Blogging And Tweeting, Egyptians Push For Change
Ahmed Nasser (right) and Shahinaz Abdel-Wahab hand out petitions for better governance in Cairo. -
Young Egyptians are using social media to fight police brutality and urge a more open government. Critics say that not a single Arab dictator has been overthrown by protests on the Web. But young activists say their goal is to raise awareness among Egyptians.
Wael Abbas is one of the leading bloggers in Egypt's social media movement. So when he tweeted the proceedings of a recent trial involving the Web, his words were widely read.
"The judge himself said, 'I don't understand the Internet.' How can you be a judge in a case that you don't understand anything about?" Abbas tapped out the details on his cell phone, sitting on a wooden bench at the back of the court.
(Deborah Amos / NPR)
This trial, against two leading human rights activists and a well-known blogger, is another example of a government crackdown on social media activists who use Facebook, Twitter and YouTube as tools of protest. Gamal Eid, Ahmed Seif and Amr Gharbeia are charged with defamation, the use of threats and the misuse of communication. The serious charges could result in fines and prison terms.
As the defendants faced the judge, other young bloggers added to the chorus of details streaming out of the packed courtroom and onto the Web.
"They monitor the trials. I was following the minute details," says Said Sadek, a sociology professor at the American University in Cairo. Sadek monitors the social media movement and the generation behind it: Egypt's baby boomers, a majority in a country where two-thirds of the population is under 30.
"They see the future as bleak," Sadek says. "They don't know about the job, marriage, housing -- they see torture. They see corruption. They see rigged elections. What can they do? Of course: The only tool in their hands is their fingertips. And the keyboard."
Egypt's social media movement is the oldest and largest in the Arab world, with thousands of bloggers online. The movement is a model in a region where young people are the majority. Technology is drastically changing their lives. Smart phones and Internet cafes are widely available. Some 15 million Egyptians are Web users.
At the office of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, an independent human rights organization, Ramy Raoof, the online media and press officer, looks at his computer screen.
"Tweets," he says. "We have millions of tweets going, day by day. I always send live pictures from any demonstrations. Pictures and videos."
Media activists also post names of police officers accused of beating demonstrators or torturing prisoners. This is a new challenge to state authority, and it has forced some government action.
Bloggers took up the case of Khalid Said, a young businessman who witnesses say was dragged out of an Internet cafe by police and beaten to death on the street.
More than 10,000 Egyptians responded to a Facebook call for protests, and an Egyptian hip-hop group posted a dedication to Said's case on YouTube. The government was forced to open an investigation in a case that was widely seen as government-sanctioned police brutality.
For the social media movement, the Khalid Said campaign was the most successful yet, but the movement continues to play a cat-and-mouse game with Egyptian authorities, who are now keeping a close watch on Web sites and jailing activists.
"The Ministry of Interior, they are not stupid. They are very smart people," Raoof says. "They know about Twitter and Facebook. As we are improving ourselves online, they are also doing the same."
"Those people are really revolutionary," Sadek, the professor, says of the bloggers. "They are breaking from this malfunctioning system and trying to do something different."
The Egyptian government has reacted with tentative political steps to counter the bloggers, but they have mostly failed, Sadek says. He points to the website for President Hosni Mubarak, the 82-year-old leader of the country.
"It is still under construction," Sadek says. "The presidency is still under construction. And that shows you."
But the Egyptian government has found other tools to suppress the movement, says Marc Lynch, director of the Institute for Middle East Studies at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
"Once they figured out they were a challenge, they throw them in jail," Lynch says. "A few of them get international campaigns. Most of them don't, and that has a chilling effect."
The early excitement of the pioneers of the social media movement has been dimmed as a tool to bring democracy to Egypt.
"That first generation of bloggers and activists has been deeply frustrated. Many of these people thought that there was a chance for change, and they found out that they were wrong."
At 34, Wael Abbas is part of the first generation of bloggers. He lives on the outskirts of Cairo. The most prominent furnishings in his sparsely decorated apartment are a computer and a large TV.
Keeping the lights low against the summer heat, Abbas spends his spare time watching Arabic translations of the cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants -- a hero, he says, because SpongeBob is an ordinary guy doing good things.
