Arab Spring: by Lotfy Basta MD,FRCP,FRCPE,FACP,FACC,FCCP,FAHA….Jan.17 ,13 Two years ago, almost one million of Egypt’s youth assembled peacefully in Tahrir square of Cairo demanding freedom, justice, equality, dignity and the end to an autocratic regime that robbed them their basic human rights. The whole world watched in awe. The Egyptian uprising became the model for the rest of the world that yearned for Democracy and demanded to be heard. The youth displayed courage, determination and perseverance and willingness to sacrifice in the face of an opposition that killed almost a thousand of them. They felt betrayed when the Muslim Brothers took over and showed their true colors to a watching world. Alas, the subsequent actions of Dr. Morsi, the elected President of Egypt, were disappointing in many ways. He previously denied that 9/11, that killed 3000 Americans, was the work of terrorists (he maintained it was an Israeli-American conspiracy) then he described the Jews as the descendants of Apes and Pigs. More recently he described the millions who marched towards his Palace in the wake of the fraudulent constitution as Copts joined by traitors. His erratic behavior and choice of an incompetent government showed his true colors. He is keen to further the interests of one group (the Muslim Brothers) and did not do anything for Egypt. On the contrary, the nation continued its decline, albeit at a much faster pace, in economy, foreign investments, tourism, available jobs and all other aspects of life in Egypt. No wonder the Egyptian youth became dispirited, dismayed, disappointed, disillusioned and disparate. I want to quote Winston Churchill when he said: “You will make all kinds of mistakes; but as long as you are generous and true, and also fierce, you cannot hurt the world or even seriously distress her. She was made to be wooed and won by youth”. When Thomas Edison discovered the light bulb on the 155th try, he was asked: how did it feel to fail 154 times? His answer was: “I never failed but I learnt the ways that do not work”. I am tempted to quote Churchill again when he said: “If we open a quarrel between the past and the present, we shall find that we have lost the future”. Also “Never give in, never, never, never, never in nothing, great or small, large or petty never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense”. My advice to the youth (as it has always been), forget the past, turn the leaf, look to the future, form the structure that can produce the desired results. There must be distributive justice for everyone (an Egalitarian system) that provides food, quality education, and access to health care and basic necessities to every citizen. At the same time, build a system (with Egyptians who have experience and know-how), that rewards talent, hard work, perseverance and merit without regard for anything else and in an environment that provides security and certainty. Over two decades ago South Korea was identical to Egypt in demographics (population) and per capita income. Today, South Korea is one of the three best nations in education (with Canada and Finland), it has sixty million citizens and the income per Capita exceeds ten times that of Egypt. It is considered a haven of innovation. They established the national priorities, developed the engine to produce and implement Democracy Korean style in which they maintained their own values of hard work, respect for the elderly, reverence for their elected rulers (who are subject to the law of the land), strog families and recognition that no religion can deliver either the needs of the Korean masses or would it be able to reward innovation. It is only human to be driven by vengeance but we must rise above it and create an environment in which new businesses can thrive. It is high time when secularists, liberals, women’s groups and various religions coalesce under ONE leader and ONE platform to build a new Egypt. The current regime will prove: “Those who smother others eventually smother themselves”.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Jun 2013 15:04:59 +0000
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