Egypt

 

Egypt is a political mess. My memories of Egypt is of a grand cultural place. One of the earliest and oldest places of organized civilization full with artifacts, gold and gems and beautiful artwork from centuries ago. .Today it is a dangerous place full of angry young men and constant anger and chaos. A dangerous place for anyone to inhabit. Who would have imagined such a advanced place to stoop so low. President Obama gives the place Billions of dollars each year and is finally reconsidering his gift if they cannot get it’s people under control.

 

The worst of it began about two years ago when Egyptians revolted and took over Tahrir Square in Cairo to cheer the overthrow of a repressive regime. Now they are not done. The ending of the Egyptian revolution is still not over yet. Many of the protesters are comprised of angry soccer fans who seem to be determined to change the country they love or to at least die trying. They are called soccer hooligans that seem to exist on different continents. They speak different languages and root for different teams but they share a common identity. Young, male, angry and are in a constant state of war with the police.

In most places these young men are considered to be hoods and gangsters but not in Egypt. When Egyptians revolted it was known as the Arab Spring. It was a protest against the nation’s oppressive police force that initially brought them together. Leading the charge was Cairo’s soccer hooligans. They are young men with a long hatred of the cops. They call themselves The Ultras and consider themselves heroes not outlaws. The politicians are former cops there and they control the sale of comedies like oil and water.

Two years ago the world cheered when the citizens revolted the Mubarak Regime. Muhammad Hosni El Sayed MMubarak is a former Egyptian politician, leader and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011. The world assumed that the revolution was over by now and that peace would prevail in Cairo. That is not the case. Tahrir Square continues to be the place for anti-government protests.

Although Mubarak is gone, Egypt’s police force is about 2 Million officers strong. They are unchecked and unchanged and will beat to death a protester who is uncooperative. There is now a commonplace mayhem everyday there. In 2011 the police force hid their uniforms to save their own lives now the police outnumber the protesters but carry out too much unchecked violence on the people of Cairo. During the Mubarak regime people were not allowed to be together in large groups except at soccer games where they could band together and chant songs or slogans.

It took just 18 Days to organize the effort to get rid of the man who ruled the country for thirty years. Then an American was given the job to be in charge of the National soccer team, one of the nations most cherished of things. Bob Bradley the man in charge realized that the violence was not over and the violence was in the stands at games. Fans storm the playing fields at the end of games and beat each other up, there is bloodshed and the police lock them inside the stadium with no way to leave while the fans put the place on fire and kill each other. Once there were over 70 people killed in a soccer riot and at least 180 hurt in a game in Port Said, Egypt.

 

  

Now the people of Egypt cannot enjoy the one freedom they once had in the old Egypt. They are banned from going to see soccer games. Because of security concerns there is no one in the large stadiums when the professional teams play games. Tourism is way down where it used to be a good part of the economy. The government is almost bankrupt because business cannot go on as usual with protests everywhere.
 

The only thing all Egyptians can feel good about is The National Soccer Team under the American coach Bob Bradley. The team is undefeated this year and is poised to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1990.