What would you say…
Young protestors in Egypt (photo by Mohammad Ghafari)
by Farah I. Abdel Sater
Beirut – “It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day!”
When Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse wrote their 1965 song “Feeling Good”, odds were pretty close to zero that the couple could imagine that this is what young Arab citizens 46 years later would be feeling – and in many places singing, thinking or shouting – in reaction to Tunisia’s “Jasmine Revolution”.
With over a million Egyptians crowding Cairo’s Tahrir (Liberation) Square today demanding that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resign, it is hard not to wonder if in fact this new dawn is breaking.
In fact the Tunisian revolution, which led to the forced resignation of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, not only inspired hope in Middle Eastern youth living under tyrannies, but has also served as a warning to other governments in the region. read more…
Liberia Prepares for Upcoming Election
Women leaders in Bopolu at a town hall meeting.
Rebecca Sargent’s weekly update of conflict around the world currently provides information regarding a number of countries where Search for Common Ground works. Liberia, for example is experiencing growing concerns over the upcoming elections. Fraudulent voter registration processes are a result of the corrupt political scene in Liberia. In this dishonest environment, increasing concerns diminish citizens’ confidence in the countries’ leadership. However, the media has played an instrumental role in commenting on the excesses of politicians and promoting democratic practice in the country. Voting will take place in October of this year for Liberia and in an attempt to avoid disorderly elections both presidential candidates have expressed their support for a registration awareness campaign and have pledged to respect the outcome of the vote.
Given the justified concerns of a potentially fraudulent election and the role of the media, accessible and fair information is required, which is why Search for Common Ground’s work in Liberia is crucial. Beginning in 1997, SFCG and its media production Talking Drum Studio have become a household name. Issues introduced in this production are programmed alongside community-level engagement and community-driven activities, which are given national media coverage. SFCG has supported a number of elections, dialogue and community capacity building in Liberia and also produces radio programs to strengthen the inclusive peace in the nation. Along with radio programming, SFCG convened town hall meetings in different counties to share feedback, discuss the issues and discuss how they felt to take part. The continuation of SFCGs work is critical right now as Liberia approaches an election and the people look to the media for unbiased information and support.
Learn more about Search for Common Ground’s work in other countries and read more about our efforts in Liberia.
Egypt's soccer clubs have long been an arena for resistance and political involvement. Here Egyptian Al Ahly star, Mohamed Aboutrika shows the controversial t-shirt that earned him a yellow card (from inpursuitofjustice.wordpress.com)
In Cairo, regular citizens are pulling together to protect their neighbors and communities against looting and violence. Many have taken advantage of the chaos of the protests and the military and police have not provided the security and protection that many civilians now need. Residents have joined in solidarity to form neighborhood watches. In an AP report, once resident said, “This has brought out the best in people. There were people who were much younger than me who have never come across gunfire before…They looked scared. But they were still standing. Everyone was so brave.”
Another organizing force in this uprising are the Egyptian football fan associations. On Thursday the Egyptian Soccer Federation suspended all league games to stop soccer clubs from congregating. Dave Zirin has an excellent article on Sports Illustrated that shows the nexus of sport and politics as it relates to the protests in Egypt. The power of football to unite people is one SFCG knows all too well. Our multi-country television series, The Team, capitalizes on this power and harnesses it to spread messages of unity and cooperation. This is the role that many of Egypt’s soccer clubs have been playing during the protests. Zirin writes:
“Even without games, the football fan associations have been front and center organizing everything from the neighborhood committees that have been providing security for residents, to direct confrontation with the state police. In an interview with Al-Jazeera, Alaa Abd El Fattah, a prominent Egyptian blogger said, “The ultras — have played a more significant role than any political group on the ground at this moment.” Alaa then joked, “Maybe we should get the ultras to rule the country.”
The involvement of the clubs has signaled more than just the intervention of sports fans. The soccer clubs’ entry into the political struggle also means the entry of the poor, the disenfranchised, and the mass of young people in Egypt for whom soccer was their only outlet.
As soccer writer James Dorsey wrote this week, “The involvement of organized soccer fans in Egypt’s anti-government protests constitutes every Arab government’s worst nightmare. Soccer, alongside Islam, offers a rare platform in the Middle East, a region populated by authoritarian regimes that control all public spaces, for the venting of pent-up anger and frustration.”
Read the rest of Zirin’s article here.
Southern Sudan Votes for Seccession
Sudanese voters line up for the weeklong referendum (AFP from bbc.co.uk)
We’ve previously talked about Sudan’s plans for seccession and now 99% of the population has voted to secede from the north. The weeklong vote was held earlier in January and was a peaceful process. Only around 16,000 people voted against secession.
SFCG will be working with out local partner, the Badya Center for Integrated Development Services on capacity building in the new country.
BBC has an excellent page for more information about the referendum and the background that led to this historic vote: here. Pending confirmation, independence will officially be announced on July 9th. While only Southerners were eligible to vote, all Sudanese will be allowed to decide their nationality. President Bashir has already announced that he will implement a stricter version of Sharia law in the north.
How do you think Southern Sudan can best prepare for its inevitable independence?
In memory of Sargent Shriver, the founding director of the Peace Corps, who passed away on January 18th, Radha Kramer wrote this moving and personal letter. Radha is a former Searcher who previously worked with our US/Iran and US/Syria programs and has since founded the TE’A Project which uses theater and performance for peace and conflict resolution.
Dear Sargent Shriver,
I am writing to say thank you for all that you did for this country. Thank you for all of the lessons you helped us learn, all the examples you set, and all of the practical idealism you infused into this country and into this great world. You made the choice to serve others available; you made the choice to serve others not only a possibility, but also an opportunity; and, you made the choice to serve…cool.
I chose to join the Peace Corps after I had moved to New York to be an actress and found that my deep passion was for social justice theatre / theatre for social change. I had been with the STAR program using the performing arts to do HIV/AIDS prevention and adolescent reproductive health, and I had learned about the Peace Corps because my sister had thought of joining. But why did I come around to thinking about it, learning about it, considering it, and ultimately making an appointment with a recruiting officer? Because I had found that being in service is a gift and I wanted to experience this gift of service in a different context, a different community, in another part of the world….and experience it I did!
Read the rest of her letter here.
The Peace Corps also remembered Sargent Shriver as the founding father of the Peace Corps, whose “idealism and enthusiasm were essential to the creation and character of the agency.”
2011 marks the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps mission of service and promoting peace around the world. It is this mission that Sargent Shriver dedicated his life to and he referred to the programs he created as “a formula for practical idealism.”
