Arabs, Come to Palestine!

Palestine is probably the only place where it is great to be Egyptian! Pats on the back, insistent coffee invitations, and even thumbs up from vegetable vendors and even two lunch invitations from pretty girls.. All in my first 48 hours here.

And I'm not even talking about the "Revolution effect" (whereby we are cool for having toppled a dictator!) but simply, "The Arab Effect". Yep, Arabs are feted here!

"We're always excited when Arabs come and visit. It's very rare to see them here, and even less those from Arab countries who aren't dual citizens..."

I then have to explain that it's not for lack of affection vis-a-vis Palestine that we are capricious guests - it is, sadly, logistics.

North American and European citizens can get an Israeli visa on arrival. They are likely to be grilled by the customs officers if they have Arab-sounding names, but they’ll (probably) be let in eventually).

For us though, getting to Palestine necessitates an Israeli visa. Which, I believe, only Jordanians and Egyptians can apply for in their home countries. Other nationalities can apply in third countries, but (virtually) none ever do.
Getting an Israeli visa is no piece of cake - and the Israelis aren't very generous with the stamp. But the larger worry isn't the Israeli but the Egyptian (or Jordanian) authorities. Going to Palestine/Israel (which are the same unit as far as the Egyptian authorities are concerned) required a special permit, an exit visa if you will, which entails that you will be investigated, and possible called-in, by the State Security and Intelligence services. And it means that one will have at record with the State Security (or national security, to use the new name!) apparatus. The thought is dreadful enough to discourage most people.

Another concern keeping Arabs from visiting Palestine is that they refuse, out of principle, applying for the visa - getting permission from - the occupying country to visit.

I can relate to both concerns. For the longest time I vowed I would "only have an Israeli visa until I had a Palestinian visa on the preceding page".
But it is, let's face it, a long wait.
And as Dina, whom I met in Bethlehem, tells me, "It is also religiously acceptable to demand permission from one's enemy when this is the only way".

As for the former concern - well, it's a choice. I've travelled to Palestine before and, well, we can't let State Security frighten us into inaction. And we all know that's always been one of their preferred methods of deterrence, of immobilization.

Why is it important for us as Arabs to get to know Palestine?

Well because it's one thing to learn about resolutions 194, 242, peace conferences, politicians, and what have you - and quite another to walk the grounds of the Prophets and be greeted by their descendants.

Because you don't know Bethlehem if you aren't, at least once, bewildered by the cacophony of church bells and Azans as sundown brings along a breeze on Manger square.

Because your idea of the old city of Jerusalem shouldn't be that of a virtual map with Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Armenian quarters and so on - but it should make you think of spices. And candy stores. And the "6 for 10 shekels!" vendors. And the religious tourists in "Hard Rock cafe Jerusalem" t-shirts taking turns to carry a wooden cross.

Because you should know Ramallah as the city where the streets around Manara square seem to always be gutted for some endless public works, not simply where the Government sits. Because you should know both where the Muqata - but also where the latest en-vogue restaurant are. And because you should curse the design/acoustics/location/whatever it is you don't like about the Ramallah Cultural Palace, before forgetting all that and losing yourself in a beautiful poetry reading, exciting concert, or heartbreaking play.

Because Jenin should not only invoke memories of a massacre in a refugee camp, but also of thick, rich, greens woods and fresh pine-smelling breeze.

Because Jaffa shouldn't be a hypothetical 'land of oranges and lemons', but also that of a great sunset on the beach and of incredibly tasty pastries from Abul Afieh.

And because Al-Aqsa and the Haram-al-Sharif mean nothing if you haven't watched kids play football, families picnic, and men and women praying in the same common space in perfect harmony - and perhaps even prayed, outside on the esplanade, under the drizzle, and kissed the ancient stones as you prostrated on the ground, before socializing with the thousands of men and women whose 'neighbourhood mosque' is one of the most historically and spiritually-rich constructions in history.

I'd also add that, while here, one should also meet and acquaint themselves with Israel and Israelis - first as a highly important element in understanding the modern-day Palestinian dilemma, but also because confronting one's preconceived ideas with reality is an irreplaceable experience. But that's a different story altogether.

