Slogans/Chants: ثوره ثوره في كل مكان Revolution Revolution in all the Land

Okay! Found a source for the slogans being chanted, at least in Egypt. The Angry Arab News Agency comes through; check them out:

http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/01/egyptian-slogans.html

Though as I have done in the subject line above (and in my previous post) let's keep working to create  translations that capture the meanings, the atmosphere and spirit behind the words.

Whither the Revolution?

Like previous times "when any form of government becomes destructive to" the people's "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" and "right of the people to alter or to abolish it" comes into play, the revolutions play out the way they play out. The forces, institutions, movements, organizations, ideologies, and other tectonics, both internal and external will go into motion and the process begun in and from Tunisia, is just getting started.

For one thing, it took a while—praise The Lord!—but I inevitably ran into someone (not an Egyptian, but a Pakistani like me) who brought up Syed Qutb as the original "Shaheed" of the Egyptian Revolution. Like I said in a previous post, the revolutions happening are inevitable. But it is where they end up and where they go will be interesting. My first reaction was that that's how it starts; the process of diverting and destroying the legacy of a proud people's effort to rid themselves of oppression. It starts with people taking their own ideologies (in this case, whether pro- or anti-Ikhwan; Islamic, Islamist, or otherwise) and declaring this or that point of view the only solution. Just to use the Ikhwan's example, I am not very familiar with Egypt, but if Sidi Al Baradei is to be believed, it represents 20% of Egyptian society. In our country, their equivalents from all shades of reactionary religious thought hold about 13% of the nation's loyalties. Other points of view (in Pakistan, it is about 35%+/- Peoples', 30%+/- various Muslim Leagues, and so on). Unless we learn to be interlocutors, competing for how best to better our societies, nations and the Ummah, rather than enemies to be eliminated and done away with, we, excuse the expression, continue to be f****ed.

What are they chanting in #Egypt, #Yemen, #Tunisia? Tell us; translate for us.

Update: Since I wrote the text below, I found a list of slogans on The Angry Arab News Service and have posted a link to it. However, the process of capturing the slogans, their meanings, context, and capturing their magic continues. For example, I used part of a translation in my post about the list at ANN, but updated it a bit. Check it out, and please contribute!

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To coin a phrase, the graffiti that revolutions yield lives after them; the slogans are oft interred with the bones. The most exhilarating part of a street movement is often the slogans being chanted. They range from crude obscenity-laced condemnations to sublime, uplifting calls to the better angels of human nature. But almost invariably, chanted right, they have one thing in common: they are lyrical, musical, and poetic. Just as government and society is, at least for the duration of the movement itself, democratized and taken over by the people, in moments like the one we're seeing in The Maghreb, Al Ifriqiya, and the Arab lands today, my art—communication in general and the language and musical arts in particular—is taken back by those it belongs to: the People. The People of The Language, "Ahl-e-Zubaan" we call them in South Asia, take the art form to passionate heights that only those passionately engaged with the subject matter can attain.  And, quite frankly and selfishly, I would like be a part of it; to partake of this revolution by partaking of this art form. And if this is a revolution that belongs to all of us, then everybody else should, too.

My own experience in this art form is mainly from South Asia (Pakistan and India, mainly) with some exposure to US and Nigerian chants, I am tantalized by bits and pieces I am hearing chanted in one of the world's oldest and richest languages in the streets of Tunisia, Misr, and Yaman (and even The Hejaz?). Did I hear "Barra! Barra! Barra!"? That's Down! Down! Down! right? as in "Down with Mubarak"? How is What was the line that went after it? How is "Kefaya!"—Enough! the name of the movement and iconic exclamation of Egyptian protesters for a few years now—chanted?

I would like to request, beg, supplicate those on the ground, and watching from afar and who speak Arabic to please post the words, chants, songs, etc. and—as importantly—translate for us what is being said. And, of course, translations can not and do not do complete justice to any work of art; but let us get alternate translations, word help, and dare I say a concordance going.

You can post your input as comments below, or on my Facebook status where this turns up, or via twitter with the hashtag #ArabicChant

Revolutions Don't Happen on Cue …

Revolutions, it strikes me, don't happen on cue; they don't happen according to a script. And once they start, they play out the way they play out. The process in Tunisia, for example, is just getting started.

What do you think?

Corruption and Terrorism

Corruption has been a long-running problem in post-colonial and post-conflict states. Corruption of money and corruption of power. And even in states led by people who waged self-less struggles for independence. We can follow in the headlines of the New York Times and other Western media outlets the process of it's being institutionalized in a "new" post-conflict state in Afghanistan. Just read what is NOT mentioned in the stories, in particular. You read that corruption is a big problem—and, without irony—often the same article will tell you that the same person who is corrupt and a drug lord, "is also on the CIA payroll". The point made being that "we" should not be giving money to a person who is "corrupt". Huh? A foreign intelligence agency paying someone a stipend is not "corruption"? In a country that could afford self-respect, it would be considered worse than monetary corruption; it would be considered treason.

Anyways, it was a conversation on Twitter with @weddady and which started with a mention of terrorism, as so much does nowadays, that finally helped me sort out my thoughts. It started by my noticing a comment by him saying that terrorism is why Western governments support dictators. Here's my response, compiled from multiple tweets to (hopefully) one coherent para:

I don't think terrorism is the the reason the West supports criminals. It starts—or started, back in colonial days, and re-started again in the post-colonial (some would say neo-colonial) age as the struggle for influence, resources, and hegemony took off—with corruptible folks. It is the corruptible that sell out to people looking to buy influence. That leads to the corrupt having the resources necessary to gain power. Terrorism turns up further down the road as constructive avenues for political participation and redress are cut off. [Interesting article on the cycle as it has played out in the Maoist troubles in India here. Which is not to say that all of the actions of the Naxalites are terrorism, but then, terrorism is one tact too often used by insurgencies of all sorts.] Long and short of it; terrorism only helps strengthen that cycle. So, yes, it strengthens the criminal/corrupt but it's not the original sin.