not depend on what he achieves but on whether he pleases the president. Now we can understand why ministers fall over each other to extol the president, laud his wisdom, and sing the praises of his amazing and historic decisions. Even the minister of manpower, Aisha Abdel Hady, had not the slightest qualms about bending down in public and in front of the media to kiss the hand of Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak.
For all these reasons we are falling behind day by day as the world around us is progressing. Egypt has millions of educated people and thousands of honest people with rare talents who, if given a chance, are quite capable of bringing about a major renaissance within a few years. But despotism is the fundamental reason why Egypt and Egyptians are falling behind.
Democracy is the solution.
January 17, 2010
The Only Way to Evict Mr. Battista
Dr. Galal Amin lives with his English wife, Jan, and his children in an elegant house surrounded by a beautiful garden in the suburb of Maadi. In the summer of 1971, Dr. Amin decided to go to Beirut with his family on a one-year assignment. He had the idea to rent his house and he easily found a tenant—a diplomat from Panama by the name of Mr. Battista. Dr. Amin signed a lease with him for just one year. Battista could live in the house for the year and was expected to leave when the lease expired. Matters proceeded normally but Dr. Amin came back to Egypt at the end of the year to find a surprise awaiting him. Mr. Battista refused to leave the house, arguing that Dr. Amin had not given him notice by registered letter, as the contract required. Dr. Amin tried to convince Battista that he had agreed from the start to lease the house for one year, without the possibility of renewal, and reminded him that he had telephoned him before the lease expired in what amounted to friendly notice that he should leave the house. But Battista requested one postponement after another, kept prevaricating and equivocating about when he would leave, and in the end openly declared he would not leave the house. Dr. Amin had to rent a furnished flat where he lived with his family, but a sense of injustice weighed on him until it became a violent rage.
On Christmas Eve Dr. Amin said to his wife, “Tomorrow we’re going to spend the night at our house.” Throughout the night Dr. Amin made calls to the tenant’s number and then hung up on him without saying a word. He did this dozens of times, depriving Battista of sleep and also putting his nerves on edge. Early the next morning, Dr. Amin hired three carts and put his bags and furniture on them, then knocked on the door of the house. Battista came out and Dr. Amin asked him to vacate the house immediately. Battista pretended to agree, but he lured Dr. Amin to the veranda and then locked all the doors from the inside. Dr. Amin went to his car and brought a steel jack crank and without hesitation smashed the glass doors of the house. The glass flew everywhere and Dr. Amin had cuts that bled until his face and his clothes were covered in blood. But he broke into the house nonetheless and took his bags in without any resistance from Battista, who was terrified at what was happening. Dr. Amin’s wife came and took him to the hospital, where his injuries were bandaged up. Then he went back to the house with bandages on his face. He went inside, lay down on his bed, and told Battista that he must leave immediately.
Battista called the police and the police officer tried to settle the matter amicably. Battista asked for another delay but Dr. Amin refused and insisted he leave the house at once. He said he was prepared to pay in full for Battista to stay in any hotel until he could find other accommodation. At that stage Battista brought up the contract as an argument and gave it to the officer. Dr. Amin then asked to see the contract, took it from the officer, tore it to pieces, and threw the pieces on the floor. The officer was furious with Dr. Amin and went off threatening to take the matter to the highest level. But Dr. Amin, who had prepared for battle by making contact with all the officials he knew, took no notice. He remained lying in bed, despite his injuries, his exhaustion, and the bandages covering his face. At that point Battista realized that he had to give way. He packed up his belongings and walked out of the house, leaving it to its owners.
I read of this incident in the classic book al-Shorouk recently published, the second part of Galal Amin’s autobiography and an exquisite contribution to Arabic literature. As I read what Dr. Amin did with Battista, I was surprised, first, because Galal Amin is one of the greatest and most important Arab intellectuals and, second, because I know him well, for he has been my friend and my mentor for twenty years, and he is certainly one of the most gentle and modest men I know. How could matters come to such a pass that he would behave in this violent manner? The reason is that Dr. Amin realized that this was the only way to recover his house from occupation. He had spoken amicably with Battista often and repeatedly and had given him one postponement after another, but Battista refused to leave. Recourse to legal procedures was bound to waste years before Galal Amin won his rights.
I can’t help but compare what happened in Galal Amin’s house and what is happening in Egypt as a whole. The regime that governs Egypt, just like Battista the tenant, has kept an illegitimate grip on power for thirty years through repression and fraud. For years we have been asking the regime to grant Egyptians their natural right to choose those who govern them and, just like Battista, the regime prevaricates and equivocates in order to retain its monopoly on power, and is even trying to pass it on from President Mubarak to his son, Gamal, after him. Because of despotism and corruption, conditions in Egypt in every field have sunk to rock bottom. Millions of Egyptians suffer from poverty and unemployment and live in conditions unfit for human beings. Every day there are more and more strikes and sit-ins, as though every sector of society is protesting against what is happening.
Question: Given this widespread and growing anger, why is change taking so long? The answer is that Egyptians need to understand, like Galal Amin, that rights are not bestowed but have to be wrested, and that at a certain moment the injured party has to summon up his resolve to obtain his rights, whatever sacrifices he has to make. I am not calling for violence. I am calling for pressure by all peaceful means to wrest back the usurped rights of Egyptians. Egypt is now at a real turning point and more ripe for change than at any time in the past. Egyptians felt great hope when Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei appeared and announced he was joining a national effort to bring about democracy and social justice. I have met Dr. ElBaradei in person and my admiration for him has grown. From up close I sensed ElBaradei’s humility, sincerity, balanced thinking, and deep feeling for the suffering of Egyptians. What matters to Dr. ElBaradei is not standing for the presidency, because he is a person very far from liking power and because his professional and social status make it superfluous to him. Besides, if ElBaradei or anyone else stood for the presidency under the current flawed constitution, which restricts the post to the president and his sons, any candidate would in effect be a trifling extra in the drama of the presidential succession, and that would be a disgrace Dr. ElBaradei and anyone with any self-respect could not accept. ElBaradei’s only cause is reform and his hope is to see his country in the place it deserves. A few days ago he announced the creation of the National Association for Change and called on all Egyptians to join. The aims of this association are to abolish the emergency law, to hold clean and respectable elections under full judicial supervision and international monitoring, and to amend the constitution to allow for equal and fair opportunities to compete for the presidency. The approach ElBaradei advocates deems democratic reform to be the only way toward economic reform and achieving social justice. It is truly gladdening that Dr. ElBaradei’s popularity is growing daily in a manner without precedent. Tens of thousands of Egyptians have declared they support ElBaradei and have full trust in him, and the signature campaign will continue until a million Egyptians have signed. Then we have to move to the confrontation stage. It’s no longer any use begging for our rights by appealing to the regime, because it will not listen. But if a million Egyptians went out to the streets in protest or announced a general strike, if that happened, even once, the regime would immediately heed the people’s demands. Change, as far as it goes, is possible and imminent, but there is a price we have to pay for it. We will not triumph in the battle for change unless we summon up our resolve to recover our rights, whatever the sacrifices might be. It’s the only way to evict Battista.
Democracy
