CAIRO - “Beladi, Beladi” (My Country, My Country)… does this sound familiar to you? It should if you are Egyptian or if you live here. It is our national anthem. So music does connect people to their countries somehow and of course we have loads of songs and anthems to prove this point. Last Saturday, I was going to attend a festival called “Street Music Revolution”, featuring many local bands and the last time I checked it was going to be attended by 2,188 people. This festival was somehow meant to celebrate the revolution. When I first heard of it I was happy because we have been through a lot over the past seven months and we need something to cheer us up if possible. Of course, I heard that the festival might be cancelled after Friday's demonstration and I called some friends who were supposed to take part in it, but they didn't answer. I wasn't sure whether they were busy or detained, which seems to be the trend these days. I finally decided not to go. Frankly, I was in a bad mood in the first place. Who wouldn't be? It's our country you know. Revolutions could be very entertaining and also very funny. I'm serious… hilarious rumours have been spreading about April 6 Movement, which played a major and very positive role in the revolution. Some police officers claim that the movement hired snipers to kill demonstrators during the revolution. How hilarious is this? Do they really expect anyone to believe it? We all know that corrupt policemen did it and they must be prosecuted. Ironically, the names of murder are known and have been announced, but no appropriate action has been taken. I just found out that a 17-year-old girl in Alexandria died after spending six months in a coma. She was trying to protect her brother and stood in the way of the bullets aimed at him. Still the bullets killed him in January. Incidentally, the police officer who killed them both is not a member of the April 6 Movement. Amr Gharbeya, who is a member of Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, was detained few days a go for having long hair, so someone thought the man is a spy! He was also accused of being an activist and of the possession of a cell phone! How could he do this? He must have been conspiring against Egypt for a long time. Are we supposed to believe that people with mobiles are the enemy? I know what it means to be called “a spy”. I was accused of being one on February 3, just for wanting to go to Tahrir Square's Field Hospital. I was escorted to the barricades and was interrogated by a military man the same one who said “food should be taken from those who are trying to get it into Tahrir Square and thrown in the Nile”. A friend told me that she was stopped from taking medicines to the wounded at the same hospital. Of course, these poor average soldiers didn't have the power to authorise this. The orders were given by superior officers, who wanted to starve demonstrators. I'm sure you will remember the Battle of the Camel and we've all seen videos of those who allowed them in to kill demonstrators. Judging by their uniform, they were not members of the April 6 Movement. I wonder why a tank didn't stop those thugs that day. Of course, this movement was recently accused of working for America and Israel... the very same America Mubarak used to visit every three seconds. If America is really trying to destroy Egypt, our army shouldn't accept the annual US aid of $3 billion, I think. As for the Israelis, I don't think they wanted to overthrow the man who gave them natural gas for peanuts. That's not to mention many other benefits. If members of the April 6 Movement were accused of having military training abroad to sabotage our country, then this should be proved, with evidence. Only then we will believe it and fight the movement ourselves. Those who have other intentions or motives say unbelievable things to throw the blame on others and give the impression that they are angels, which only insults the intelligence of many. Others manipulate civilians and turn them against the revolution. The perfect example was on Saturday when the people of Abbaseya were brainwashed into fighting demonstrators. Many of my friends were injured and I haven't been able to contact some of them since then. Are they injured or detained? Only time will tell. I remember that we kept looking for a friend, who went missing on January 28, only to find his body in a morgue five weeks later. People like him and other demonstrators gave their time, effort, money and even lives to make Egypt a better country. They didn't ask for personal benefits they wanted all Egyptians to have the basic rights citizens of other countries have. Don't tell me that this is a conspiracy. People are in Tahrir Square and demonstrations are taking place because we still feel Mubarak is in control. We have been getting nothing but promises and, if things don't change, then people will not just sit and watch. We know that some of the demands require a long time, but the rest don't. So prove your good intentions and give us what we want. Give us our rights and we will be happy. Is it too much to ask? I have one question to ask those who are against the revolution… did you think that Egypt was doing fine during the days of Mubarak? It was only getting worse all the time. The revolution was just a reaction to all that injustice, corruption and so on. Some so-called artists took advantage of the current situation to hog the limelight, like that elderly actress who has threatened to strip if demonstrators stay in Tahrir Square! What an excuse! Even if she does, I don't think anyone will be interested in watching. Ironically, instead of scolding her, some regard her as a heroine! She represents the kind of people who will only bring Egypt down. Shame on her… and on them. But if she is willing to strip in public then she knows no shame. We are not naïve to expect things to be OK in a couple of hours. It will take many years to get Egypt on its feet again, but of course it is worth it. Arrest me: [email protected]
