Unfortunately, Egypt has not made the strides towards Democracy that we''d hoped we''d see . This was especially felt in the past few weeks: first, we had the joke called Mubarak`s trial; then, during the much-anticipated election, the Egyptian people found themselves cornered between two unviable candidates, Shafeeq who represents the old Mubarak regime, and Morsi, of the Muslim brotherhood.
As a consequence of these events, there are now many people both inside and outside of Egypt who see the revolution as a total failure that brought nothing but chaos. Coupled with the growing concerns and doubts about the increasing Islamic influence in Egypt, I can''t blame critics for these fears. I admit: the only ones who gained from this revolution on the political level are the Islamic parties.
However, while these criticisms are valid, there are still important outcomes that stem directly from the revolution that shouldn''t be ignored, outcomes that concern the shaping of the young minds of Egypt. The newly won freedom of speech has given birth to a huge amount of free-form artistic expression that knows no fears or boundaries or control. All of our lives, we Egyptians were afraid to discuss or express our true feelings—especially not through song or poetry. Now, I see the emergence of music and art in my Egypt that truly reflect my people`s hearts and dreams.
I will show you and share with you these new born arts, they are indeed the Arts of revolution.
I will start with my favorite singer and song writer. His name is Yasser El Manawhly "ياسر المناوهلى". This incredibly talented guy used to own a spare parts shop and wrote music on the side; he would only share his songs with his close friends. But once the revolution came, he gave up his business and instead followed his passion. His words and feelings truly represents the average Egyptian, the simplicity of his art is what makes it so sweet and very honest, his first single "القلة المندسة" featured below, was an instant hit that went viral on YouTube. It was a criticism of the government TV and the lies reported during the 18 days of the revolution, when kept called the Tahrir protestors a “Few Mendes” "القلة المندس"who were hired by foreign powers. The record company that produced this song is called WellsBox, it is a new entity that deals only with young talented artists who are touched and affected by the revolution. His other songs are incredible and so right to the point such as الصبح قرب" " (“Morning Soon to Come”) and "الموكب" (The Motorcade).
Another group of artists that I admire are a very amazingly unique group called The Choir Project "مشروع كورال". This group consists of more than a hundred men and women from all ages. They sing in a simple sarcastic way that the Egyptians love. Their number one hit is called "أيه العبارة" (What it is), this song is asking very important questions that SCAF and the government must answer. To me, this song is a big reminder to everyone that the revolution is ours and that no one can take it from us.
During the old regime the talk shows and programs were extremely cautious not to provoke the regime. Censorship was seen all over our media. One month after the revolution, a heart surgeon named Bassem Youssef "باسم يوسف" who is a very funny and talented in the art of criticism, along with a friend of his who produces work for YouTube, made a show criticizing what the government TV and what the regime supporters done during the 18 days of revolution in a comedic way. Dr Bassem became very popular in Egypt in no time. After he had privately produced 9 episodes on YouTube, a private channel hired him and gave him a crew and all the resources he could ever dream of. His new program is caleld The Program "البرنامج". He criticizes everyone, including SCAF and even the owner of the channel that he works for, but he does it in an amazingly polite way with a lot of sense and logic.
Recently, Dr. Bassen produced something with a new Animation company named Kharabeesh "خرابيش", that creates amazing cartoons that reflect political issues in Egyptian life in a very funny sarcastic way. Here you can find a very special episode from Bassem`s Program in association with Kharabeesh Cartoons. This very special episode talks about American NGOs in Egypt. For those who don''t remember, the government launched several raids on these NGOs and claimed that they found blueprints and maps for dividing Egypt into 4 different states in connection to a Zionist conspiracy. This smart episode shows the truth about this very old and so overused, second hand conspiracy theory. The second segment of the collaboration will interview the manager of Kharabeesh Cartoons. This episode is for the books.
I saved the best for last, an amazing rock band called Cairokee "كايروكي". This band is with no doubt the Pink Floyd of Egypt: they''ve got a very classy style of rock music, their songs and concerts are everywhere in Egypt, they made an incredible song along with a famous female singer Ayda ElAyoubi "عايدة أيوبى", the song called "يا الميدان" (Oh Square) it is about the Tahrir square and our gratitude for it.
All of these new expressions of art and music helped in increasing the level of awareness among all the young minds of Egypt. This fills me with great hope for my Egypt`s future, even if it''s in another 5-10 years from now. Talented artists like these who fear no rulers, will, InshaAllah, affect and change the coming generations. The arts and cultures generated from the revolution can and will make a difference to the people. All of this art is circulating on the web without censorship or any government control.
I am very grateful and extremely lucky to witness all of these incredible changes, it is indeed a very historic period of time that includes the changes of all forms of life in my Egypt. I believe it is too soon to lose hope and give up on my Egypt. The true harvest of this revolution will be realized in years, we only took down the head of the state while the same corrupted power hungry officials have stayed in control, they are like cancer and we need more than a revolution to eradicate this disease that we have.
InshaAllah my next piece will be about the aftermath of the Mubarak trial.
Long live my Egypt!