War Heroes and War Zeroes

Order of Star of Sinai

I hate war. I do not like the violence, the bloodshed and the cruel patriarchy of the concept of war. Yet, I do understand, however, that it is sometimes an inescapable sad necessity. A long time ago war was definitely more common, but paradoxically we did not have "army men",whose sole job was to go to war, in times of peace. 

All this has changed now, of course, and there are men who are, by trade, warriors.

Still, regardless of how I feel about such warrior creatures, I believe that  they should , like everybody else, do their job well and do their job honorably.

Since we are in the midst of a dilemma in Egypt nowadays,about whether to salute our men in uniform or drown them under heaps of criticism, I thought I would bring your attention to an interesting anecdote about the Order of the Sinai star, shown here in the picture on the left

The Order of The Sinai Star is the highest military decoration in Egypt, only a couple of dozen men have ever been awarded the medal (most of them after their death.)

Egypt, the land of wonders, tries its civilians in a military court--but its former President and Ex Commander-in-Chief? No Sireeee. He gets a fair trial with lawyers and expert witnesses and the works.

Well if he does not deserve to be put on military trial for corrupting Egyptian's lives for thirty year then maybe, just maybe, he should be tried at least for awarding HIMSELF the highest military decoration in Egypt. Yes, believe it or not, Mr. Mubarak awarded himself the Order of Star of Sinai in 1983 after the death of President Anwar Sadat.

I wonder... Can a simple medal transform a war zero into a war hero?

If you want to read more about Egypt under current military rule check out  When the Armed Reigned Supreme

Rule of Law and Lawlessness in Resolving Sectarian Conflicts in Egypt

This is yet again another post about another "conflict" in Egypt, the Land of unfortunate events about a topic all too familiar: conflicts sectarian in appearances but cultural in essence. Unlike the events that transpired in May of 2011, this particular incidence has not deteriorated into a church burning one. Instead,  Coptic (Egyptian Christian) families are facing deportation out of their own village and the seizing and forceful selling of their homes, lands and cattle.

And the reason.... *drum roll please*.... You guessed it! Yet another mixed-religion affair. A Muslim gal had a consensual sexual relationship with a christian dude, and apparently they also indulged in the risque behavior of filmingه and/or taping their heinous acts. (Who would do that in rural Egypt? Yeah I know!!)

Muslim Men of Shirbat Village, in the Ameria County, have reportedly held a "tribal tribunal Council" to look into "the matter"; and they have concluded that it was best that the involved Coptic families be deported out of the village--their land and properties sold by the Sheikhs of the village.

And my question is: WHERE is the law in all this? Why are eight (in some accounts six) families ordered out of their village over this anyway? And most importantly when are men going to stop turning matters of  female sexual freedom into feuds? I am afraid that I know the answer. For Egypt, this is not going to happen anytime soon.

Activists talking to Parliamentary Members

 The Supreme Council of Armed forces, and their Commander-in-Chief Mubarak before, have given us headache after headache with their "lawful" rule and the importance of order. They even warned that "revolutionaries" seek to spread anarchy and chaos . 

Well, this looks like chaos alright! Where is the law? The police stood and watched as these people were forced to walk away from everything they hold dear. And the Parliament refused to intervene until marches organized by human rights activists proved to the esteemed PMs that the Egyptian people were not about to tolerate this kind of prejudice.

 As the fate of the families remains undecided, I do hope that they are allowed to safely go home --not only for their sake, but for us all.

Goodbye Whitney Houston: The Day The Music Died

I spent hours crying this morning after I heard the news.

"Goodbye...goodbye Whitney Houston!" I said, sobbing in my parked car. Now, let me make it clear that I am no 'fan girl' and not that easily moved by news of the demise of the rich and famous celebrities. I did not cry when Michael Jackson died, nor did I stop and ponder upon his addiction, his tragedy or his death. But, Whitney? Whitney is a whole different ballgame.

Whitney Houston- May She Rest in Peace

I grew up listening to Whitney, like I had been listening to Michael. But Whitney was the epitome of strength. Whitney was the woman I wanted to grow up to become. Whitney was beauty and elegance. Whitney was romance and the love I wished to have. Whitney was an embodiment of talent I could only dream of having. Whitney sang the soundtrack to my first love story. Whitney's voice carried me through and through, times and times again.  Whitney wasn't just a celebrity to me, fallible and flawed. Whitney was "every woman." She embodied everything a woman should be. Everything I ever wanted to be.

And herein lies the tragedy. I thought that Whitney, being accomplished, successful and beautiful and all, was happy. To find out that she was on drug was the ultimate shock to me, like a child thinking their parent had it all together only to find out that this is far from true. And to find out that she died, I was crushed with sadness. This came at a time where I was weighed down with dreary philosophical wonderings of the soul, and revisited existential  dilemmas; the sort of thing that can happen often with many dead and dying all around me on the streets of Cairo.

Then, her sweet voice came back to me. "If I should die this very day, don't cry because on this earth we weren't meant to stay." And I cried some more.

This is precisely our conundrum, we aren't staying. None of us are. But we all act like we are, and because of that, the void consumes us all. We think that if  only we were prettier, if only were thinner, if only we had more money or fame or lovers, we would finally be happy...finally be free.

But the sad truth of it is—none of it matters. 

So many people had it all, and yet had nothing. We keep seeing that time and time again, but are we ready to wake up?

Maybe we should be less concerned with how much we have and how good we look and even how happy we are because , indeed, "on Earth we weren't meant to stay."  And our end may be sooner than we think. After all, she was only 48.

Whitney you will be missed, and you will sure never be forgotten. Between "I wanna dance with somebody" and "My love is Your Love", Whitney, you were indeed every woman.

May you rest in peace.