Al-Ahram Weekly 14 - 20 September 2000 Issue No. 499
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875

	Egypt Region Interview International Economy Opinion Culture Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters

Dot-com activism

By Youssef Rakha

In post-Twelve Dreams of the Sun Cairo, the new consumerism is but one facet of a globalised -- middle-class -- existence. The internet, for one party, plays an increasingly vibrant role, no less in the personal lives of the young (who are finding hard-won space for love and friendship through IRC) than in the ministrations of human rights activists and cultural critics.

Renouncing old-guard methods and many principles (including, for example, the left-wing and nationalist imperative that places a bar on dealings with western sponsors), these latter-day heros see in the dot-com world a singular opportunity for uncensored information, effective communication and unhindered coalition -- all of which are thought to provide channels for liberal reform. Because many of the names in question straddle both categories, commentators are hard put to point out that liberal reform is to be distinguished from the militant and situationist (hard-line political) revolts of 1968 and the 1970s.

In the electronic age, many feel, where they haven't disintegrated into vapid polemics the concepts and practices of the Left have radically altered. More often than not, the implication is that as the world community becomes decentralised and access to information spreads, the mechanics of power can service human rights and cultural causes without direct interaction with political apparatuses. Critics argue that such a non-confrontational stance will ultimately alienate and displace the nationally-oriented intellectual, but it is as well to realise that, if one is to maintain a healthy connection with the rest of the world, that unruly creature, in its hitherto unchanged form, must be seen as a thing of the past.

Yet a brief review of some of the sites in question unconformably suggests that, however high the hopes and sincere the intentions, virtual activism in Egypt has barely undergone its genesis. Complicated by questions like computer illiteracy and the inexplicable delay in the spread of Arabic html, the dot-com world is said to supply the activist with a risk-free and non-commital, hence less compelling, alternative. Virtual is thought to be in contradiction with real; and in the same way as experimental theatre, for example, is denigrated for its lack of popularity and interest in a supposed "real world", so too the Internet is seen as an escapist's instrument of divorce from reality, as ineffective as it is pointless. No less than the old Left's aging paragons, the masses have no access to it, after all. So how can it be as significant as all that, many have claimed.

Understandably, the first initiative to attract attention was undertaken by a group of young, Western-educated students. The second and third issues of their oppositional and humorous publication, Fad El Kil (Tipping over) were circulated widely among left-of-centre writers and artists in the weeks before and after the much publicised first meeting of the independent intellectuals' tagamo' (gathering or coalition) initially led by Ibrahim Mansour and Radwa Ashour. Animators of the tagamo' admired the oppositional tone of that one-page publication, commending its authors' seriousness and historical awareness, their understanding of the corruption, incompetence and misinformation that lie at the root of their country's troubles; and the semi-clandestine, discreet approach that they adopted was sufficiently reminiscent of thier own struggles to warrant these activists' unconditional support. Since nothing has happened for so long, they felt, the emergence of Fad El Kil can be interpreted as the signal of a renaissance to come.

The consequent willingness to collaborate gave rise to Al-Awama (The Boathouse), an under-construction site that remains, alas, disappointingly void of content. Given that Fad El Kil (if it still exists as an independent site) is impossibly difficult to reach via search engines (the lack of a sustained budget implies, among other things, a dependence on free, hard-to-get-to Internet space), one cannot help conceding that the viability of either site as a forum, let alone an active instrument of change, sadly remains an open question -- for a while yet.

Better supported sites appear to be emerging, the latest of which, the Arab Press Freedom Watch (APFW) site (www.apfwatch.org), coordinated by Ibrahim Nawwar, purports to "help Arab journalists and Arab media organisations to preserve the basic right of freedom of expression and to maintain a positive role for the media in the progress of Arab societies towards democracy, peace and prosperity," through accurately documenting incidents of suppression, providing legal advice, holding seminars and events, and maintaining an active network of interested parties through the internet. Will this really work, though?

As the world of virtual politics slowly and gradually takes form, one can only wait and see, sceptically logging on.

	weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg