Attention all expatriate Egyptians: we have less than three days to make history.

Tahrir Square (Flickr/thecoldwhisper)

For many years, Egyptians living abroad could not vote. Now, for the first time in the past 30 years, Egyptians outside of Egypt are able to cast a vote in the Egyptian elections, after Egypt’s Administrative Court issued a ruling allowing them to take part in elections.

Beginning November 10th, the Egyptians living abroad who wish to vote in Egypt’s next parliamentary elections, started to register by recording their information in embassies and consulates, or through the site of the High Elections Commission. No further information has been given on when and how voting will take place, but in order to vote, you need to be registered. The registration period closes on November 19th.

Having spent almost five years in the United States as an international student and seeing how Americans have the opportunity to elect who they really want to have in power and speak up when they do not like something, I want my country to be the same. I want my people to have the same rights.

But one impression I got from talking to Americans about voting trends in the US was that many people here have the right to vote but they don’t vote (with the exception of the last election). Now that Egyptians overseas have the right to vote, they need to make sure not to fall into the trap of voter apathy. A concern in mind is that if not enough people register, we might be prevented from participating in future elections.

The picture is not perfect in Egypt right now, politically or socially, and the future of Egypt still remains uncertain and some may ask why the vote of the Egyptians living abroad matters or why they have the right to vote.

According to 2008 census estimate, Egypt’s population is nearly 81.3 million with up to 6 million living abroad. Of the Egyptians living abroad, hundreds of thousands reside in the United States.

I understand there is a story behind each Egyptian’s reason for leaving the homeland, whether it’s to study and go back to help their communities, or to work to support their families back home, or even to escape political persecution. But one thing I am sure of is that all Masriyun have one thing in common—that is love for our homeland regardless of the distance between us.

Even the Egyptians who will continue to live abroad still care deeply about Egypt, and their vote can make a difference in the life of their families and communities and because they are not living in Egypt now does not mean that their rights for voting can be taken away.

Many of us were not in Egypt during the revolution and nothing will make us feel what our people were going through while standing in Tahrir Square sacrificing by their lives for you, for me, and for every Egyptian to live with freedom and dignity. The least we can do is to cast our vote to ensure that their sacrifices were not in vain.

If you hesitate about voting, remember, there are still tears of a mother that lost her child, there are cries of small kids who lost their father, there will always be a hole in society from the loss an entire class of doctors, engineers, artisans, breadwinners, etc. We can show our pride for these brave martyrs by voting.

While doing my studies here and struggling in my own way, I always had this inner fear of whether I am going to be able to carry the knowledge I learned here and use it to better my country. I always wondered, is there a way that I can establish research labs in Egypt comparable to American research labs. I have seen many professors go back after they studied here and just lose hope in trying to change the situation in Egypt.

But now it’s different. Now we have a hope. The revolution has given us a once in a life-time chance to change things, to create a better Egypt. Our first step is to choose the leaders we want to represent us.

Egypt is in its formative years. The decisions we help make will have lasting effects on the future of Egypt. It is our duty to be a part of the democratic process. It took just one person to start the revolution in the Middle Eastern countries. One person’s actions created a wave of democracy. Imagine what 6 million can do.

Register today by going to:

http://www.elections2011.eg/index.php/2011-11-09-20-01-43

Demonstration in Support of the Egyptian Protesters

Guest speaker was current UC Riverside SJP President Taher Herzallah, who is currently working as a Campus Coordinator for American Muslims for Palestine

And the water continues to rush in the urban centers, already having threatened to destroy crops which are the breadbasket of the province. Water levels left only tree tops and some of the upper portions of homes visible.  The washed-out bridges and roads and downed communication lines make the relief efforts even more difficult in delivering aid that the army has had to use boats and helicopters to rescue stranded villagers. The situation in the government, however, is so bleak that the United States had to send 6 military helicopters from Afghanistan to use for rescue efforts.

