In the Know: Clashes in Egypt
By Andrew Zaki
Oct. 13, 2011 11:38 p.m.
Coptic Christians gathered in Cairo on Oct. 9 for a peaceful protest against an attack on a church in Aswan ““ 24 were killed and over 300 were left injured as a result of a clash with the military.
What happened is nothing new for Copts in Egypt. Attacks and persecution have become a way of life. Another church burned down, another protest silenced, another woman left widowed, another child left fatherless, another day gone by.
Who, as they watched Egyptians gather together in the hundreds of thousands earlier this year, foresaw this result? Who could watch the country unite to demand the destruction of the Mubarak regime and not have hope for a better future ““ a more peaceful and democratic Egypt?
I did. Not because I am a cynic, not because I do not believe in change, but because I could not forget.
How could I not have the church bombing on New Years in the back of my mind? How could I erase the memories of the shooting of six Copts just a year earlier, after the Nativity celebration?
An International Religious Freedom Report on Egypt conducted this year by the U.S. confirms the discrimination against Christian Egyptians.
Unequal opportunities in employment and unequal standing before the law are common ““ freedom to worship isn’t guaranteed.
The revolution traded an autocrat for anarchy, corruption for more corruption and persecution for more persecution.
The world watched for weeks as thousands gathered at Tahrir Square. Where are the viewers now? Innocent citizens were killed by the very military put in place to protect them.
Who is to blame?
Is it the U.S. for providing an annual average of $2 billion in aid to a corrupt government? Should we blame the corrupt leaders? No ““ it’s expected. I expect the U.S. to secure its interests, whatever the means may be. I expect politicians to be corrupt.
The blame is on those who watch and do not do. It is on the Muslim who sees his Christian neighbor being oppressed and stays silent. It is on the person watching from his TV and changing the channel. It is on me who writes these words and ceases to act.
