Lessons from a free Egypt

ONE of the signs in Egypt’s Tahrir Square, where much of the action to remove that country’s long-standing dictator Hosni Mubarak, was centred, read: “Mubarak, if you are Pharaoh, we are all Moses.’’

Within 18 days Mubarak met his Moses and left town under military escort for the seaside.
As someone said it was a total do-it-yourself revolution led by youth with the quest to bring their country “back from the dead.”
When Mubarak went on state television to deliver a veiled threat, several hundred thousand Egyptians in Tahrir Square responded by waving their shoes and shouting “go away, go away”.
I do not doubt that, if they were in the same venue with him, they would have thrown their shoes at Mubarak.
Egyptians and the world knew that, if there was to be change, it would have come from the youth at grassroots level. For once, the country’s democracy revolution was a homegrown one!
Ordinary people who were seen as having no real access to the corridors of power while elected officials listen only when the corporates speak, have turned the tables on the leaders.
For us there are a few lessons.
First, Mubarak’s greatest crime against his people was not to listen to them.
Egypt’s unemployment is reportedly around 30 or 31 per cent and a lot of young people remain in the doldrums; people struggle to make ends meet while senior government officials and their kin have lavish lives; and they still refused to listen as small pockets of unhappiness started simmering.
In that country it didn’t matter much what ordinary people wanted. The wealthy called the tune, and the politicians danced.
This week in Windhoek ordinary disgruntled workers wanted President Hifikepunye Pohamba to hear them out but were snubbed.
According to Presidential Affairs Minister, Albert Kawana, the country’s leader had more urgent constitutional matters to attend to – like opening Parliament.
I fail to understand why the President could not take at most three minutes to receive the petition from the workers.
That would have shown that he was on the same page with them with regard to the Government Institutions Pension Fund fiasco.
In any case, an hour or so before the President opened Parliament, Cabinet had very serious discussions around GIPF. His presence at the demo would have emphasised the importance they reportedly attach to solving the issue.
Worse even is the fact that the person he delegated to receive the petition did not bother to indicate to the group that Cabinet had indeed discussed the issue earlier and that action was on the cards. It would have allayed some concerns about the sluggish attitude from Government.
But now a seed of resistance has been planted among the demonstrators.
Why should everything be a secret? What’s the phobia about?
As Egypt, and previously Tunisia proved, demonstrations start small but can easily snowball into something that unseats monarchs, personal kingdoms or autocrats who are surrounded by supposedly powerful armies.
I am not saying that I advocate a coup d’tat but it is best to move away from the wildly exaggerated sense of untouchability soon. Mubarak learnt this too late and we had better take it seriously.
Tunisia was awakened by the unemployed youth and masses who claimed their dignity back. Other Arab states like Egypt have started emulating it.
The anger boiling here among young people like the ones who remain idle after training at Berg Aukas, for instance, needs to be addressed with urgency.
Our leaders need to get down to the people’s level to ensure that the simmering discontent does not boil over into unrest that will unseat them.
What makes the events in Tunisia and Egypt so powerful is their legitimacy! Democracy at its best.