Journalism And Selling Your Soul To the devil

I am sick of Egyptian/Arab/Muslim  writers and journalists selling their souls to the devil, and giving up every tiny-winy inch of self-respect they might have had one day to please the 'crowd'. There is of course the premise of fame and perhaps making a living out of bashing your own country. Stirring up a storm sells! Who cares what the consequences are!

You know the type? They write article after article listing all-the-things-wrong with Egypt, make Islam look bad, and then they look the other way and say :"but Islam has nothing to do with it. It is a great religion REALLY!!!" Well, why don't you write, at least once in your lifetime, about something positive in Islam.

I am not suggesting to follow the lead of Al Ahram newspaper's writers and sing the praises of the government but COME ON , honestly, you think nothing is wrong with the West? No human rights violations by our dear neighbours the Israelis??? Diversify, dear writers! It does not only suck on our end of the globe. It sucks everywhere. 

Of course, If you feel like you have a calling, a cause you are fighting for, then by all means focus on that. But your focus should not be what ever pleases Mr.Editor  (pictured in Blue-Gray above)

You think I can't back my case up with evidence, think again. I will not even begin to discuss the pieces written by Egyptians/Arabs in 'International' newspapers/magazines. For now, at least in this post, let it be local.

A couple of months ago, Al Masry Al Yom ran a feature on Nubians, Great people. What was not so great was that the paper had an article about the Nubians 'religious beliefs.' It stated that they believe in, and practice, an esoteric religious mixture of Islam-Christianity-and-Judaism. It also stated that they  keep it a secret for fear of persecution. Well, guess who got the secret out!!! I was appalled by the piece. I could not think of one reason why anyone would want to write about that, except to fuel further discrimination against Nubians. I wondered whether this was ethical. Did they decide to reveal their 'secret' via this article, or where they duped into spilling their guts out?

I like journalism with goal, purpose, and --like I said-- a calling. I wish there were a few more peace-loving writers out there. You know, the type that don't care much for spreading hate and negativity, and perhaps highlight the positive once in a while.

Egypt: Torrential Rainstorms

Article first published as Egypt: Torrential Rainstorms on Blogcritics.org

2010 is off to a disastrous start in many areas of the globe.
You have disasters of colossal magnitude, like that of Haiti, and you have other ,less monstrous, yet with equally important repercussions such as the torrential rainstorms that struck some of Egypt's already poor and underserved cities in the Sinai Peninsula, and upper Egypt. Starting on January 18 and lasting for four days, flash floods in Egypt have left thousands homeless and starving, many injured and an uncertain number dead. It is worth noting that Gaza has also been struck by the downpour.
Egyptian authorities have allocated 25,000 L.E. (about 4,400 U.S.D) as a compensation for each family that has lost a home. Two blankets were also promised; the catch is that those stricken by the disaster have to present their national identity cards, which have been washed away along with all their belongings, to receive food and blankets!
The affected communities are outraged by the inefficiency of the relief efforts, and the delay in response. One of the heavily criticized issues is that building licenses were granted in areas around riverbeds known to be at peril in case of heavy rains and flood. The citizens are also concerned at the possibility of further damage if the  Rawafe' dam succumbs to a next wave of heavy rains.