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Why do you hate us?
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Ahmed Tharwat |
I visited Egypt last month for the first time since the
tragic events of 9/11. This time I was on a personal journey of discovery.
It was a nice get away from the freezing cold of a Minnesota January and
from the gloating smirks of conservative friends all around me. I went to
Egypt to look for an answer to a singular question that has crowded my
mind since our two-term president so hastily raised immediately after the
attack of September 11. “Why do they (Muslims) hate us?” Yeeh, hate … yes
hate? Are my people inherently hateful creatures? Do Egyptians hate
America for what it does or for what America is? After a long 24 hours
flight I arrived to Cairo International airport; and I hit the ground
running; I wasted no time, the next day and without any appointment I
visited the Egyptian press association, a majestic building in the heart
of downtown Cairo. I went to a huge office on the 4th floor to
see Aassem Hanafy, an Egyptian journalist who has been writing about
Egyptian life for more than 30 years in Rosel-Youssef magazine. I asked
him directly why Egyptians hate America/Americans. In response, he grabbed
my hand and walked me over to a picture window overlooking the famous El-Sherif
Street. “Look and listen to those people,” he demanded with a serious
voice. “Do they really look like they have the time or the energy to hate
anyone?” he implored. Most Egyptians are so consumed by their harsh
daily lives, and they don’t have time to hate. As Lila Tallat, a
university student, explained to me when I met her at Cairo University,
“From the moment we wake up until we go back to bed at night, we are faced
with incurable problems. We don’t have time for the self-important and
self biting America.” Egyptians are becoming more ambivalent to anything
that doesn’t directly affect their personal daily life: family, private
tutoring for children, food, traffic, jobs, marriage and, of course,
soccer. In a way, they are becoming like Americans. “Egyptians don’t even
hate their own five terms useless president and his police regime,” mused
Refaat Mohamed, an executive at a construction company who in 1981 had
been snatched out of his own home at dawn by Egyptian secret police. He
was tortured for 13 months with no accusation against him or apology to
speak of. “How could I hate people I haven’t even met? Our problem is
with Bush and not with the American people,” he added, not expecting an
answer. So where are those angry Muslims who shout loud death threats to
America in front of the TV cameras on the network evening news?
On a
beautiful sunny winter morning I took my video camera in search of them on
the street of Cairo. It was the beginning of a four-day celebration of the
Islamic holiday the feast of sacrifice where every able Muslim family is
required to sacrifice a lamb and give to the poor to commemorate the
saving of Abraham’s oldest son’s life - Ismail (let us not get picky now
on which son). That early morning, walking in the street of old Cairo
city, the blood was flowing like a river, gushing out of every house
entrance, apartment building, or crack on the sidewalk, it seemed that it
was a fresh massacre in the works, anyone with a big knife can freely
slaughter a lamb or cow with such casual impunity. I know it doesn’t it is
not a good idea to talk about hate with someone with a big knife in his
hand. As I was walking by a big old apartment building entrance, a big
crowd was watching with amusement the slaughtering ritual. Is this a good
time to get some of those people to talk to me about America. those people
seem to be too busy to talk about the questions of hate on this holy day.
A middle age women who was waiting to get her share of the slaughtered
meet give away festival asked me if I was here for the meat give away. I
told her, I’m on mission to ask Egyptians about America. Amreecca (as
Egyptians call it) she gasped as if she just met or heard about something
she has lost long time ago. I asked here if she would like to say
something about Amreeks. “Malha America” what about America, she
whispered. We were very good friends, they gave us cheese and flowers I
remember when I was a little girl in school. I don’t know why we don’t get
along” and she ran to get her share of the meat. How about the children,
what do they hate America too. I Walked to one of the few public parks in
the Almoneerah; a crowded area west of Cairo. Kids with their beautiful
bright color clothes were playing everywhere in the small gated park,
celebrating the feast, hundreds of innocent young girls and boys playing
together, taking rides, kicking the soccer ball and just enjoying great
clean fun. I approached a tall slim 13-year-old girl with a long black
hair and big dark eyes. Her name was Ryhan Salah, She seemed to be looking
after her younger brothers. I asked her if she could help me collect a few
children to talk them about America on camera. In a few seconds and in the
speed of sound more than 20 kids were stumbling and climbing all over me.
They didn’t seem to be scared, and if they had ever been told not to talk
to strangers, climbing over them wasn’t in their parental advisory list.
Those kids didn’t seem to be old enough to hate or to understand questions
about hate, so I needed to change my strategy but not my mission. Instead
of asking them “Why do you hate America?” I asked them “What does America
mean to you?” They all started screaming and talking at the same time.
The boys’ idea of America was all about forbidden fruits. “I like their
apples, peaches, and bananas,” said an eleven old boy. “I like their
sweets and ice cream,” added another. In the midst of this food fight
chaos, a pretty little eight-year-old girl in jeans and a yellow t-shirt
jumped up and literally climbed over everyone standing in her way,
demanding attention from all around her. “Be quiet, I want to say
something!” she shouted with the confidence of a well-compensated CEO. She
stared right to the camera and began shouting, “I love America, I love
America!” She repeated it over and over, as if she needed to make sure
everyone understood this complex concept of American lover. “I want to go
to America, I wish I could live in America!” she cried. Her name is
Narmeen Muhammed, I asked her why she loves America. “I love the American
people; they are beautiful and they smile a lot.” I asked her what she
might like to say if she met a eight-year-old American girl like her. “I
want to be your friend,” she immediately answered with a hopeful smile. As
I was leaving the park, Ryhan, the tall girl with beautiful wide eyes who
was unusually quite followed me and asked if she could say something to
the American kids, I immediately handled her the mice. She shyly looked to
the camera and whispered “ I like you all, and I want to meet you and ask
you if you like me”. Then she stopped and turned away.
This
absurd notion of why others hate us has been ingrained in the American
consciousness since the first immigrants arrived on this island. “Why
should we engage ourselves with the rest of the world that we had left
behind? The others - they hate us anyway,” is a conservative mindset to
justify our isolationist predisposition and attitude towards the rest of
the world. America has always been about exceptionalism; for
conservatives, Americans are the new chosen people and the world is
envious of us, it’s that simple. And our arrogant and self-righteous
attitude toward world affair has nothing to do with the way the world
views us - they hate us for who we are, not what we do, this
administration wants us to believe. Not those Egyptians kids who
were innocent enough to love America. Any takers!
Ahmed
2/16/05
Freelance Writer
Producer and Host of the Arab American TV show BelAhdan
Airs
on MN Public TV on Sundays at 10:30pm
www.belahdan.com
ahmedtharwat@belahdan.com
952-933-6825
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