"A Little Rebellion Now and Then, " Part 1

I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. 

Thomas Jefferson in a letter to James Madison

Paris, January 30th, 1787

More and more I find myself delving into the life of Thomas Jefferson, particularly the phase of his life that he spent as an American foreign minister to France, witnessing first-hand the beginnings of the French Revolution. He wrote the quote above during this period of his life. Referencing the quote, Jefferson is, ironically enough, not referring to events in France but rather to events that were unfolding in western Massachusetts at the time; events that were concerning Jefferson's close friend, James Madison. The rebellion in question was Shays' Rebellion, led by the eponymous Daniel Shays. The revolt sparked up in 1786 and lasted for almost a year. The issue surrounding the rebellion was ostensibly one of personal debts and debt collection but more generally reflected the sluggish economic conditions facing western farmers at the time. Shays was a former revolutionary soldier who felt that he had fought for better than he was getting. He surrounded himself with like-minded individuals, took up arms and began a loosely-organized campaign of protest and intimidation, originally targeting state debt collectors but later devolving and targeting any state official who happened to be close at hand.  During the ensuing rebellion, property was destroyed and people were killed. Shays and his rebellious compatriots were eventually subdued and brought to justice but not before terrorizing western Massachusetts communities and drawing the concerns of the likes of Madison and even George Washington.

So here we are in Cairo. It is the middle of August, and an Egyptian rebellion led by two main factions are causing both local and global concern. This particular revolt, yet another chapter of the "Egyptian Revolution" of 2011, started not long into the holy month of Ramadan in early July when President Mohammed Morsi was removed from office by the Egyptian military led by General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. It seems that not all Egyptians agree that Morsi needs to go. Two factions immediately begin holding protest vigils. The first faction, composed primarilly of liberal-minded students attending Cairo University, stage sit-ins in Nadha Square near the university. Attended by thousands, this six-week vigil is reminiscent of the Occupy Movements in the U.S., the protestors publically lamenting the military overthrow of a democratically elected president, the first in Egypt's long history. Most of the al-Nadha protestors may not really like Morsi, but they like the idea of a military coup even less. To them, the coup seems like Mubarak-era business as usual. The second faction, the larger of the two and composed of members and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, descend upon the squares and neighborhoods surrounding the Rabaa al-Adawiya Mosque. Thousands strong and made up of men, women and children, the protestors in the al-Adawiya area surround themselves with make-shift barricades if cinder block, rebar, tires, and sand bags.  They build lean-to's of corrugated iron, invite local merchants in to set up temporary shops, and even set up splash pools for their attending children. Local residents observe that these protestors are here to stay; and they are. Muslim Brotherhood spokesmen proudly proclaim that they will continue to hold their vigil until President Morsi is reinstated. Nothing can make them move. As one week blurs into two weeks and two weeks into three, the al-Aldawiya camp gradually grows larger and larger, tentacles creeping into surrounding neighborhoods. Local residents complain of being bullied and intimidated by the evangelized, bearded Brothers. Residents are further distrubed by clandestine shipments of oblong, wooden crates, trucked into the area. 

"This happens almost every night," they say.

I wake up early on the morning of August 14th, practicing what has already become a morning ritual: drinking strong Italian coffee and trolling the news for a half-an-hour. The news is not good. Marching protestors in the al-Adawiya area are clashing with local residents, protestors brandishing machetes and clubs and area residents pelting them from above with stones and bricks. "Security forces," the phrase used for specially trained police units, slowly mobilize into the area under the pretext of providing residents with a greater sense of security. It is true that residents are by now in a frenzied state, feeling constantly threatened by the squatting protestors. But the interim government has additional reasons for moving in. Now that Ramadan and the Eid Celebration have passed, the government reasons that every decent, law-abiding and employed citizen has by now returned home to work. The government further reasons that only those trouble-making and "terrorist elements" (the phrase used by state media outlets for the past couple of weeks) remain in the al-Adawiya area. Safety and security come first, and this set of protests is about to come to an end.

At dawn the next day, Egyptian security forces backed in the distance by the Egyptian Army move in to take control of both al-Nadha and al-Adawiya. They move in initially with tear-gas canisters and water-cannons, but they have taken note of the clandestine wooden crates that have crept into al-Adawiya camps, and they are well prepared.