When Zinedine ben Ali celebrated New Years Day he would have been planning activities for the new year. His resolutions would probably have read- imprison more activists, embezzle more money, trample more human rights...... As president of Tunisia, his power was absolute and his authority unquestioned. Those who dared raise a voice of dissent just disappeared. He exchanged ideas on new torture methods and mass brainwashing at the Annual African Despots Convention (AADC). Just last year, he narrowly beat his buddies Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Gaddafi of Libya to win dictator of the year. This was mainly due to his groundbreaking work in the field of physical interrogation techniques to be used on civilians. Life was rosy. Little did he know that in less than two weeks he would have to flee the country with his ill-gotten gains and take refuge in another country( and just when he had found a new tax haven!!). Close on his heels his neighbour, Hosni was unceremoniously usurped from Egypt and then charged with over three decades of ruthless suppression and crimes against humanity. This was just the tip of the iceberg, as all other similar regimes in Africa and the Middle East erupted in an inferno of pent up rage and disillusionment. Who was responsible for these radical events? A crack NATO army? The US? A mysterious shadow corporation? George Bush?( the last one was assuming he can locate Africa on a map). No it was us- the common man in these countries finally decided that he would not lie down and keep taking sucker punches from his government. He would no longer allow himself to be the bleeding pinata while his president and army collect the spoils. This time they stood up to be counted.
The most powerful example of this was the famous "Million Man March" to Tahrir Square in Cairo. The ordinary citizens defied the army crackdown to walk to this iconic landmark and stay there until their demands were met. Hosni Mubarak was confused and did not know what to do. Using tanks had become outdated since Tiananmen Square 1989. There were a lot more people here as well. After weighing his options with his advisers, he stepped down. People 2 Despots 0.
It did not take long for this chain of events to extend to Libya, Syria, Bahrain, Yemen and Algeria. The ordinary citizens realized that individually they were powerless, but collectively they could sway empires. In Libya, Gaddafi had been particularly harsh on his subjects since the 70s. Now at 68, he still used his army to impose his will on the people. His personal guard however consisted of 40 virgin girls( this part is true by the way). One of the great obstacles to his assassination was a fight would break out over who would be the next person to get this security detail. The revolt there is ongoing as Gaddafi's top ministers try and find an amicable solution( to who next gets the bodyguards, of course).
The Middle East not wanting to be left behind decided to do away with the president of Yemen- Ali Abdullah Saleh. Like his fellow dictators( I was kind enough to add the "tater") he had kept up his regime for way too long. His disposal is currently underway and reports suggest that it may be nearing a conclusion. Bahrain also decided to join the party.
These events showed the enormous power of the citizens. Something that we forgot, when we traded hovels for skyscrapers, plains for cities and our primordial instincts for civilization. Civilization is a dangerously thin veneer, a facade behind which we hide our animal instincts. When put under pressure, the mask begins to crack and eventually slips off. Then we are once again at our most primeval and once again one of the beasts of the abyss. It is unfortunate that people should ever be pushed to this state, but if needed, they will fight back en masse and will win eventually. Let us hope that this tidal wave of revolution sends this region to the shores of democracy.
PS- In recognition of this, TIME magazine named a young Google executive from Egypt who led the revolt( Gael) in their list of most influential people.
PPS- The popular dissent blog "A gay girl in Damascus" written by an (allegedly) lesbian Syrian was later found to be the work of a man in Georgia. Epicfail.
PPS- By the way, am I in contention for the bodyguards?
Most of the time, people don't really think for themselves. Manipulating the masses, at least in India is laughably easy. But when they do start thinking, when some little spark gets them going, brings them together to work for something which is right, not even the most powerful force in the world can stop them.
ReplyDeleteNice article. Liked it.