LITMIR.BIZ

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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 is the solution.

       February 28, 2010

      What Do Egyptians Expect

      from ElBaradei?

      The political system in Egypt is facing a veritable crisis because President Mubarak (to whom we wish a speedy recovery) may have to retire at any moment and because the regime, despite its great efforts to market Gamal Mubarak, has completely failed to convince Egyptians that the son is worthy of the presidency. On top of that, most Egyptians fundamentally reject the idea of hereditary succession, whether for Gamal Mubarak or anyone else, and insist on their natural right to choose their rulers. At the same time Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei has succeeded in portraying himself as a real leader for Egyptians in the battle for change. The broad popular support ElBaradei now enjoys is a rare political phenomenon seen only a few times in our history, with Saad Zaghloul, Gamal Abdel Nasser, and Mustafa al-Nahhas. Egyptians from various intellectual and political trends have come together in support of ElBaradei—Islamists, Copts, socialists, liberals, Nasserists, Wafdists, and, most important of all, millions of ordinary Egyptians who have seen in ElBaradei a leader who embodies their dreams of justice and freedom. Given the crisis in the system and the widespread support for ElBaradei, it might be useful for us to ask what Egyptians expect from ElBaradei. In brief the answer is as follows:

      First, Dr. ElBaradei held a senior international position as director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency and such people do not stop working when they retire from so high a position. As soon as they leave their posts they receive a barrage of invitations to give lectures and take part in various international activities. Egyptians expect that Dr. ElBaradei will eventually settle in Egypt and give priority to leading a national campaign, because a leader who defends the rights of the nation must always remain on the field of battle. I trust that Dr. ElBaradei will remember what Mustafa al-Nahhas did when he took over the leadership of the Wafd Party in 1927. At the time he was a big well-known lawyer but as soon as he became party leader he withdrew from legal practice, closed his office, and made his famous remark: “Today I have become an advocate for the whole nation, so I can no longer defend individuals in court.”

      Second, before the appearance of ElBaradei several national movements for change had sprung up, the most important of which was the Kefaya movement, which deserves most of the credit for breaking the barrier of fear for Egyptians. The Kefaya members who defied the emergency law, who were hit on the head by riot police, and who put up with detention and torture are the ones who won back for the whole nation the right to demonstrate and go on strike. They are the true fathers of the protest movements that have now proliferated from one end of Egypt to the other, although all movements for change in Egypt, including the Kefaya movement, have suffered from

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