Abbas, one of the oldest bloggers, says he tried to do good things, too, but now he's pessimistic about a movement he helped to define.
"I know the limits of social media," he says. "I know what we can win and what we can lose."
He knows because he's been arrested for his online journalism. And he's often detained for hours at the airport when he returns to Egypt, as the government increases surveillance of activists and Web sites, Abbas says.
"They are getting smarter, and they are getting tougher and stronger," he says. But his complaints are also against the international community, and especially the U.S. government, for diluting support for the democracy movement in Egypt.
"Nobody gives a damn of what's going on in Egypt," Abbas says. "Mubarak is a friend, and he's allowing McDonald's and Hardee's and Pizza Hut. To hell with the Egyptian people. If they want democracy, we don't care."
But on the streets of a working-class neighborhood, a new group of democracy activists are collecting signatures. They hand out petitions calling for an end to rigged elections in Egypt.
Ahmed Nasser, a young lawyer, says it is up to his generation to reform Egypt.
"I don't want for my generation to be like the one before, because they are responsible for what we are in now," he says as he hands out petitions. "I am from this generation, a new one, and I want it to be different."
Nasser is part of the April 6th Movement, which started as a Facebook group to support striking laborers. Since then, the group has moved from computer protests to actions on the streets.
Nasser hands a petition to passerby Mustapha Abbas Khalil, a government bureaucrat who is out for a shopping trip. Khalil reads the demands and agrees to sign, including his full name. And he recites his I.D. number to be sure that Nasser gets it right.
Does Khalil think that Egypt's young generation can change the country? "Inshallah," says Khalil -- God willing.
Deborah Amos' report is a collaboration with America Abroad, a monthly public radio program about international affairs. America Abroad is currently producing a three-part series on the challenges confronting Arab youth.
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RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
Walk down most any busy street in the Middle East and you'll see young people, lots of them. In fact, two-thirds of the people in the region are under the age of 30. It's a youth bulge that points to the possibility of dramatic change. Many of these young people are educated, yet jobs are scarce and in an era of new forms of communication the young are much more aware than their parents of the world beyond their borders. We begin an occasional series on youth in the Middle East in Cairo, where social media like Facebook and Twitter are the new tools of protest for a struggling generation. Here's NPR's Deborah Amos.
DEBORAH AMOS: It is a sweltering summer day and this Cairo courtroom is packed with lawyers and observers. The standing crowd strains to hear the judge in a case against three human rights activists. They're charged with defaming a government official on the Internet - a serious offense. It's an important case for Egypt's Facebook generation, says 22-year-old blogger Mahmoud Sabre.
Mr. MAHMOUD SABRE (Blogger): Definitely the government's trying all of the ways to shut down the blogosphere and the actions and everything we are doing.
AMOS: Everything they're doing is on display inside the courtroom where bloggers turn this private trial into a public event.
Mr. WAEL ABBAS: We were tweeting, actually, trying to tell the people whats going on inside the court.
AMOS: And so you tweeted the whole trial?
Mr. ABBAS: Yeah, yeah.
AMOS: Wael Abbas tapped out every detail on his phone including this observation about the judge.
Mr. ABBAS: And the judge himself said that, I dont understand the Internet, I never use the Internet. And how can you be a judge in a case that you dont understand anything about?
(Soundbite of phone ringing)
AMOS: The Internet is well understood by many here. It's the office of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. And Ramy Raoof demonstrates what's on his computer.
Mr. RAMY RAOFF (Office of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights): Tweets, we have million of tweets going day by day, so...
AMOS: So on your photo stream, what do you have?
Mr. RAOFF: I always send live pictures from any demonstrations, pictures and videos. Thats it.
AMOS: Media activists also post names of police officers accused of beating demonstrators or torturing prisoners, says Raoof. He uses new technologies to turn a cell phone into a device that can stream live video directly onto the Web.
Mr. RAOOF: Once we go live broadcasting, the cell phone turns to red lights. So the police officers around us come to us and ask us what are you doing, excuse me.
