The Luxor lesson.........................................................Aasim Zafar Khan The Luxor lessonIf you look at the map, upper Egypt is actually in the south. While this seems like a major geographical faux pas, the fact is that Egypt is governed by the River Nile, which as it so happens, flows from south to north. So, if you go down the Nile, youre actually going up, in the Egyptian sense. No matter. Well stick with the Egyptian compass for this one. Go up the Nile and down south lies the city of the dead, Luxor. With a population of nearly 500,000 people, Luxor is nothing more than a dusty village. Yet, it is the core of the Egyptian tourism magnet. Luxor is home to some of the most dramatic remnants of Egypts glorious Pharaonic past: the sprawling temple of Karnak, which was completed over a period of 2000 years, and is the site of numerous architectural marvels, including the famous Hypostyle hall, a 5,000 square metre area with 134 gigantic columns arranged in 16 rows. On the west bank is the Valley of the Kings, where between the 16th and 11th century BC, tombs were made for the Pharaohs and other noblemen. To date, 63 tombs of varying lengths and depths have been uncovered, including those of the most famous Egyptian kings: Tutankhamun and Ramses the second. Close by lies the Valley of the Queens, where most notably Queen Nefertari, wife of Ramses is buried. Then theres the temple of Hatshepsut and a splattering of other temples and burial grounds in and around this great necropolis. Yet, today Luxor is empty, a dark example of what sustained instability, terrorism, and most specifically, the threat of terrorism can do to a territory and its people. It all started on November 17, 1997, in what is known today as the Luxor massacre. On that day, six gunmen, affiliated with a group known as Al Gamaa al-Islamiyya, butchered 62 tourists at the temple of Hatshepsut. Later, after avoiding arrest, the assailants hid in a cave and committed suicide. This incident immediately put a major dent in the influx of tourists to Luxor which was further curtailed after the September 11 bombings. However, matters settled down, and tourism began to pick up, but in the words of a local travel guide, who wished to remain anonymous, “it all went to pot the moment Morsi came in. He didnt care for Egypts relics, nor for the income they generated for us”. In the meantime, the Al Gamaa al-Islamiyya renounced violence and established a political party known as the Building and Development Party (BDP). The final straw for Luxor happened in June 2013, when Morsi appointed a member of the BDP as the new governor of Luxor. “By this time, we had had enough”, says Mohammad, a waiter, at a local restaurant. “We knew he had arrived in the city and was staying at a hotel. So we camped outside, day and night, and didnt let him get to his office”. A few days later, the revolt started and Morsi and his cronies were no more. The years of instability have hurt Luxor tremendously. Hotels are empty, and many businesses have shut down. One server at a recently reopened restaurant says, “Its been really tough, I havent had an income for two years and most of the town is jobless. We depend on a continuous influx of tourists, but things are finally looking up”. Actually, all of Egypt, it seems, is now looking up. Looking up to their head of the army Field Marshal Sisi, who is all set to become the next president of Egypt once presidential elections are held in July . “All we want is security and stability, and Sisi can deliver that”, says a carriage driver named Ali (with a horse named Alexander). And herein lies Egypts saving grace: the political activeness and clarity of those in the low-income brackets. Regardless of who they are and what they do, they all have a clear belief that what they need and what their country needs is the same. Hence the saying, ‘if Egypts okay, then Im okay’. In Pakistan, it’s slightly different: as long as Im okay, I really dont care about you or the country. Much like the Egyptians, Pakistan also needs stability and security. But unlike its Egyptian brethren, its not demanding it. We were failed miserably by the last government, and the current one is no better. Summer approaches, and with it the demon of massive power cuts. Terrorism remains omnipresent and the powers that be still unable to take any suitable measures to counter it. Yet, we never protest. We never demand our rights. This is the tragedy of our people and our time – to not realise what is our right, and to accept any pittance as godsend. All criticism of our governments actions (and in most cases, inactions) is led by the educated elite, in dining rooms over well-blended drinks, on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, and by media houses owned by oligarchs pushing their own interests and ideologies. The masses are crippled and silent, busy trying to find their next meal, or a shelter over their heads. Successively failing governments create dangerous vacuums, which can culminate in civil unrest, revolutions, mutinies or takeovers. Pakistan witnessed some civil strife in the last two summers, but nothing serious enough to shake the government out of its slumber. Will this summer be any different? Doubtful. But if somebody else steps in everyone will be up in arms, saying ‘oh look what they did to democracy!’ But pray tell: what did democracy deliver for the people? The writer is a media consultant and trainer. He tweets @aasimzkhan Email: aasimzk@gmail
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 06:26:42 +0000
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