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 Political violence and unrest have plagued Egypt since the ouster
in 2011 of longtime authoritarian ruler Hosni Mubarak, but a flurry
of deadly incidents this week appears to have touched a raw nerve in
the nation's psyche, with many Egyptians abandoning hopes for
democracy and freedom and instead embracing a grim view of the
future.
"I think the time has come for everyone to acknowledge that the only
thing this country can offer us is nightmares," prominent activist
Mona Seif wrote despairingly on her Twitter account Thursday. "It is
futile that, every now and then, we try to find an excuse to be
happy or optimistic."
The interim, military-backed president, Adly Mansour, announced a
three-day state of national mourning Wednesday to honor 39 Egyptians
who died this week. They include 11 army soldiers killed in a
suicide bombing in the turbulent Sinai Peninsula, 27 who perished
when a freight train rammed into their cars at a rail crossing south
of Cairo and a senior security officer in charge of monitoring
Islamist groups who was slain by gunmen near his home in the
capital.
A day after Mansour announced the mourning period, two police
officers, one in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia and the other in
the town of Qaha north of Cairo, were gunned down by suspected
Islamic militants.
The incidents, in rapid succession, have touched off an uproar. TV
commentators derided the government and the prime minister as
useless and negligent and called for swift retribution against
terrorists and whoever is behind them. Military chief Gen.
Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi vowed to bring to justice those behind the
killing of the soldiers.
A silver-haired constitutional judge, Mansour tried to counter the
nation's gloom in the statement announcing the state of mourning,
saying, "The nation's guardians will defend it against the powers of
darkness, terror and extremism."
Mubarak's ouster fueled dreams of democracy and reform in an
autocratic system that was seen as corrupt, brutal and uncaring for
its people. Instead, several thousand Egyptians have been killed in
clashes with police, army troops and against each other, and the
economy has been battered by constant instability. Elections were
held, but after a year, a huge sector of the population turned
against the winner, Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, and his
supporters, with giant protests capped by a July 3 military coup
that ousted him.
Though the ouster was depicted as a "re-set" on the path of
democracy, the turmoil has continued, and lately, al-Qaida style
suicide bombings and assassinations have added to the mix.
In a country previously unused to political bloodshed, graffiti
associated with blood or martyrdom is now everywhere.
Thousands of graffiti by Morsi supporters declaring "CC: Murderer" —
a play on the pronunciation of el-Sissi's name — have sprung up
walls, highway signs and the sides of public buses since security
forces killed hundreds of Morsi backers on Aug. 14 when they cleared
sit-in protest camps in Cairo.
Graffiti on walls in Cairo near the famed Tahrir square often depict
a black-clad "martyr's mother" with a haunted face or men carrying
coffins.
"Our fate has not changed despite of our revolutions," Hamdi Keshta,
a 29-year-old businessman, said in Cairo's famed Tahrir square, just
hours before clashes Tuesday night between protesters and police
left two people dead. "The authorities don't work for the good of
the country. Instead they work from a security perspective to
protect the regime, whether it is a religious or a military regime."
"I hope Egypt will have a reason, any reason, to be happy again
soon. We need a large dose of happiness," he added.
The deaths this week at the railroad crossing were all too
reminiscent of Mubarak's 29 years in office, when a string of
disastrous infrastructure accidents killed hundreds, all blamed on
negligence mixed with corruption. Many had idealistically hoped that
the revolution that removed Mubarak meant an eventual end to those
plagues.
Testimonies by survivors of the rail crossing disaster echoed
Mubarak-era complaints of an uncaring leadership.
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"May God exact revenge on them (government officials)," one injured
woman said in a frail voice from her hospital bed. "How can they do
this to us? We are humans after all."
Other survivors described signs of negligence. There was no guard at
the crossing, and emergency services and police arrived hours after
the incident, they said. The crossing guards were eating a late
dinner in their nearby kiosk when the incident happened, according
to leaks from the investigation published in Wednesday's newspapers.
"A failed government and a failed society," screamed popular TV talk
show host Amr Adeeb in an on-air outburst Tuesday. "The price of a
human being in Egypt is equivalent to the price of a laptop
computer," he said, casting scorn on the government's offer of
15,000 Egyptian pounds in compensation to families of the victims —
less than $3,000.
"The problem of negligence or indifference is chronic in Egypt,"
said prize-winning novelist Hamdy Abdel-Jaleel. "Our people will
never rise before achieving a just democracy."
The country's mood is playing out against a backdrop of a massive
crackdown against the Muslim Brotherhood, from which Morsi hails.
More than 1,000 Morsi supporters have been killed by security forces
and some 2,000 top and mid-level leaders of the Brotherhood have
been detained along with several thousand supporters. Many of the
leaders, including Morsi, are facing trials, mainly on accusation of
inciting violence.
Frequent clashes between protesters and police — and the campaign of
violence by militants against the army and police — have fueled a
vehemently anti-Brotherhood camp calling for harsh action against
them and reducing the already small chances for political
reconciliation.
"Forget any talk of reconciliation. It is treasonous to put our
hands in the hands of murderers," columnist Mohammed Amin wrote in
Thursday's edition of the daily Al-Masry Al-Youm. "Retribution
satisfies all and brings stability to the nation ... execution to
those who betray us, execution to those who take innocent lives. Why
are we lenient in meting out justice?"
In a last bit of misery, the soccer-crazed nation lost out on any
chance of reaching to World Cup with a 7-3 aggregate loss to Ghana
in a two-leg qualifier. Egypt's fate was sealed Tuesday, when it
narrowly beat Ghana at home but not by enough to overcome its
humiliating 6-1 away loss to the West African nation last month.
A seven-time African champion, Egypt last qualified to the World Cup
in 1990 and a berth in Brazil in 2014 would have certainly lifted
spirits.
Egypt had a spark of hope, though, when its top football club last
week won the coveted African Champions' Cup.
But politics intruded even on that.
Egyptian striker Ahmed Abdel-Zaher celebrated his goal with the
four-finger gesture that symbolizes support for Morsi. Then star
midfielder Mohammed Abu-Treka — a public Brotherhood supporter —
refused to accept his winner's medal from the sports minister to
show his opposition to the military-backed government.
Abdel-Zaher has been suspended and put on the club's transfer list.
Abu-Treka was fined. [Associated
Press; HAMZA HENDAWI]
Copyright 2013 The Associated
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