Friday, January 6, 2012

Can Egypt, tourism, alcohol and bikinis survive?



By Joseph Mayton
Bikya Masr

"....Often, political analysts have pointed to the “Tahrir divide” – I’ve done it – and how their views and hopes for Egypt are not part of the mainstream and majority. While there is some truth to this argument, it fails to encompass those who went to Tahrir in January and who continue to return.

It is the middle-class. The silent majority, who when they come together and join forces with each other, can change dramatically the landscape of Egypt.

To blame for the rising diatribes on Islam, Islamists, bikinis and booze are media, who continue to press the issue, focusing on the “crazies” who tell the world Egypt wants no more bikinis, no more booze, no more tourists.

These arguments are countered by an elite upper-class who espouses a Western identity understood by most of Europe and North America. But these reports fail to discuss in detail the driving force behind Egypt’s January 25 revolution and the continued protests today: the middle-class.

This middle-class is a combination of western and Egyptian. It is a uniquely Egyptian experience that is glossed over by the international, and often the local, media. These individuals, for the most part, do not speak perfect English, are not creating buzz on social networks, but are the real engine for Egyptian society.

These mainly youthful Egyptians are growing in strength. Their fear is dissolving with time and they are at the frontlines of the “clashes” with the military and police.

At the end of the day, they are the future of Egypt and while conservative on many levels, they also head to the beach, in bikinis, drink alcohol and enjoy life. They will eventually, if the media give them a voice, be the winners of the Egyptian revolution.

We will see on January 25 if they can once more, show the world the strength of the people."

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