The Egyptian Revolution: A Carnival of Rage and Comic Defiance!

An examination of the demise of the Mubarak regime through the eyes of Egyptians, whose lives were, until now and, ironically, still in many ways, defined by it, is a helpful tool to understand the current situation of people revolting in the name of “bread, freedom and social justice.”

 When the youth protesters first took to Cairo’s Tahrir Square on January 25 2011, they chanted their desire, among other things, for a state that promised social justice, unity, and equal rights for all. Even though they committed violent acts at times, most of these youngsters were longing for a new and democratic Egypt it seemed. They strongly believed that what was experienced in Tahrir at the outset of the Revolution would materialize in real social and political life.

 Recently however, the opposition group the National Salvation Front (NSF) called for a protest against the Islamist government to “continue the Revolution” and reiterate "demands" for the dismissal of the current government, the amendment of the recently-approved constitution and the appointment of a new prosecutor-general.

The nation-wide demonstrations that took place over the last few days were to show solidarity with Port Said, Suez, and Ismailia. In addition to a march on Wednesday, the Opposition, the National Salvation Front (NSF) announced that there would be a large rally on Friday in Tahrir Square and all other main squares across Egypt (mainly the cities north of Cairo in and around the Nile Delta). The cities, south of Cairo in Upper Egypt are often not part of the uprising, reportedly due to the strong presence of Islamists and/or the high level of illiteracy and poverty.

New types of protesters are joining in!

I have attended demonstrations, watching Egyptian protesters since the summer of 2011. Last week, attendees of the demonstrations were a new mélange of people. They were not simply overwhelmingly youth, bearded Islamist men or middle class persons. There were many “ordinary” Egyptians, and the diversity that that represents, who were fiercely fighting the police and burning buildings.  Many of these “ordinary” Egyptians were not affiliated with any political group or religious organization.

It is quite possible that many of these people have never cared to vote. However, this illuminates the depth of the political impasse in this country and, by the same token, it shows how it is important to deal seriously with the socioeconomic injustices that Egypt has been suffering over the last few decades.

Poor education, unemployment, poverty and disenfranchisement created a reservoir of resentment against Mubarak’s regime and now against the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) government. This rage is simmering not only among the youth who revolted against Mubarak and now the MB, but also among the many newcomers to the world of Egyptian protests.

There are reasons to believe that these protests will only escalate, due to the stagnant political reform process, lack of confidence in basic government services, and social justice gap. Protesters perceive the MB government as one that is working to maintain the status quo, which has triggered something akin to a Muslim Brother-phobia among many Egyptians.

As a result, every few weeks there is an explosion of violence. Notably however, what happened in the Suez Canal Zone cities has nothing to do with the political games between the Islamists and their opponents in Cairo. Rather, they were provoked to protest for reasons that are intimate to their day-to-day life. This is an example of “ordinary” Egyptians joining the protests. Egyptians have time and again tried the ballot box; they have been through six elections in two years, with no avail. They see no progress. Frustration is widespread. There is a feeling on the ground that two years have been wasted in this painful transitional period, first under the rule of the military, and now under the Islamists.

Until there are responsive politicians and a capable government, able to deal seriously with the problems of economy, security and political reform, unrest will continue, putting yet more strain on this fragile society and economy. It seems as if political forces in Egypt lack the ability to find ways to deal with the age-old political authoritarianism and socioeconomic injustice. Many citizens in the Middle East, not only in Egypt, feel that the wave of uprisings has produced many politicians whose ambition far exceeds their capacity and personal quality.  Fortunately or unfortunately, transition periods are learning processes that the region has to live through.

 The carnival of rage, misery and comic defiance

 After two years of non-stop uprising, Egyptians do not “do'' curfews, they go out in the street to watch what a curfew looks like and soon join in! There was a joke that came out as a headline in one of Cairo’s newspaper today saying that one of the biggest problems with the curfew is that there were so many people in the streets! A few days later, Morsi was forced to reconsider the state of emergency he imposed in the Canal Zone cities. He reconsidered after he realized that no one would ever respect him or his government, or any tyranny for that matter.

Ismailia and Port Said have witnessed mass demonstrations in defiance of President Morsi’s decision. Soldiers from the Second Army, deployed in Port Said, allowed a 2000-strong protest to pass through checkpoint, breaking the curfew. After midnight, the shops and street cafes of Suez were still open. The army, for its part, has not been interfering or trying to impose the curfew.

 In Ismailia, residents organized football games in front of the governorate headquarters in a show of defiance. Some of the audiences were soldiers from the Third Army, deployed in the city. The media reported on the curfew football tournament in Ismailia, in which a team named "Revolution" beat a team called “Shater” (named after the most powerful man within the Muslim Brothers) five to zero!

Setting aside any positive elements of what might be happening in the Egyptian scene (such as more people feeling emboldened), it is clear that the country cannot sustain its current course. Radical moves and political courage need to manifest.

 A mixture of rage and comedic defiance has been the hallmark of the Arab Spring, particularly in the Egyptian scene. Protest and revolution shake the Arab world’s peoples in this painful transitional process. However, when looking at these macro-processes, it is inevitable to take into account the strategic reserve of soft power and the vast reservoir of tradition making sense of life under harsh conditions of political tyranny, religious extremism and social conservatism. Mixing misery with humorous acts has always been a means of survival in the history of Egyptians. Even when they are not revolting, Egyptian humor has been their defense against apathy and atomization.

 This mix of rage, misery and comic defiance makes political activism in the street seem like a spectacle and carnival; from afar, it might seem insane.  In his idea of the carnival, the great Russian literary critic and semiotician, Mikhail Bhaktin, emphasized that the act of carnival liberates, transgresses and subverts. If the carnival is locked into the dictates of the ruling clique (whether political or religious tyrannies), perhaps then it becomes merely a contained performance of freedom, as opposed to genuine freedom. However, the defiance of curfew through the organization of a traditional music festival in Port Said and football games in Ismailia with winners and losers representing political forces, is an act of intended subversion and, definitely of liberation.

 I am not exaggerating if I say that the brave youth of Egypt are fighting the battle of freedom for the good of the entire region. If it goes bad here, it will go worse everywhere else. There is a shared destiny. Youngsters in Tunisia, Libya, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq and the Gulf are very likely to be looking at Egypt with great anxiety.