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Letters from the Living to the Dead |
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Tuesday, 17 April 2012 07:04 |
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Odile Katese, author of The Book of Life
photo courtesy in2eastafrica.net
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Close to a million Rwandans were killed during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
Artist Odile Katese was in exile at the time. Despite being far from the killing, she was not immune to the deadly events and their repercussions. Returning three years later, she barely recognized her country.
The tragic events there – more than 800,000 Rwandans, mostly ethnic Tutsi, were massacred by Hutu militia and government forces over a period of just 100 days – occurred despite the existence of the Genocide Convention of 1948, which makes it a crime to commit genocide. In response to this collective failure and in an effort to learn from the past, the United Nations outlined an action plan for the prevention of genocide in 2004.
In Ms. Katese's case, it led to the idea of the “The Book of Life.” The project is a collection of letters "from the living to the dead," written by widows, orphans and perpetrators to their lost loved ones and to their victims.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 17 April 2012 07:26 |
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Soccer Tragedy Aids Military Rule in Egypt |
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Written by Dr. Ashraf Ezzat
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Monday, 06 February 2012 07:30 |
 For several days now, deadly clashes have raged in Egypt over football riots leaving scores killed and more than thousands wounded in street clashes over authorities' failure to stop Port Said football violence. State media reported renewed scuffles between members of the security forces encircling the building of the ministry of interior and demonstrators who included hardcore soccer fans, aka Ultras , known for confronting the police and who were on the frontlines of protests against the military throughout the last year. The Ultras played a prominent role with anti-government activists in the uprising that toppled president Hosni Mubarak a year ago, and a spokesman on their behalf has suggested pro-Mubarak forces were behind the soccer incident, or at least complicit.
The soccer violence will likely strike news followers as most unfortunate and tragic accident, but for the supreme military council of armed forces of Egypt (SCAF), a council reluctant to relinquish power, it will definitely strike a different chord.
For a military institution that is supposed to hand over power to civilians by next July, after a monopoly of power for more than six decades, any incident that would allow chaos and insecurity to prevail will certainly be welcomed.
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On Its First Anniversary Egypt Revolution Continues |
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Written by Dr. Ashraf Ezzat
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Wednesday, 25 January 2012 22:20 |
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“Mubarak is neither a tyrant nor a bloodthirsty man. He is a clean man, who could say no wrong. Mubarak has seriously and faithfully worked to the best of his abilities and energy for Egypt and its people and lived a life burdened by his nation's problems” Said Fareed El-Deeb, Mubarak's lawyer as he argued his case at a latest hearing and just days prior to the first anniversary of the Egyptian revolution.
“Mubarak is worthy of justice and no one should discredit his efforts, question his loyalty or history. There is no evidence to prove that Mubarak gave orders to open fire on the protesters or even to prove he sealed the natural gas deal with Israel. And how could you accuse Mubarak of killing the protesters when he, in fact, supported the revolution,” added El-Deeb.
Mubarak can't be proven guilty and his lawyer hails him as a pro-democracy liberal who looked favorably on the Egyptian uprising. It's funny and almost surreal, but that's how Mubarak's trial is proceeding. It's true that Egyptians like jokes but not this kind of mockery of justice.
Key witnesses in the deposed president's trial, Mr. Omar Soliman, Mubarak's vice president and former chief of intelligence and Field Marshal Houssein Tantawy, the minister of defense and the current head of the supreme council of armed forces (SCAF), declined to attest that Mubarak gave direct orders to shoot the peaceful protesters.
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Inside the Egyptian Revolution |
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Tuesday, 06 December 2011 16:26 |
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| Dr. Ashraf Ezzat in Tahrir Square |
An Interview with Dr. Ashraf Ezzat
by Angie Tibbs / December 5th, 2011
Dr. Ashraf Ezzat, medical doctor and journalist ( Pyramidion ) was one of hundreds of thousands Egyptians occupying Tahrir Square in late January/early February of 2011. Ten months later Egyptian people are once again back on the streets despite a deadly crackdown by security forces. I interviewed Dr. Ezzat via e-mail about the revolution then and now
Angie Tibbs: Dr. Ezzat, let's start at the beginning. In January 2011 hundreds of thousands of Egyptians began their Tahrir Square occupation; you were on the ground there as a journalist and as a medical doctor. Would you recreate the mood of the demonstrators, and, in fact, of the country?
Ashraf Ezzat : Egyptians still refer to those 18 days (January 25- February 11) as the glorious days of the revolution. Those days will undoubtedly carve their place in the modern history of Egypt. And contrary to what the mainstream media concluded, the Tahrir Square saga that captured the world may have been called for by some activists using the internet social media, but it was mainly fueled and triggered by years of political corruption and oppression. The build-up for this uprising has been brewing for years and specifically after Mubarak made it clear he was bequeathing the presidency for his son, Gamal.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 06 December 2011 16:43 |
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Occupy Tahrir Square vs. Occupy America |
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Written by Dr. Ashraf Ezzat
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Tuesday, 22 November 2011 18:18 |
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We could all temporarily lose sight of who is pulling the strings in this counter-revolution currently playing out in Egypt … but make no mistake, the thousands in Tahrir square will not lose hope nor can they afford to.”
Egypt, a land embedded in ancient history with an old legacy of oppression and abuse of power, its people are awakening and refusing to yield to any kind of tyranny or autocracy be it of civilian or military authority.
But obviously somebody, and that somebody is unfortunately in command right now, doesn't seem to get this message.
Some political analyst once said “An autocracy or a tyranny is a far simpler form of social and political organization than a democracy.” … I think he is absolutely right considering the complexity of Egypt's transitional phase towards what a lot of people hope to be a true and functioning democracy.
I also believe that he would have rephrased his statement had he had the chance to witness the police brutality confronting the occupy movements in the democratic United States of America.
You could lose your eye sight (hit by a rubber coated bullet in the eye), you could lose your laptop or your briefcase -as in my case- in the protest pandemonium and you could very well lose your life choking on tear gas or get run over by an armored vehicle but one thing you definitely would not lose and that is your self-respect and dignity.
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