Egypt and the Press: Stories and Stories

Coverage of the uprising in Egypt in its second week has become characterised by a number of types of reports, most of which paint colorful pictures, but do little to inform on the situation.  There are the political discussions as to the West’s reaction, and how the uprising will unbalance the Arab world and its relationship with Israel.  There are also personal interest stories, about tourists and tycoons fleeing Cairo.  There are business reports about stock markets.  Then there are vignettes into the disorder itself:  Jailbreaks have been given coverage, and Hosni Mubarak, through state TV, has publicised the looting and vandalism that is occurring, primarily in wealthy neighbourhoods, where there is actual wealth to loot. 

Cairo - Flags, by Muhammad*#

The West has been gripped by reports of vandalism at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, with reports carrying headlines claiming “looting” and “ransacking.”  In fact, reports go on to describe that there have been only 10 small artifacts damaged, 2 mummies damaged, and nothing stolen.  Thus looting has not occurred, and only something of a rather polite “ransacking” when only 12 items out of a massive collection of Egyptian artifacts are affected.  Stories presented in this manner seem to ask the question:  Should the disorder be allowed to continue if it puts at risk the treasures of the Egyptian Museum?  This is a type of sensationalism and yellow journalism which wants to paint the Egyptian uprising as mindlessly destructive.  Currently, armed forces and vigilantes guard the museum.

Other reports discuss looting, vigilantes and Bedouin tribesmen breaking people out of jail.  This type of press has been reaching the Egyptian people themselves.  Again, it asks a negative question, as to whether the uprising is “worth it,” if it means crimes will go unpunished and criminals on the loose.  However, the mass of people seem unafraid that while they are out protesting someone will ransack their house.  Most Egyptians are more concerned with their government and police whose crimes have for 30 years gone unpunished, and whom remain as always “at large.”  Many of the described vigilantes are also community members who are manning barricades and conducting neighbourhood watches in the vacuum of police coercion; working to stop the inevitable few people who are willing to take advantage of a lack of security to enrich themselves (or steal food and fuel).  Furthermore, at this point it can’t be disproved that in many cases it is plain-clothes agents of the government who are committing these acts of vandalism, looting and robbery undercover, in order to discredit the public and the protests as criminal.  Such reports have been confirmed, and this notion has great credibility on the street with Egyptians. 

As for reports of jailbreaks by the Bedouin, the favourite gypsy-nomad scapegoat of popular culture and governments in the Middle East for everything from drug and gun running to indecency; it seems that "Bedouins on the loose" is a far bigger concern for Mubarak than for people on the ground, who do not seem too concerned with the familiar caricature image of camelback heathens amok on the fringes of society.  While jailbreaks are a serious thing, especially to Western sensibilities, could it be that such does not concern Egyptians nearly as much at the moment, as a majority of people being broken out of prison are not in fact gang members and hardened criminals, but instead political prisoners and minorities (such as the Bedouin) who have been victims and captives of Mubarak’s suspicious and overbearing police state?

There are two sides to every story, at least.  As night begins to fall on Wednesday in Egypt, reports will continue to flood out from there, and many of them will narrowly discuss the small tragedies and inconveniences that social unrest poses for Egyptians and outsiders alike.  However, those stories that deserve the most attention will remind us that there are 300 people dead so far, and millions more risking their lives for their future; people who have already been subject to the organised looting, criminality and brutality of a 30+ year-old dictatorship.


Read More:
http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/news/un-300-killed-nationwide-protests
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/29/us-egypt-vigilante-trib-idUSTRE70S3AZ20110129
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/8291661/Egypt-in-crisis-vigilantes-and-prisoners-on-the-streets.html
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/106646/20110130/egyptian-protesters-ransack-cairo-museum-smashes-mummies-egyptian-museum-egyptian-art-egyptian-antiq.htm

Basra and Iraq: Oil and Expectations

A strange portrait of the Southern-Iraqi city of Basra is painted in a recent and brief Economist article.  Better than Baghdad struggles to find real evidence of improvement of quality of life or opportunity in Basra, which is Iraq's international oil and shipping hub and home to a large disenfranchised Shia population.

Basrawi Street by 17th Fires Brigade

The Economist compares the situation in Basra of three years ago, "when anti-Western Shia militia controlled the streets," with the "more business friendly" Basra of today.  With the view confined to this time frame, that the city continues to exist at all could be an improvement, given that the city in 2008 was torn apart in the "Battle of Basra" or "Operation Charge of the Knights" which saw a week of coalition airstrikes and street battles before a ceasefire with Muqtada al-Sadr and the Mahdi Army was negociated.  That "terrorist attacks are a monthly rather than daily horror" is also presented as an improvement, though "monthly" seems an exagerated infrequency.

The article describes the area around Basra as a "geological El Dorado," duly noting that the Rumaila and West Qurna oil deposits, when discovered, combined as "the second-biggest oil field in the Middle East."  Such wealth has gone largely untapped as wars and international sanctions prevented Saddam Hussein from bringing the surrounding oil fields into efficient production.  The opportunity that this presents, it would seem to the Economist, is the obvious catalyst to prosperity in Basra, as its first evidence of an "improving" situation is that "BP signed a technical-services contract for Rumaila last year... it's operations, together with its partners from Chinese and Iraqi state-owned oil companies, are gaining momentum." 

The article conveys a number of interesting images: "People eat juicy prawns in restaurants... sometimes sitting out past midnight on the balmy banks of the Shatt al-Arab; it is still unthinkable in Baghdad to relax on the edge of the Tigris... A smart hotel with a conference centre has just opened... Emirates airline is set to begin daily flights next year... sales of flashy cars have been soaring... the price of taxis and meals in good restaurants have been shooting up."  Certainly such scenes are confined to the centre of the city, where there are small enclaves of middle class wealth among a larger 'other-half'.  It describes a recent oil-and-gas conference where managers from Halliburton and a Mercedes-Benz dealer "rubbed shoulders" with average Iraqi businessmen looking for opportunities to provide local logistical support.  It would seem that Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Battle of Basra have indeed secured some type of opportunity for Iraqis; to tap a Reaganomic trickle from foreigners busily appropriating Iraq's natural wealth.

Upon describing such dubious "improvements," The Economist does not fail to admit how bad the overall facts of life in Basra are, seven years after the fall of Saddam Hussein:  "The dusty roads into the city pass miles of slums.  The canal that goes through the centre is stinking and stagnant.  The council was promised a dollar for every barrel of oil produced in the province but the cash has yet to be seen.  Many development projects have stalled... the number of jobs on offer has only slightly increased... Most foreign businessmen from Europe and America still prefer to lodge on a military base several miles outside the city, where they are still occasionally subjected to mortar fire."  The piece concludes with the ignominious statement: "Basrawis are being warned against having unrealistic expectations."  One is left to wonder what type of expectations in such conditions are unrealistic?  Any expectations of average Basrawis are in any case likely tempered by the daily news, such as the recent January 14th escape of twelve Al-Qaeda members who walked out of a fortified Basra jail wearing police uniforms; sprung from captivity by corrupt guards, Al-Qaeda infiltration of local authorities and higher authorities in Baghdad.  The jail's entire staff has been under arrest pending the full investigation.  Such corruption and displays of influence and power by terrorist groups are sure to remind the people of Basra that arrivals by Mercedes-Benz to riverside Shrimp-cocktail parties is not in the offing for all.


Read the Economist article:
http://www.economist.com/node/17633299

Read about the Basra Al-Qaeda jail-break:
http://www.thenational.ae/news/worldwide/middle-east/escaped-iraqi-al-qaeda-prisoners-had-inside-help
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE70D47P20110114