Al-Jazeera reports that Pakistani citizen Ejaz Khan is frustrated with the relief efforts of the government, citing his packed shelter with lack of food and medicine. His two-room house was destroyed in the flood, something he had paid for with his own hard-earned money. This scenery paints the question: Who will help these people?

The UN has warned of “serious food shortages following the loss of farm produce in the floods”. They have estimated that approximately 1.8 million people will need to be fed in the next month. And, yet, it was the Messenger of Allah  who said, “The Muslims are like a body, if one part of the body hurts, the rest of the body will also suffer” [Hadith Muslim].

The irony of this is that the next month, in which these 1.8 million people will need food and shelter, is the month of Ramadan. It is the time when Muslims all over the world are required to pay Zakat (almsgivings), a 2.5% charity of their wealth to the poor. Furthermore, charity and generosity in general is urged during Ramadan. The deprivation of the fast allow us to sympathize with the suffering of the others, and make us desire to alleviate their pains.

Therefore, with a pressing disaster such as this, a disaster which affects a large portion of the Muslims and arriving at a time just days before Ramadan, it is only logical that we must respond.

One of the prominent responders to the relief efforts, Islamic Relief, has launched a global appeal of £2 million following what is called “the worst monsoon floods in living memory”.  They have already begun distributing blankets and tents to the victims of this flood. But more aid from international donors is needed to prevent the death toll from escalating.

However none of this can be possible without each of our help.

Here is a breakdown of what can be bought with YOUR donated money:

£20 will buy a family hygiene kit

£40 will buy a food pack for a family

£150 will buy a family tent

Islamic Relief has set up an easy way for us to donate for Pakistan’s emergency. (If you would like to first calculate your Zakat for the year, here is a quick calculator.)

Other organizations uniting to help in the relief efforts include

• AmeriCares
• The British Red Cross
• CARE
• Catholic Relief Services
• Church World Service
• Direct Relief International
• Doctors Without Borders
• UNICEF
• World Food Programme
• World Vision

Finally, we must remember that this disaster is truly a test from Allah (Glorified be He). It is a test not only for the victims of the disaster, but it is a test for the rest of the Muslims, testing our response to help our fellow Muslims during this month of Ramadan. Allah tells us in the Qur’an:

Do you think that you shall enter into Paradise without such trials as those who passed away before you? They were afflicted with poverty and disease and they were shaken such that the Messenger and those who believed that were with him cried out, ‘When will the Help of God come?’ Surely, the help of God is near. (Qur’an, 2:214)

Sources:

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/christian.aid.groups.respond.as.pakistan.flood.kills.over.1000/26407.htm

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/08/20108272938607141.html

http://islamicrelief.com/Emergencies-And-Appeals/emIRResponse.aspx?emID=67

http://www.islamic-relief.com/NewsRoom/4-307-pakistan-floods.aspx

http://www.islamicreliefusa.org/pakistan-floods

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/08/04/help.pakistan/#fbid=M3EpVZezbOG&wom=false

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/08/2010847584729225.html

“So for those of you that I don’t know, I am Gene Block. I am the Chancellor at UCLA, the new chancellor, and I am here to talk you about the events, not only of this morning but events that have been going on for about a week. I am personally deeply, deeply disturbed by what has happened at UC San Diego. This has been such an obvious lack of respect for students of our community, I find it terrible. I have talked with the Chancellor of UC San Diego, who I believe, she is deeply disturbed by what’s happening at her campus, perhaps a bit overwhelmed. It’s a terrible thing to happen on any campus –it’s my worst nightmare, something like this, it’s just terrible to have such bad behavior. I do know that a couple of folks have been identified this morning having been involved in the recent but I don’t know the actual status of the investigation at this point. The 10 chancellors, including Chancellor Fox, have crafted a statement that will go out to the entire UC community. And the statement, I believe, deals explicitly with the values of this institution and how we view the behavior that has occurred recently. And I would like to read it. It is not perfect word for word…it hasn’t been approved yet by our academic senate. But I want to share with you –I have approved it, so the small changes, I’ll review small changes, but I don’t think this will change much. It says:

As leaders of the University of California, we are deeply disturbed by the recent events at a few of our campuses. We condemn all acts of racism, intolerance, and incivility. Regardless of how such offenses are rationalized, or what free speech rights they purport to express, the acts we have witnessed are unacceptable. The actions of these individuals reflect neither our principles nor our values, nor the sentiments of the vast majority of the University of California community. We will not allow the actions of a few to speak for this University. We denounce them.