In the meantime though, I am giving you the message I've been asked to deliver by the wonderful people of this land: Arabs, all of you, if you can, don’t hesitate: Come to Palestine!

[Photo is a my edit to the famous 1936 'Visit Palestine' poster. Feel free to use and spread!]

Egypt Rebuilds as the Revolution Continues [Interview]

My (pretty long) interview for The Next Web discussed moments of the revolution, as well as the effect (or lack thereof?) of social media on the genesis and the unfolding of the revolution.

There are a couple of mistakes - most notably, I said that 'official' opposition newspapers (which belong to opposition parties) are read pretty much by the people who read them; whereas independent newspapers are widely read - Al Masry Al Youm prints twice as many copies as Al Ahram, for instance.

I'd also have edited myself a little more - apparently I said 'bloody' an awful lot. Oh well!

Read on - and drop me a comment...

["Twitter, Al Jazeera, Facebook" - on Tahrir Square]

In Bethlehem for TEDxRamallah!

I am currently in Bethlehem, Palestine, to attend and participate in TEDxRamallah on Saturday 16th. I will be sharing a few stories from the Egyptian revolution - and I'm very excited about the event!

If you are in Palestine, then you should very much be here. If not, the event will be livestreamed, and I strongly urge you to watch - not for my talk, mind you, but for other presenters'. I've attended the rehearsals and am amazed, humbled, and inspired.

I'll also be in country for the following couple of weeks inshallah. If you're around...

Update: My slides are downloadable here.

I'm slowly putting together my personal website, which will be at eldahshan.com. check it out. (preferably in a couple of weeks. :)

People fighting with 'protesters' to remove the barricades - Photos and Video

Essentially some people - hard to call them protesters but it pains me to call them thugs - have decided to block Tahrir square to traffic in the aftermath of the bloody attack by the army and the police last Friday.
We're talking a couple of dozens at most - and while the majority of people find blocking the square to be absurd, they obstinately held on to their barricades.

They were, by the way, removed last night by force. (Which is another complicated matter altogether because even though I am glad the square is now open to traffic, I dislike the idea of army intervention..)

Below is a video and a few photos of such engagements earlier in the day between people, and those blockaders:

9 April 2010. Army attacks protesters during the night.

I’ve been feeling like I did on the 29th of January, the day after the Friday of rage. ‘Panic’ is the closest description I can find. I am hyperventilating as I read the emails, the testimonies, the news, the pictures, the videos.

Panic because, after all the confusion we’ve been pushing through in the past months and a half, things are suddenly getting clearer. And it’s confirming what I had suspected since the very beginning.

The Egyptian army, coordinating with the Central Security (the 'amn markazy', a branch of the police) have, 2 hours before dawn, attacked the peaceful protestors camped in Tahrir square. They fired live ammunition at them. More than 70 were wounded and at least two were killed.

I guess the day we found illegal surveillance files at the State Security headquarters, the army found the SS playbook. Pre-dawn attacks; bogus charges (‘breaking curfew’? Seriously?); completely trumped charges (‘thuggery’); and torture.

Eye-witnesses describe how the army has return to the camp to ‘set up the scene’ for what would be their version of the events; that they were dealing with an unruly bunch of thugs who had to be handled.

Where does that leave us? Well I reckon an increasing number of people will find it more difficult to trust the army, whose attacks can be understood in light of the pressure that has been building against them.

After a series of Friday demonstrations that had carnivalesque airs, the past two demonstrations - Friday April 1st and April 8th were among the largest, but more importantly the most focused on a set of demands - largely to have the figureheads of the previous regime indicted.

The People Demand Retribution.

People - the People - are beginning to get their act together and DEMAND concrete actions from an army that it is feeling, rightly, that people’s patience is running thin.

In this context then, I view the latest attack - far from the first, mind you - as the army’s warning to protestors. A stretching of muscles, if you will. ‘We are being nice to you but we can be otherwise’.

But it’s a dangerous game the army is playing. True, we turned to the army to stand on our side in the face of Mubarak and his police. The army knows that we have no one to turn to now.

But to ourselves. And there’s no saying how this will end.