An open letter to Michelle Dunne
Ms. Dunne,
In a long-winded 2800-word article, you continue your deliberate and calculated smearing of Egypt, its military, judicial system, leader, and authorities. You also continue your indiscriminate deeply faulted assumptions on what is happening in Egypt.
The criticism had started even before you were barred from entering Egypt. In fact, your bashing style then, and now, is behind why you were refused entry. Let’s start at that phase.
In all your writings and interviews, you ignored the will and wishes of the masses on June 30th. You then told yourself, “That’s it. A military coup is underway. Egypt’s democratic opening might very well be over,” when, in the eyes of Egyptians, their regaining of Egypt was the most democratic of all eventualities.
You never once mentioned the chaos and the partisanship that the Muslim Brotherhood created when you know that the Muslim Brotherhood did and is still doing its best to regain power. You assumed, better yet, you hoped that the prospect for things to quiet down after June 30th was “unlikely,” when indeed, much to your annoyance, it did.
Even before the presidential election in 2014, you cast an element of doubt on its validity. You assumed that election rigging would be predominant. You made fun of the appreciation Egyptians had towards the military for ousting Morsi. You also said, “With no democratic transition really underway, what are we to make of the upcoming presidential vote? Is it a total sham, a mirage from start to finish?” And “Will Egyptians really be able to cast their votes freely?” You concluded emphatically that the situation “doesn’t allow much room for hope.”
This is a miniscule of how you think of Egypt. Then you wonder why you were asked not to enter Egypt.
Since then, your original animosity to Egypt has turned into a fierce vendetta. Not only do you intentionally instill doubt, fear, and suspicion in Egyptians, but you also spoke before the US Congress demanding it stop aid to Egypt. You are actually on a mission to leave the worst impression of Egypt with the world.
I found your faulted assumptions offensive then, and they still are; and much to your chagrin, your hopes for a chaotic Egypt will not materialize.
The above is a preface to your article on November 27th, 2018, in the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace titled, “Sisi builds a green zone for Egypt,” where you have managed to find every fault in the book with the New Capital.
You start off by saying that the New Capital is where “Sisi will rule indefinitely behind a security cordon,” and the “echoing emptiness” at the Capital today symbolizes the fact that “most Egyptian citizens have no place in Sisi’s vision.”
The hideous insinuations you draw on are farcical and illusionary. You assume that President Sisi will remain president forever, which is a fabrication on your part, but more importantly, you imply that Egyptians are disregarded in the large scheme of things.
You refuse to see the effort made to improve the lives of Egyptians. When two million Egyptians are cured from Hepatitis C in two years free of charge, how many families’ lives would’ve improved? When a massive road network is built to connect dozens of new cities to have millions of Egyptians move from congested cities, isn’t this one way of improving lives? When thousands of new apartment buildings are erected to replace dilapidated falling down ones, do Egyptian citizens have no place in Sisi’s vision?
You also say that the New Capital will be a controlled-access city “separating citizens from the state,” again a bizarre assumption on your part since anyone and everyone can buy and live there.
As it happens, President El Sisi doesn’t think of anyone but Egyptians. This may be why you fault him that much.
In a flashback to earlier times, you gloat as you cite how demonstrators burned down the headquarters of the National Democratic Party, ransacked state security offices as though these were brilliant efforts, but then “Sisi brought the whole democratic experiment to a crashing halt with a military coup on July 3, 2013.”
I’ll sidetrack for a moment, Ms. Dunne. How do you feel about the anarchy that is about to engulf Europe, France and Belgium in particular? Are you enjoying the sights? Does it make you proud and wish for more? Well, we Egyptians weren’t proud of similar sights, and breathed a deep sigh of relief when Fridays became holidays again, when we could walk anywhere without hitting mayhem and mess.
You continue. You say that Sisi “incarcerated 60,000 political prisoners from across the ideological spectrum,” many of them subjected to “torture, sexual abuse, dangerous overcrowding, and denial of routine care,” assuming that “anyone who played important roles in public life since mid-2000s and 2013 were either in prison or in exile abroad.”
The first step in any objective journalistic effort is to verify, verify, and verify. None of what you state is validated or corroborated. In essence, it is built on sweeping generalization and shoddy journalistic tactics.
Had you mentioned that the majority of those imprisoned are members of the Muslim Brotherhood organization that initiates most of the terrorism in Egypt today, you would’ve sounded more authentic. Had you said that all those in exile reside in Qatar and Turkey, the two countries that continue to shield Muslim Brotherhood members, and had you mentioned the TV channels that continue to batter Egypt from abroad, I would’ve accepted your fallacies as partially true.
You say that those who chose to remain in the country have chosen to “keep their heads and voices down.” Just as a note; Egyptians don’t keep their heads down. They stand straight and upright and hold their head high.
What you don’t understand is that Egyptians are fed up of protests and demonstrations. They want to move on with their lives and improve them. Egyptians want to focus on working, feeding their children, and changing the morbid standstill situation that you want to recreate.
In the last little while, several imbeciles called on Egyptians to return to Tahrir and demonstrate, and the calls fell on deaf ears because Egyptians are wary of such calls.
Almost sadly, you say that the army has stopped fighting regional wars, as though this isn’t a good thing. It is by the way. Then you continue; “Sisi is reorienting Egypt’s economy to serve the interests of the army.” It is as though the army is the soul winner of all endeavours; it is as though all projects of profound outcomes on the nation such as infrastructure, road network, renewable energy, and job creation is for the benefit of the army.
Had you mentioned the effort made to improve the economy rather than clamping on delusionary misconception, I would’ve accepted your words, so let me remind you that Egypt is on the right track, and the economical decisions implemented, though harsh, had to be taken to set Egypt on the right course. Like you, El Sisi is on a mission, too, but for a by far better cause: to get Egypt on track soon.
Your finding fault continues. According to you, the new Coptic Cathedral in the New Capital, built as “the largest in the Middle East,” is bad. Why? Because, one, Copts will be compelled to “troop out” to the New Capital, and, two, “it will become a target for terrorists.”
Your thinking is bizarre, Ms. Dunne. For once, Copts are given equal opportunities to shine in the bright limelight only for you to discredit the effort. And fear of terrorism will not stop us from building our country and improving it. Would you ask anyone else around the world to stop developing their cities just in case terrorists will target such improvements? I beg to differ; the new Cathedral is yet another opportunity for Copts to live side by side and equally with Muslims in Egypt.
According to you, foreign diplomats are being pressed to move to the new capital, “that their safety may not be guaranteed” elsewhere. Even if your sources confirm these fallacies, isn’t it logical that the new capital would have better and more secured facilities?
The venom continues. “Sisi’s regime bullying approach to diplomacy,” led Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, to threaten that Egypt would unleash a flood of migrants across the Mediterranean should European leaders not support Sisi.”
I suggest you word it more succinctly and respectfully. Egypt’s efforts to curb the flow of migrants from its shores has been extremely successful as many European leaders have deemed. This requires vigilance, financial support, and will, so please don’t belittle the effort made.
On another note, “Sisi’s regime” does not bully. In fact, this president has never slandered, defamed, or insulted even the worst enemies, so please stop embellishing stories or imagining them. We leave such rhetoric and such manners for “other countries” to utilize.
I’ll stop here though your vindictive style continues for yet another few pages. I may pursue the rebuttal in a sequel later if my fury persists.
Ms. Dunne, stop going after Egypt. Let this vendetta be. It doesn’t become a “scholar” like you.
