Essay on Growing Up During the Egyptian Revolution

The memoir Night is a true story set during the Holocaust about a boy named Eliezer Wiesel. Throughout the book, Elie and her father encounter many different hardships and challenges, but use resilience to get through them. Family and fear can both impact a person’s resilience by shifting their mindset or by giving them more encouragement to keep going. Fear plays a huge role in impacting someone’s resilience by changing their point of view into prioritizing themselves. When all of the prisoners were sprinting in the freezing cold, they were being chased by many SS officers and would get shot by one of the guards if they stopped running.

The psychological effects, the mentality of fighting and killing another human, and the sheer decimation of human values is what makes war atrocious. War is not only fought on the battlefield though. This book also describes the feelings of a soldier fighting his own demons that war has brought on. The battle that the soldier has with himself, is almost if not more damaging than the physical battle of war. He will never forget his experience with battle, no matter how hard he tries the memories of artillery, blood, and death cannot be erased. “I prayed like you to survive, but look at me now. It is over for us who are dead, but you must struggle, and will carry the memories all your life. People back home will wonder why you can't forget.” (Sledge). This struggle still happens to soldiers today. Sledge’s words of the struggles still captures the effects of warfare that lingers today. The other effects that war has on the men is the instability that surrounds them at every hour of the day. They are either engaged in battle having bullets and artillery fired at them, or waiting for battle just so they can be deposited back in the pressure cooker of survival. “Lying in a foxhole sweating out an enemy artillery or mortar barrage or waiting to dash across open ground under machine-gun or artillery fire defied any concept of time.”

Consequently, as a fifteen year old boy, he had to see the excruciating realities of the world by receiving physical and mental torture. Night also represented the loss

Your memoir, Night, drastically changed my view on the world; more specifically, I now sympathize more with individuals who are experiencing a struggle of any kind. This is a result of the brutal details that forced you to create a vivid image of the situation at hand. Before reading Night, I never truly took the time to imagine what it would be like to be in these tragic situations. Therefore, I would like to thank you for bringing this inhumane flaw I possessed to light. The first account of me realizing this flaw, occurred because of the Nazis’ brutality.

Margaret Mead, a famous anthropologist once said. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that has.” Rebellions and revolutions throughout time happened from people wanting change and were determined to get it. The rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada from 1837-1838 and The Egyptian Revolution of 1952 both started with people who wanted change in their government. Flaws in the past and present government structures with no democracy, lead to unfairness in the socials class systems causing rebellions and revolutions. While these rebellions and revolutions lead to great things and were major turning points for the countries, they had positive and negative aspects. It

The latter half of the 20th century was an incredibly turbulent time for Egypt as regimes cycled in and out every couple decades and the country seemed to always be at war. “The Yacoubian Building”, a 2002 film, illustrated how the resulting corrupted government and abysmal economy affected Egypt’s population, especially the lower classes. Additionally, the viewer saw how these two factors led to both the appalling treatment of women and the rise of violent insurgency groups.

A leader is defined as a person who rules, guides, or inspires others. A leader is a very important part of state formation in any society, but particularly in Egypt. Without a leader, a state does not grow and flourish as quickly or efficiently as states with leaders. Early Egyptian leaders allowed Egypt to become a notable state through their communication, ideas, innovation, and will. Showing how Egyptians rulers made a presence in the predynastic period, how they developed to be leaders, and how they impacted a state are important when considering Egyptian state formation.

“You were born in the mother of all lands.” To my parents, Egypt’s title of being the “mother” of the world was irrefutable. However, growing up, the sun-scorched country I was born in meant little to nothing to me. I was occupied with post-immigration life in Virginia, and Egypt became a distant fabrication. However, when financial hardships began to weigh too heavily on my father’s shoulders, he made the economic choice to send my sisters and I to Egypt.

To begin, the documentary “The Square” provided in depth insight on the protestors’ lives and their journeys through Egypt presidents’ problematic rise of power. During the beginning of the documentary, Ahmed Hassan, Magdy Ashour, Khalid Abdalla and Ramy Essam as well as various protestors are followed throughout the demonstrations to show viewers the atrocities that Egypt underwent in 2011 and the years following. As well, the documentary provides different points of views by interviewing military officials and people in higher political power. Not only did the documentary provide insight in the revolution but, it provided an insight on Egypt’s culture and society through the views of Christian and Muslim followers.

In Tunisia, A man purposely set himself on fire to express his rights. Little did the government know this was just the foreshadowing of major uprising in Egypt. In the Middle East, the dissatisfied youth started a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests that began December 18, 2010. Known as the “Arab Spring”, the young adults protested all through the Arab world because of their anger with unemployment, inflation, and the regulations of the government. The young adults, who received message of the protest via social media, were hungry for political change, more voice, and economic stimulus. However, this is not the first time we have seen citizens revolt like this. In 1972, society revolted due to raised taxes, lack of freedom, and poverty, ultimately causing the French revolution. In comparing Egypt and the French revolution, although the causes are the same through changes in government, dire financial situation, and significant events, the results demonstrate differences.

There is a place where not far from my hometown, which, since my childhood, still holds the secrets to life. It was a place where we were free. Free to do whatever we wanted to do, say whatever we wanted to say, it was our place, our river. It was a simple place, no paved or asphalt roads for the commotion of busy traffic, no tall buildings to block out the sunlight, no sense of time to feel rushed or anxious, no effects from the outside world. It was a beach on the coast of Lake Sakakawea called “Little Egypt.”

The Egyptian Revolution of 1919 was a countrywide non-violent revolution against the British occupation of Egypt. It was carried out by Egyptians from different walks of life in the wake of the British-ordered exile of revolutionary leader Saad Zaghlul and other members of the Wafd Party in 1919. The event led to Egyptian independence in 1922 and the implementation of a new constitution in 1923

Egyptians in a solidarity move demonstrated for 18 consecutive days of protest until the former president Hosni Mubarak was forced to resign and the military took over the government suspending the constitution. At the moment, the military can either run the transitional government for a period of a year or less or run the country by committee. On taking over the power, the military promised to deliver a new constitution and organize a free and fair election.

In Bruce K. Rutherford’s writing “Egypt: The Origins and Consequences of the January 25 Uprising” Rutherford identifies the five key political actors/entities that are important in contemporary Egyptian politics. He recognizes the liberals, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Salafis, the military and remnants of the old regime as being some of the primary instigators in Egypt today. (Rutherford)

Revolutions have taken place over history around the whole world and varied greatly according to their causes, objectives, and results. They all occur in order to make a kind of change, either by attempting to modify regimes or completely overthrow them. Their results incorporate material changes in political, economic, cultural, and social life. In Egypt, two of the most crucial revolutions that have occurred are the 1952 and 2011 revolutions. Even though the gap of years between them is quite wide, they share similarities in their causes and goals.