By , NYCMA, 2 February 2011.
Egyptian Americans are watching the events in their homeland with anxiety, fear and hope for a better tomorrow. With the Internet blacked out by President Hosni Mubarak's government, the Egyptian community here has reported increasing difficulties in reaching families and friends in the land of the Nile and pharaohs. The community is disappointed by what many call President Obama's soft peddling on the crisis and his failure to demand Mubarak's resignation. Community leaders fear that whatever the results may be of the current mass uprising, it will have an impact on the peace process in the Middle East.
President Mubarak has few supporters in the Egyptian-American community. "We are obviously very supportive of the demands of Egyptian people because we feel that they have the right to have democracy. We feel that the Mubarak regime must go," said Linda Sarsour, director of the Brooklyn-based Arab American Association, a nonprofit working to empower the Arab immigrant community.
Khaled Lamada, president of Society of Egyptian Americans for Development, another Brooklyn-based community organization involved in charitable work in Egypt, shared Linda's sentiments. "Every one is asking Mubarak to leave. He has to go. I don't think they (the protesters) will accept any thing less than that," he told NYCMA. He said Egyptians deserved democracy and freedom.
Nadine Wahab, a spokesperson for Egyptian Association for Change (EAC), called Mubarak government "most brutal and oppressive." EAC is a Washington DC-based non-partisan community group that supports Mohammad Elbaradei's National Association for Change's 7-point reform agenda. Talking over phone to NYCMA from Washington DC, she agreed Mubarak must leave power. The economic plight of Egyptians, she said, had deteriorated over the years under his watch, with over 40 percent of its population of 82 million living on less than $2 a day.
Narine didn't think the United States was a real player in the current crisis. "It has to be a people's movement and foreign interference is completely unacceptable." She sounded critical of Obama Administration's soft stance on Mubarak's future, saying Egyptians expected a much firmer U.S. stand against the Mubarak regime. She said Egyptians were disappointed that President Obama didn't demand Mubarak's resignation in his remarks following the strongman's announcement on Tuesday, February 1, that he wouldn't seek re-election.
Khaled Lamada agreed with Narine. "Obama sided with the regime. He didn't make a clear cut demand that Mubarak should resign. It's not really encouraging," he said, referring to Obama's February 1st remarks.
Some Egyptian Americans did agree with President Obama. "He talked about change and free elections. I think the message was very clear and good," said Amjad Maky, a Queens-based Egyptian photojournalist who works for his community publications in Astoria and New Jersey. Amjad supports the demand for Hosni Mubarak's exit; however, he saw no need for the people to continue protesting after Mubarak announced his decision to not seek re-election and felt Egyptians needed to be more patient with change. "It's not like you hand over the keys and leave. It's more complicated."
The Internet blackout
The Mubarak government clamped down on the Internet shutting down major providers in the country to stop people from using Facebook and Twitter, the social media that has been extensively used to usher in the massive protests. Google has reported its Internet traffic going down to zero percent, while mobile phone lines and SMS services are reporting more and more glitches.
Khaled, whose immediate and extended family lives in Cairo and Alexandria and is safe, said it was becoming a challenge to get connected with his next of kin in those cities. "Most of the times only land lines work as much of the cell phone services are down." Both Linda and Khaled said people in Cairo and elsewhere in the country had started community policing after several looting incidents were reported.
Community protests
The crisis has evoked a spirited response from Egyptian community overseas. In the United States, the Egyptian Association for Change has reported "hundreds" of protests in as many as 15 states since the crisis began. These protests are receiving support from other communities as well, including American social justice and civil rights organizations and some Palestinian groups.
There are no exact numbers available about the Egyptian community's population in the United States; however, some community leaders believe their population could be as much as half a million. In New York, southwest Brooklyn, Astoria, Queens and Staten Island have large pockets of Egyptian immigrants. According to Khaled, the Egyptian community is the fifth largest in Staten Island.
Most of the anti-Mubarak demonstrations in New York have been organized by Egyptian American United, a membership-based community organization and Al Awda, The Palestine Right to return Coalition. Both Linda's and Khaled's organizations have actively participated in these protests. Khaled said his organization will hold another protest in Times Square this Friday, February 4.
Like in Egypt, Facebook remains the favorite means of mobilizing the community for protests in the United States. 'Peaceful protest' postings have received robust response with people seeking shared rides and help with logistics in places as far as Detroit and Portland.
Fears about Middle East peace process
The crisis has pushed the Obama Administration into a virtual scramble. Many in Washington and other Western capitals are gauging the impact of the tumult. There are mounting fears that the uprising might spillover into other countries of a volatile Middle East, the majority of which lack representative governments. Many of these governments have enjoyed Washington's support for decades and played key role in promoting the U.S.-lead peace process in the region.
Jordan, Washington's key ally in the region, has already felt the heat. Its dynastic ruler King Abdullah has dismissed his government and appointed Marouf Bakhit, a conservative former army general with deep tribal roots, as the new prime minister. Abdullah's father, King Hussein, changed prime minister 45 times in his 47-year reign and successfully placated any challenge to his monarchic rule.
Khaled Lamada is convinced that the Egyptian crisis will have domino effect in the region and will transcend Egyptian borders into countries like Jordan and Syria.
While it is too early to calculate the implications of regime change in Cairo on the peace process, many foreign policy experts are warning that these are bound to impact the process.
Linda Sarsour, who is of Palestinian parentage, echoed these sentiments. "We feel it will have impact on the Israel-Palestinian conflict. It will have good implications for the region," she said, adding that Israel could come under renewed pressure if its biggest supporter in the region, Hosni Mubarak, is ousted from power.
Khaled Lamada agreed but said that the impact will be limited. He said Egypt is a stable country and has good institutions. "I think any future government in Egypt will honor its commitment to peace and international treaties." They will respect Egypt's peace treaty with Israel.
Sarsour, who feels the United States should help Egypt and Israel rebuild their mutual relationship if the Mubarak regime falls, says the United States needs to restart the peace process and bring greater stability to the region.
Khaled's biggest fear is that the popular revolt against Mubarak regime could be hijacked by any group or a country, although he did not elaborate which they could be. He also brushed aside fears that the protests could increase anti-American sentiment in Egypt, saying most of Egyptians admired the United States.
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