Freedom Vs. Tyranny in the land of the pharaohs...

"No cause is left but the most ancient of all, the one, in fact, that from the beginning of our history has determined the very existence of politics, the cause of freedom versus tyranny."

(Hannah Arendt)


Some weeks ago, I was googling (as I regularly do) news stories from my home land of Egypt. One particular story that kept coming up was about Kareem Amer, a blogger from Egypt who was imprisoned for such crimes as "insulting" the president. As a blogger and writer myself, and someone who has spent her summers in Egypt since a young age, you can understand why this particular story spoke to me. 
Kareem Amer, a former law student, was released from Egyptian jail in November after being imprisoned for 4 years.  He was the first Egyptian convicted specifically for his writing online, a trend that has been on the rise as the internet becomes more accessible and citizens grow increasingly weary with the critical political situation. Kareem was convicted of publishing "anti-Islamic" writing, and posts meant to incite insurrection against the government. Amongst his charges, he also got one year for referring to President Hosni Mubarak as a dictator (which, by any real standards, he is). 


Kareem has been on the radar of Egyptian authorities since 2005, when he was first arrested for his posts, and his writings were confiscated and destroyed. He was also booted out Al-Azhar University for criticizing some of his professors. Aside from the fact that he was first illegally detained and assaulted while in police custody awaiting the most recent trial, his experiences in the prison have been less than pleasant. Anybody who knows anything about state force and authority in countries like Egypt understands how devastating and life-changing a term in prison can be. Abuse at the hands of police and prison guards, all-out neglect, dangerous living conditions and torture/illegal interrogations are all routine things prisoners must deal with in these countries. 


During the trial period, Prosecution lawyer Mohamed Dawoud was quoted as saying:

"I want him [Amer] to get the toughest punishment...I am on a jihad here ... If we leave the likes of him without punishment, it will be like a fire that consumes everything."

Imagine that. A "jihad" against freedom of expression for fear that personal opinion will "consume everything" like a fire. A quick Google search will show you that this is by no means an isolated case, nor is it exclusive to Egypt or even the Middle Eastern region. An examination of such stories shows just how fundamental to human history the struggle of freedom vs. tyranny is.
Safely writing from my desk at home about anything from politics, to anti-government policies is such a common practice over on this side of the world. In fact, from an early age we're encouraged to think for ourselves, to question what's around us, and to express dismay when a government we the people have elected is not working for the people at all. Every empire has been founded on rebellion, revolution, or political dissent.


So imagine living in a country in which your basic human freedom to express how you think and feel is punishable, sometimes even by death*...
(*Note: if you've been paying attention to an global news over the past year or so, you will have surely come across stories of activists, writers, and bloggers who have been killed from the crime of having a different opinion. Just this past summer when I was visiting the city of Alexandria in Egypt, I was shocked to learn of blogger Khaled Saeed who was brutally beaten to death by 2 police officers in front of a crowded Internet cafe. In case you're wondering, amid angry protests and photos published of the victim's fatal injuries, both officers were released.)