Tea with a Parliamentarian

The first post-revolution Egyptian parliament session on January 23, 2012. Photo credit: Khaled Elfiqi/EPA POOL

One of the perks of being a Presidential Scholar in the Office of Communications is you have a good reason to schedule a meeting with someone you might otherwise not have access to -- you need to interview them for an article. Twice this year my position extends beyond the immediate AUC bubble and I am asked to write for AUCToday, the university magazine. When my co-worker sent me the list of potential stories up for grabs, I immediately snatched the one about AUC alumni in parliament. I assume, although I have never officially tried, that Egypt's newest parliamentarians would overlook my request to grab tea (for fun!) if I just asked out of the blue. But with a quasi-legitimate title and bonafide association with AUCToday, I knew I was golden.

Women wait in line to vote in Zamalek during the Egyptian elections.
Photo credit: Peter MacDiarmid (nydailynews.com)

Over the past few months, Egypt has undergone a painstakingly lengthy election process (November 28 to January 11) for the post-revolution parliament. Not only was it extended over a period of two months, but the process itself was quite complicated. At its core, 2/3 of 498 elected MP's (members of parliament) were from party or coalition lists. Four major parties and coalitions won the vast majority of  seats (434/498). The coalition with the greatest number of MP's (37%) is the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) which is essentially the Muslim Brotherhood. The Salafi Al-Nour Party, with an ultra-conservative Islamist ideology, came in second with 27.8% of the seats. Then there was the liberal New Wafd Party with 9.2% and the Egyptian Bloc, a liberal secularist and socially democratic coalition, with 8.9%. The remaining third of the MP's were directly elected seats. Candidates had the option of running independently or independently with a party/coalition association for these seats. The remaining 10 seats (bringing the total to 508) are appointed by the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), the military which currently runs the country. Unfortunately, there are only 8 women. 
Phew! Got through that. Now onto my meeting. I was able to contact and meet with two elected AUC alums. The first MP I met with was Ahmed Said, a well-known and successful business man turned politician.  He is the co-founder and president of the Free Egyptians Party, founded in April 2011, and played a major role in the forming of the Egyptian Bloc. In other words, he is a BIG deal. We casually met in the Marriott and talked about his life trajectory, Egyptian politics and his time as Student Union President at AUC. Without skipping a beat, he was clear to distance himself from the institution AUC has become in Egypt (in short, isolated and elitist) and wanted to prove to me how AUC was just another Egyptian university when he attended it. I wasn't shocked to hear this. It seems like every person associated with AUC wants to distance him or herself from it. 


This past week I was invited to the office of Sameh Mikram Ebeid, a financial consultant, long-time politician, and recently elected MP. I was giddy at the chance to both leave work early on "official business matters" and see his office. I was not disappointed. 

A Match and a Memorial

Chaos ensues following Al Ahly vs. El Masry soccer match in Port Said. Photo credit: Foreign Policy

My initial reaction to the deaths in Port Said was absolute shock. How could over 70 people die at a soccer match? For those who have not yet read the headlines, estimates of 74-79 people died directly following a soccer match between teams Al Ahly and El Masry in Port Said this past Wednesday. Al Ahly is the most popular team in Egypt and is from what I have known to call my hometown, Zamalek. It is also widely recognized as by far the best team in Egypt. Al Ahly was playing in El Masry's hometown, Port Said, which is located north of the Suez Canal on the Mediterranean Sea. When El Masry came from behind to win 3-1, its fan stormed the field chasing the Al Ahly players and its fans with knives, clubs and the like. 

In videos of the chaos online, it seemed fairly clear that the security and police who are on the field were doing little to stop the violence. Apparently many of the fans died from suffocation as they were pushed into small spaces like bathrooms and were not able to escape. Others blamed the security and police for ever allowing El Masry fans to enter the stadium with knives or other weapons. But above all, people were blaming the military-led government (SCAF), of deliberately allowing violence to escalate as a ploy to justify its extensive police power, which it has used regularly against protestors in Tahrir Square. 

My take on the horrifying event is two-fold.  On one hand, security is certainly to blame. How could stadium security and police allow hundreds of fans to enter the stadium with knives, ready to attack? Violence at soccer games in Egypt is not unusual. Before Port Said, I had no intention of attending a soccer match for fear I might get seriously injured. And that is before this happened. So why did this particular game get so irrationally out of hand that around 75 people died? Someone is to blame. At the same time, my first inclination is to think too much of the blame is landing on SCAF.  It is possible that all of the men with knives who rushed the field were hired baltagiya or paid thugs, but with soccer fans having such a violent history, I am not sure that this is the case. Isn't the first problem that Egypt has soccer fans that think it is rational to kill other team's fans? I remember Philadelphia would have its fair share of riots or occasional car burnings after an Eagles game... but deaths? Something is seriously wrong with this picture.

Quick life update!

Me, my dad and my brother Peter in front of our Nile Cruise boat the Moon Goddess

While one might assume I have been hibernating while not updating my blog, it isn't true! In fact, I have been quite busy. December was filled with traveling and relaxing. My family (my mom, dad and Peter) came to visit me on December 18 for two weeks and we traveled to Upper Egypt on the infamous Nile Cruise to all the incredible Pharaonic sites and monuments from Aswan to Luxor and everything in between. The entire two weeks were great. Some moments that stick out in my head include when my brother's luggage didn't arrive before we left for the cruise so he now owns a couple pairs of Egyptian pants that our tour guide helped us find in Aswan. Shockingly, they look like regular pants! (re: sarcasm). We also had a lovely Christmas day at the Giza pyramids and the weather was perfect.