May Day(s)
MayDay celebrations has been replaced this year in Egypt by a double call for strike and demonstrations in the streets of Cairo. Over the weekend, few hundreds of Egyptian workers, civil society activists, youth movements, parliamentarians and ordinary citizens demonstrated in the Egyptian capital demanding a rise in the minimum wage and the end of the emergency law.
The 2nd of May strike has been organized together by the very active independent labour movements and civil society activists, mainly asking the government to abide the court order of 1200 ghinie minimum wage per month.
The National Association for Change (NAC), established by Mohamed ElBaradei, along with activists and opposition parliamentarians, planned instead to hold a march on 3 May from Tahrir Square to the Egyptian People’s Assembly, to present a letter demanding reforms and changes in the Constitution.
Both demonstrations turned into concentrations surrounded by the Egyptian security apparatus.
Check the article “Egitto. Canzoni di maggio” on the Italian on-line review PeaceReporter.
Shaky Waters in the Nile Delta
Among worldwide fear of imminent catastrophes due to climate change, analysts consider the Nile delta as a very vulnerable area. Scientists believe that its population will have to face in the future several problems especially related to sea level rise, salinization of water, demographic boom and the possible appearance of climate refugees.
The full riportag “Egitto. Acque agitate nel Delta” is published (in Italian) on the monthly review of Peacereporter. Find here more photo shoots on the Delta.
Barack ElBaradei
Former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed ElBaradei had a triumphant welcome back to Egypt last week. Hundreds, or even thousands of Egyptians waited at Cairo airport for hours the arrival of the national “saviour”.
ElBaradei started soon a round of talks with politicians and activists, publicly challenging Mubarak’s regime while advancing his possible candidature as President of the Republic for the 2011 electoral round. For many Egyptians, that was synonymous of new hope. But, until now and beside the mainstream political storm, the ElBaradei’s option is just in the mind of a small Egyptian niche which need to connect with the large majority of the population. That would transform simple hope in reality.
Check the article “El Baradei! Chi era costui?” on the Italian on-line review PeaceReporter.
Confessional Revival and Political Pragmatism
The new decade began in the Middle East with the same old, but recently forgotten, confessional problems. Events reminiscent of the tough “ages of sectarianism” of the biennium 2005-2007, when Shiites and Sunnis forces staged political and military clashes around the region. But beside the recent sectarian episodes in Egypt, Yemen, Irak, and Lebanon, it is necessary to underline how several factors of political pragmatism play an important role in these events.
Such episodes, in which Middle East Christians have been involved too, led to an harsh reaction by many European states and American civil society organizations. In the case of Egypt, such stance was evidently perceived as a blatant interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state.
Find an analysis on the recent confessional revival in the article “Medio Oriente: revival confessionale e pragmatismo politico” published (in Italian) on the on-line review Eurasia
Going Sectarian (What Behind…)
The tragic events of the Coptic Christmas’ eve in Naga Hammadi, where 6 copts and 1 muslim officer has been killed, opened a tough debate on the Egyptian national press on the state of confessionalism within the country of the pharaohs.
Beside the worldwide indignation for the facts occurred and the worldwide protests ignited by the Coptic diaspora, many issues related to this tragic events are still unresolved.
The events of January 6th has been analyzed and investigated by a local NGO, which has opened interrogatives on the political struggle in the region in relation to the next parliamentary elections, and the possible involvement of local politicians.
Beside these open interrogatives, the report (here in Arabic; and a video extract from the press conference with English subtitles) does not forget to mention the continuous cases of sectarian tensions which especially Southern governorates have to face.
Check the article “Il lato politico del confessionalismo egiziano” published (in Italian) on the digital review Peacereporter.
Golden Nile
The waters of the Nile, the long African-Mediterranean river, are again under threat. Egypt and Sudan, the states that mostly benefit from the river resources, are currently facing the claims of the other Nile basin states for a fair share of its waters. Ethiopia loudly expresses its demands. Meanwhile, Israel Minister of Foreign Affairs embarks in an African tour, China strongly inverts in hydro-power development in Ethiopia, and Italy is funding million dollars projects to improve water management within the Nile basin states. Many actors involved and crossed interests in the race for the African’s gold.
Check the article “La guerra latente per le acque del Nilo tra Africa e Mediterraneo” published (in Italian) on the digital review AffarInternazionali.
El Classico al Masri…
Last Thursday, April 23, the Military Academy Stadium of Cairo has been the stage for what is often considered as one of the most violent football fixtures in the world or the most important African match: the Cairene derby Zamalek VS Al-Ahly.
Zamalek Sporting Club and Al-Ahly are the Egypt and African’s most successful football clubs, and the derby is considered as the most important match of the season. A victory in the classico is often considered for Cairene as much important as winning the regular league (…should we really trust that?).
After long months of debate on the event’s venue, the match was finally played at the Military Academy Stadium, also known by Egyptians as the Estad El Koleya El Harbeya. The tiny (but cosy) stadium manages to keep only around 30.000 persons, in a derby that normally contains more than three times this amount of people.
While Al-Ahly faced the match with the attempt to give an important step toward the triumph in the Egyptian league (al-dauri), the Zamalek boys, holding a sixth place in the general ranking, just played mindless with the local coach filling the team with young motivated players. Final result was a goalless draw.
Spectacle was definitely not going to be performed on the field, in what has been a quite boring match with really few occasions from both sides. Much interest came from the stadium stands. 
Supporters of both teams split the stadium in two parts: one completely white-coloured (for Zamalek “White Knights”) and one fully red-coloured (for Al-Ahly “Red Devils”). Red Devils supporters were definitely much more organized respect to the euphoric but much spontaneous white ones. Certainly better organized in comparison to both team supporters was the shorta, the Egyptian police, which occupied the first two seat-lines of the whole stadium, and which divided the supporters with a security cordon from the entrance to the stands. Tight security measures avoided physical confrontation among rival supporters, but did not prevent them from chanting, supporting the respective team or mocking one-another.
Listen here a sound/sawt/resume of the match from the stands of Al-Ahly supporters: Classico
[Recorded with Zoom Handy Recorder H2, internal microphone.]
successful or not?
On April 6, the April 6 Youth Movement called the Egyptians for a “day of anger”. Despite the massive call, not many Egyptians showed up to express their anger. Cairo’s streets has been as chaotic and polluted as usual, shops and universities normally opened, and not many black clothes appeared in the streets, how the strike organizers were advising people the days previous the demonstrations.
Downtown Cairo and universities were massively presided by State security forces. Around hundred activists gathered on the stairs of the Journalist Syndicate in Cairo. Few students showed up at Cairo University and Ain el Sham University. Definitely a low turnout in comparison to the wide support achieved on the web by the movement, and in comparison to the international echo the strike received last year.
Organizers, Egyptian youth and ordinary citizens wonder now if the call for strike has been successful or not. Maybe just another little step on what seems to be a long path.
Listen to a brief comment on the strike from the Informativo Más Voces (in Spanish):
April 6 Strike
