he would hear our support and get the motivation to keep on fighting. I pray Maikel lives and survives to defy the wishes the military court attempts to mask freedom and justice. In maintaining his stance, Maikel will not only liberate himself but anyone who has yet to overcome social repression and express him or herself. BM
