'Please forward..'
The Anglo-American invasion of Iraq was occasion for thousands of Egyptians to learn e-activism, reports Amira El-Noshokaty
"Van leaving for Iraq Thursday at 6am. Donations needed."
"USA will lose $8.6 billion if you don't buy American products for a week."
"Wear black as a sign of protest. We will fast on Monday and Thursday and pray for the Iraqi people. Please forward..."
Text messages sent by mobile phones in Cairo between 31 March and 3 April 2003
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The moment it became clear that the US was intent on invading Iraq, mobile phones and e-mail accounts were flooded with messages calling for action. From organising fasts and prayer sessions to signing online petitions, a new form of activism has entered the Egyptian scene. Theoretically capable of reaching 4.5 million mobile phone subscribers and 2.1 million Internet users across the country, this "virtual" activism has transcended borders.
Sherifa Saleh, who works in a private business, received a text message urging people to undertake the all-night Qeyam Al-Leil prayer for the Iraqi people. "My friends and I did so after receiving the SMS [short message service]. We also have received an SMS calling on people to boycott all US products for a week and that this will make them lose $8.6 billion. I think that everyone who has received it must be doing it."
Karim El-Gammal, a computer instructor, has also received political text messages. "It keeps me in touch with what is going on around me, and forwarding makes you feel like you have a role in solving a specific problem," he said.
The new technology has also been a way for hard-core activists to voice dissent. A student in the American University in Cairo who wanted to remain anonymous said that the Internet and text messages have been instrumental in coordinating rallies. "When the war on Iraq started, I got a message telling me where I could go to take part in a protest rally."
Text messaging has become effective not only for safely passing along information about upcoming demonstrations but also for protesters to communicate while at rallies. "Text messaging is important throughout the demonstrations because organisers need to communicate with one another," said the young activist. "For example, at the demonstration on 20 March, when one of my colleagues was hit by the police I was able to SMS the information to other protesters and tell them that I was taking him to the nearest hospital. On another occasion, I received an SMS informing me that one of our friends had been arrested by the state security and we were able to quickly organise a campaign for his release."
Aida Seif El-Dawla, professor of psychiatry and anti-war activist, says that the role of the Internet and text messaging as an independent tool for activism in Egypt is still minimal. "Yet, they allow for a wider circulation of information," she says. She emphasised the role of the Internet as an alternative source for information that might not otherwise be widely available, such as news of the torture and arrest of demonstrators or for circulating online petitions.
However, in comparison with text messaging, the Internet may be less useful because it is only available to those with access to computers. The student activist noted that the Internet is most useful before demonstrations. "For example, we circulated a UN report comparing the situation of Iraq with that of Israel with regards to weapons of mass destruction. This is useful in creating more awareness. We get such information from the Web site of the United Nations."
Dina Hishmat, a member of the Anti-Globalisation Egyptian Group (AGEG), noted that while "the use of the Internet is increasing in Egypt, it cannot be depended upon exclusively for getting one's message across". The AGEG Web site was among the first to file an online petition before the war on Iraq to stop American and British war ships from crossing the Suez Canal.
Palestinians, too, have mobilised using the Internet in recent years. One vibrant example is Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition, which has a Web site at www.al- awda.org. According to Mazin Qomseya, Al-Awda's co-founder, it is a "young, grassroots organisation committed to educating the public and providing direct support to alleviate the plight of Palestinians with an emphasis on their right to return to their homes and lands".
Al-Awda, which was established in 2000, has succeeded in forming semi- autonomous local action committees and chapters in more than 25 states in the US and 12 countries. They coordinate awareness campaigns and initiatives on the local as well as national and international levels.
Al-Awda also has become a means through which e-mails, petitions and news on the arrests of activists from the Arab world are distributed. On 24 April, Al-Awda forwarded a petition sent out by a human and civil rights organisation in Tunisia calling for the release of Egyptian activists arrested for demonstrating against the war on Iraq. Al-Awda also circulated a petition to release Mary Kelly, the Irish peace activist arrested for attacking a US warplane with a hatchet when it stopped to refuel at Shannon International Airport in Ireland while en route to the Gulf.
Electronic activism has succeeded in providing a forum for Egyptian resistance within the global realm as well as for mobilising Egyptian activists on issues beyond the country's borders.
Before the invasion of Iraq, war opponents forwarded e-mails announcing that world-wide demonstrations would take place on the day of the outbreak of war. Egypt was part of the global campaign -- on 20 March, 30,000-40,000 people demonstrated at Tahrir Square. "I think that text messaging and forwarded e- mails played a very important role in the first demonstration at Tahrir Square in Cairo," said Seif El-Dawla.
When Egyptian demonstrators were arrested, e-mails translated into several languages were forwarded around the world asking for help and solidarity. "We received e-mails supporting the Egyptian resistance movement from across the Arab world as well as from people in Luxembourg, France, the UK and elsewhere," added Seif El-Dawla.
