| Why are we failing to take our patriotic feelings beyond Tahrir Square? |
| By Nadine El Sayed |
| A few debates I recently had with a couple of friends have made me despair of the future of our country — given that the top calibers of this nation are considering their options abroad.Well, in the interest of full disclosure it didn’t just end with simple despair. I did threaten to hunt them down wherever they go and bring their sorry, well, err, selves, back to the country they’re leaving in ruins. Now the braindrain has always been an issue to worry about, but a braindrain now will simply be disastrous. We would just be giving this country on a silver plate to power-driven, opportunistic political players. And why? Because we’re too fragile to handle a fight we started until the end? You make your bed, you lay in it. That’s what I have been taught. You start an uprising, you bear the consequences and follow through until the very end, you do not abandon ship and leave the country in the hands of opportunists. You also don’t leave the mess for others to clean up — others who can't relocate like you can. Patriotism isn’t born at Tahrir Square, and it surely doesn’t die there. Why is it that patriotism for some means risking their lives at Tahrir Square, but the second the battle steps outside of Tahrir’s limelight, the feeling dwindles? Are we willing to give our lives in a physical battle but when it gets intellectual, we throw in the towel and move on to the next country? Battles aren’t always theatrical, they aren’t always dramatic, glorious heroism epics to be told to generations to come. Battles, the ones that honestly matter, are often far less romantic, they get dirty, they take time, and they aren’t normally glorious at all. I am sick and tired of hearing the same excuses time and again, “we will just go away for a couple of years until things get better.” “I can’t live in an Islamist country and this is where we’re heading.” Or, “It will take us years to develop and I don’t want to waste my youth here when I can go to a country with a better standard of living.” I often hear these arguments from people who come from wealthier backgrounds; well educated, they own cars, live in decent houses and have good jobs. These are not your average Egyptians who have to suffer through public transport daily, or stand in lines to get a loaf of bread. So what did they really have to go through to make them want to flee their nation? A traffic jam? Not finding fuel for their Mercedes? I am not undermining anyone, some of them are people I honestly love and respect. But I can’t be sympathetic either. I do understand why the situation might look dim in Egypt, what with all the accidents we keep hearing about and the increasing influence of Islamists. But if those people, those who can honestly make a difference, decide not to, then who will? Fighting for the better of this country, mind you, doesn’t even have to be political engagement. If we can’t go down to the streets and raise awareness, if we can't be politically active, or do community work, then we can at least do our jobs properly. This is what builds nations: people who really work for a better place. I don’t know about you, but I was raised to love this country more than I love my family. I was raised to work and die for the better of this country. So it is simply beyond me why people who have had it rather easy in Egypt can no longer take their pampered lifestyles and need to go elsewhere. People have died fighting foreign occupation, others have lived the less glorious roles of fighting intellectual battles for a lifetime to make Egypt what it ought to be. Those people weren’t exceptional, they just loved their country. Apparently, more than we do. If a few Islamists here and a couple of military crackdowns there are enough to make us flee our homes, then maybe we weren’t even worthy of it to begin with. |
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