Each of our campuses is committed to promoting and defending a learning environment that values and supports each student, faculty and staff member in an atmosphere that is open, civil, fair, caring and respectful. These values are enshrined in the “Principles of Community” each campus adheres to and that clearly outline our expectations for the behaviors on our campuses. We expect that all members of our university communities, including our visitors, will be respectful of differing views, opinions, experiences and backgrounds.

When violations occur, it is incumbent on us, as leaders and as stewards of free speech on our campuses, to fight back. We have a responsibility to speak out against the activities that promote intolerance or undermine civil dialogue. As always, the remedy for bad speech is good speech. For that reason, we call on all members of the UC community –students, faculty, and staff – to affirm and defend the values of the University of California. We are speaking out and asking each of you to do the same whenever, wherever and however you confront behavior that violates the principles and values of the University.

This is a statement by all 10 chancellors, again, supporting the right of all of us to go to school with dignity, safety and respect through our entire community. I share your anguish over the events that have happened. It’s my worst dream,  it’s not what you want to happen on a great university campus. It’s certainly not what I want to ever see happen on this campus. And I will work with your leadership to make certain that together, we create an environment here, an environment at UCLA that will be supportive. And we will help the students and we’ll be as supportive as we can to students of other campuses so that they can enjoy the same respect and civility that we expect on our campus. But as Chancellor of UCLA, my primary concern is, of course, your education, your feeling of safety on this campus and respectful interactions amongst our students. And I will work tirelessly to make sure you get the education you deserve in an environment that you deserve. I apologize what has happened, as a leader of the campus, I feel badly about all this and I will do everything I can to try prevent actions like this from happening…”

Later in the evening, the Chancellor sent an e-mail to the campus community with a revised version of the statement, signed by UC President Mark Yudof and all the other UC chancellors, read at the sit-in.

-In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful-

Assalamu alaykum (peace be upon you),

You may have heard of the recent event at UC Irvine with Michael Oren, the ambassador of Israel to the US.

While he was invited by a student organization to speak on US-Israeli relations, the UCI Law School and the Political Science Department cosponsored the speech by Oren, a public figure who represents a state that continues to commit more human rights violations than any other country. See the MSU’s statement regarding his presence on campus for more details: msuuci.com

At the event, 11 students who chose to protest by making clear and organized statements were arrested and held in a room until after the event. The school is also currently threatening to punish the students, aiming to send a political message by selective enforcement of university policies.

Contact UCI Chancellor Michael Drake NOW to declare that it is unjust to arrest these students. Supporters of the arrests are contacting administration in large numbers, and your support is needed desperately!

Ask to speak with Chancellor Drake or leave a message at: (949) 824 – 5011 and email him at: chancellor@uci.edu

Speak to the Dean of Students office, who are determining the punishment at: (949) 824-5181 and email them at: deanstu@uci.edu

Here are some important points to bring up:

• · It was unjust to arrest students for simply having the courage to stand up and speak out against a man responsible for propagating the deaths of thousands of innocent people.
• · Civil disobedience has historically played an instrumental role in the civil rights movement in America the eventually ensured equality and human rights for all minorities.
• · Michael Oren is a representative of a state that is condemned by more UN Human Rights Council resolutions than all other countries in the world, and he should not be honored at UC Irvine.
• As concerned community members, we will not support an educational institution that threatens to punish its’ students with suspension and expulsion for standing up for their principles.

Thank you for your support.

Jazakum Allahu khairan.