AMOS: So this is a cat and mouse game?
Mr. RAOOF: The ministry of interior, they are not stupid. They are very smart people. So they know about Twitter, about Facebook, about - as we are improving ourselves online, they are also doing the same.
AMOS: This is a new challenge to state authority, says professor Said Sadek, who monitors the social media movement and the generation behind it.
Professor SAID SADEK: They see the future bleak. They dont know about the job, marriage, housing, they see torture. They see corruption. What can they do? Of course the only tool in their hands is, you know, their fingertips and the keyboard. And they use that as a tool for, you know, raising awareness.
AMOS: This awareness has forced the government to take some action, says Sadek. Bloggers have documented cases of police torture, sexual harassment, and government corruption, stories that are picked up by popular satellite stations and then the print press.
Mr. SADEK: So those people are really revolutionary, they are breaking from this malfunctioning system and trying to do something different. If you go to the presidential site of the president of Egypt, it is still under construction, the presidency is under construction. And that shows you.
AMOS: Egypt's social media movement is the oldest and the largest in the Arab world, a model in a region where young people are the majority, and new technologies, from smart phones to Internet cafes, are available almost everywhere. But like Iran's green movement and its widespread Web campaign, Egyptian bloggers haven't been able to deliver much in the way of lasting change.
Marc Lynch is the Director of the Institute of Middle East Studies at George Washington University, and he follows these movements.
Mr. MARC LYNCH (George Washington University): That first generation of bloggers and of activists have been deeply frustrated. Many of these people thought that there was a chance for change and they found out that they were wrong.
(Soundbite of typing)
AMOS: One member of that generation is Wael Abbas. On this day, at his apartment, the lights are off and he's watching an Arabic translation of the cartoon Spongebob Squarepants.
(Soundbite of TV show, "Spongebob Squarepants")
Unidentified Woman (Actor): (as character) (Speaking in foreign language)
Unidentified Man (Actor): (as character) (Speaking in foreign language)
AMOS: His favorite, he says, because Spongebob is an ordinary guy who does good things. At 34, Abbas is one of the oldest bloggers. He says he tried to do good things but is now pessimistic about the movement.
Mr. ABBAS: And I dont want people to be disillusioned. I know my limits. I know the limits of social media. And I know what we can win and what we can lose.
AMOS: He knows because he's been arrested more than once for his online journalism. At first the Mubarek government ignored the bloggers. Now there's increased government surveillance of activists and websites, says Abbas.
Mr. ABBAS: They are getting smarter and they are getting tougher and stronger and the international pressure on them is not as it used to be in the past. Nobody gives a damn about whats going on in Egypt. Mubarak is a friend and hes allowing McDonalds and Hardys and Pizza Hut. To the hell with the Egyptian people. If they want democracy, we dont care.
(Soundbite of traffic)
AMOS: Here on the streets of a working class neighborhood, a new group of activists collects signatures. They're handing out a petition calling for an end to rigged elections in Egypt. There is corruption everywhere, says Ahmed Nasser, a young lawyer. We have to do something now.
Mr. AHMED NASSER (Lawyer): I dont want for my generation to be like the one before, because they are responsible for what we are in now. I am from this (unintelligible) new one, and I want it to be different. Thats why Im working from that.
AMOS: Nasser is a part of the April 6th movement. It started as a Facebook group that supported striking laborers. Then April 6th moved from computer screen protest to actions on the street.
Mr. MUSTAPHA ABBAS KHALIL: Mustapha Abbas Khalil.
AMOS: Nasser hands a petition to passerby Mustapha Abbas Khalil. He reads the demands and he agrees to sign. He includes his ID number and his full name.
Do you think that these young people are brave to be doing what they are doing?
Mr. KHALIL: Yes.
AMOS: And does he think these young people can bring change to Egypt? Yes, he says, God willing.
Mr. KHALIL: (Foreign language spoken)
Mr. NASSER: He trusts us, we are his children.
AMOS: Deborah Amos, NPR News.
(Soundbite of music)
MONTAGNE: Deborah's report is a collaboration with America Abroad. That's a monthly public radio program about international affairs. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
