A friend rightly pointed out this morning that Egypt and Pakistan are two different countries, two different cultures, two different societies. I mentioned this in passing in my previous post highlighting Dunne and Nawaz's piece in the New York Times asking if Egypt can avoid Pakistan's fate. When I initially read the headline of the NYT piece I was a bit skeptical--I hate easy situational comparisons that ignore differences between countries (Egypt is becoming Pakistan! Turkey is becoming Iran! Afghanistan is our Vietnam!). Glosses over too much. And if it's simplistic enough to be featured on CNN, it's probably wrong.
I think another important thing to mention is the liberals/activists/more Western-oriented individuals, whatever you want to call them, still have faith there is a place for them in Egypt. They're engaging in their communities and politics (although to varying degrees of success) and many are moving back to Egypt to contribute to this new society. Most people I met from Pakistan, however, that fit this bill have left and never looked back. A few months ago I met a girl on an airplane from Pakistan and she said there was no space in society for people like her. To me, Pakistan should be worried about this when the best and brightest feel disassociated and unwelcome. At the bare minimum, they will be unable to shake their economic stagnation without engaging these sectors of society.
But regarding Egypt's decision to try 19 Americans in a case linked to foreign funding of NGOs, SCAF is obviously playing politics here. It's easy to divert attention from an economy in the toilet when you're deflecting blame to foreign elements. It's also an easy way to maintain support of an otherwise antsy public--Egypt's under siege by the Americans/Israelis/whoever. Best to maintain unity.
I am torn about whether or not the United States should pull aid funding. We'd be playing politics right back. According to Gallup, Egyptians overwhelmingly don't even want the money, but the aid was never about what Egyptians want. It is more for pursuing United States priorities.
I think another important thing to mention is the liberals/activists/more Western-oriented individuals, whatever you want to call them, still have faith there is a place for them in Egypt. They're engaging in their communities and politics (although to varying degrees of success) and many are moving back to Egypt to contribute to this new society. Most people I met from Pakistan, however, that fit this bill have left and never looked back. A few months ago I met a girl on an airplane from Pakistan and she said there was no space in society for people like her. To me, Pakistan should be worried about this when the best and brightest feel disassociated and unwelcome. At the bare minimum, they will be unable to shake their economic stagnation without engaging these sectors of society.
But regarding Egypt's decision to try 19 Americans in a case linked to foreign funding of NGOs, SCAF is obviously playing politics here. It's easy to divert attention from an economy in the toilet when you're deflecting blame to foreign elements. It's also an easy way to maintain support of an otherwise antsy public--Egypt's under siege by the Americans/Israelis/whoever. Best to maintain unity.
I am torn about whether or not the United States should pull aid funding. We'd be playing politics right back. According to Gallup, Egyptians overwhelmingly don't even want the money, but the aid was never about what Egyptians want. It is more for pursuing United States priorities.
Don't assume the Americans' arrest was SCAF-affiliated...the generals don't have as tight a lid on things as they want us to think..
ReplyDelete-Gamal Ra'us