Being Egyptians, the main concern in the household for my wife and I these days is what is going on in Egypt, and the state of instability and regression of the community to the primeval times. Over the past three days, we have been trying to contact our families back home with no avail. Communications lines (i.e. Internet, cell phones and even land lines) have been cut by the government, as if isolation of Egypt from the rest of the world is possible in this era. We watch the news, which is transmitted via satellites, and we know how bad the situation is over there, and all the world knows what is going on already. Still, the government refuses to restore communications. I am not quite sure if this is a plot to cover up for more terrors that happen there and are not visible to the foreign media or if it is plain stupidity on the part of the regime.
Anyways... It was only natural for my 7-year-old son to ask me several questions about why we were concerned and why we looked so upset and worried. I tried to explain to him to the best of my abilities what was happening. I told him that the people wanted the President to step down. He asked "What do you mean by step down?" I told him that stepping down meant to give up his position as a president and step down from power. He said innocently "Oh, I see...! Stepping down is like demotion while stepping up is like a promotion. So, if the president steps up he becomes a king!" I explained to him that those were two different systems, and that in Egypt we had a president, not a king. I told him we used to have a king, but now we have a president.
The next question was "And why do people want him to step down?" I explained that he was not a good president and he didn't do what was in the best interest of the country. My son voiced his understanding in his words "I get it...! The president is supposed to serve the people, but instead he is making people serve him." I was astonished as to how he got such an idea without much explanation from me, and I concurred with it. The he said "But this is not going to be easy. The president is the strongest person in the country, right?!" Again, I concurred, but I told him that the president is supposed to be elected by people to serve the country, and his power comes from the people who elected him, so when they don't want him he should go away. The 7-year-old boy replied with yet another question "But why doesn't he want to go away?" I found that the answer to this question may not be easy to convey to a boy his age, so I told him I would tell him more about it when he grew up. He insisted, though, to know why Mubarak didn't want to go away. I tried to explain that when people get power, they wouldn't want to let go of this power. He replied "Oh, so he is a power-greedy person," to which I said "Exactly. This is the right word." My son continued "It is like in the Pokemon game when you get more power you wouldn't let go of it, but this is OK in a game, right?!" I agreed with his opinion.
He thought for a while and then told me "But why don't people use brute force to kick him out?" I replied that people are using force and are very angry, and that many died already and many were left with serious injuries. In a childish way he said "If I were there I would have head-butted him and his friends and kicked them out," to which I silently smiled and then told him it wasn't that simple.
Then he wanted to watch some news coverage with me, and he saw some of the rallies that went out to demand the ousting of Mubarak, and he heard them chanting in English "Ben Ali left already... Mubarak get ready..." and asked me what this was. I explained that Ben Ali was another president in another country who was as bad as Mubarak and people revolted against him and ousted him. He then heard one of the people in the rally or one of the reporters (I cannot remember) say that Mubarak had been there for thirty years. The kid raised his eyebrows in astonishment and said "Jeez... He has been president for thirty years already...?!" And I was amazed by the fact that even a 7-year-old could understand that this is too long of a period for one person to assume power in a country. He then asked me "What does Mubarak mean anyways?" I replied that the Arabic word meant "blessed," to which he again replied in amazement "His name is blessed and he does all that evil? Isn't this strange?" I replied to him "That's the irony of it. His name contradicts his actions and attitudes."
Tired of the discussion, I told my son "You know what... It is your bedtime already. Let me take you to bed and we will talk about this subject later." Honestly, this is the best I could come up with to get out of this difficult discussion, but I was totally astounded by what a 7-year-old's view of the political bullshit is!
God save Egypt...
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