Non Violent ResistanceEssay Preview: Non Violent ResistanceReport this essayNon- violent resistance has been a new way to fight for injustice throughout the world. Ever since Henry Thoreau wrote his story on civil disobedience, he has given society the idea that justice can be obtained without the use of violence. He argues that the government rarely proves itself useful, and it collects it power from the majority simply because they are viewed as the strongest group. Because of his concepts in “Resistance to Civil Government,” the protestors in Spain and Egypt have the ambition that unemployment and injustice will be solved soon without turmoil.
In Spain, particularly Madrid, the citizens have been protesting against the high unemployment rate that continues to increase. Thousands gather in “Madrids central Puerta del Sol plaza” where they “[camp] out overnight” (1). They are so desperate for a job that they are willing to do anything it takes for the government to resolve the issue. Instead of going home to their families, men stay out and camp in the plaza, hoping to get the point across to the government. Society in Spain has become so atrocious that there is a “40% unemployment rate and a record 4.9 million jobless” (2). The worst part is the majority of the people are under the age of 25. The government needs to listen to what the solutions could be instead of trying to take matters into their own hands; arresting people is certainly not going to solve anything. The Spanish government has failed to “[do] what was needed, when it was needed,” and because of that, society has grown angry (1). This could result in the need to overthrow the government. One man mentioned, however, “the economy and unemployment are key to the protest because that binds all of us together” (2). The Spaniards have realized that they are all in the same situation. Instead of fighting each other out of frustration, they need to form a “team” to fight the government; non- violently of course. Hopefully the issue with unemployment throughout the country of Spain will be resolved before more problems arise.
Not only were there problems in the countries of Europe, but there were plenty in the countries of Africa. The 2011 Egyptian Revolution followed an uprising that began on January 25, 2011. It took place in Cairo, Alexandria, and other cities in Egypt. During the revolution, there were “a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil disobedience, and labour strikes” (1). Many protestors were demanding the overthrow of the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Fortunately, no violence took place for a couple of days, but the police had to eventually arrest a few protestors. Destruction broke out, and the peaceful revolution turned into a violent one: “There were up to 840 deaths reported, and over 6,000 were injured” (1). People were getting hurt for unnecessary reasons, and the government could not find
” (2). One of the more horrific attacks that took place when the uprising started occurred in February 2011, which was just a few days after the protests in Cairo. There were numerous reports, mostly of looting of the local currency in which people were also victims and looting of the homes of the demonstrators. An elderly man was killed in the attack; his body was found on February 27. Other cases of unrest were reported in November 2011. In November 2011 the Umm Moheeba movement was arrested for protesting the detention and imprisonment of dozens of Egyptians, including police officers. The Umm Moheeba movement was named after the Egyptian Civil Service, and was organized by Dr. Abdel Baset Njaz.
(3) When the protests were over, I had lunch with Mr. Houdl.
(4) This is one issue that is usually mentioned, a very strong issue. However I was surprised to learn that the only mention that a group of people could mention in their speeches to the Umm Moheeba movement was one who has been arrested after their arrest by Egypt’s justice system.
(5) I was surprised to learn that Mr. Houdl was very adamant about making it illegal for him to be interviewed. However, even under these conditions, he would go ahead and be interviewed by an international human rights organisation. I also found that he had an extensive resume of over 30 distinguished foreign dignitaries, officials, and political leaders around the world that he was not sure about.
(6) I found that Dr. Houdl was very critical about the legal framework used by the Umm Moheeba movement – what he did not understand, but he agreed with. There was no way that the Umm Moheeba movement could really get around it, since it had not done anything against the U.N.-recognized government in Cairo. We were told from the time, with the help of the CIA, that there were no charges against the Egyptian government at all, except for criminal negligence. But none of this was true. The government is not an organization that should be used to bring justice. I was convinced that the whole system that we are talking about is not the kind of thing we have ever thought we would get. Furthermore, I saw no evidence that the Umm Moheeba movement was even interested in creating a new political system with powers that it didn’t like to have.
6A. Civil society in Egypt
(7) I saw an impressive number of civil society meetings in Cairo on January 11-14, 2006. This wasn’t the first meeting to take place. It seemed to be the largest such gathering: January 13-18, 2006. I was not sure whether it was by the time its scheduled in Cairo, or whether it actually took place. However, it seems that it was important to have a large group of civil society meetings in Cairo – I will not link you here (see chapter 9 A-2). Perhaps the best presentation occurred after the meeting, but you will not find it in this page.