Solomon's Mindfield: Egypt

Showing posts with label Egypt. Show all posts

Tuesday, 11 August 2009

Egyptian TAX COLLECTORS lead the wave of militancy

The most unlikely of striking workers show that militancy should/could come from any quarter.

Egyptian TAX COLLECTORS rally for their Free Union. Previously in Egypt all unions were connected and organised by the State. Last year in a wave of occupations, strikes and protests the Tax Collectors won the right for a Free Union. But now this is under threat due to the Government awarding a commison to the State-backed union.

This from Arabawy, where you can get regular updates (his blog is linked at the bottom of mine under 'IST blogs' for easey finding)

Egypt’s property tax collectors are starting an open-ended strike on Tuesday, protesting the Finance Ministry’s decree by which a project for a social welfare fund was commissioned to the state-backed union instead of the independent union that enjoys the support of the majority of the ministry’s civil servants.

There are also many many links to other similar posts on his blog. Look for his automatic 'Bookmarks' on his blog or on his Delicious account.

Thursday, 4 June 2009

Obama in Cairo LIVE

http://www.youtube.com/whitehouse?feature=ticker

"Republicans screw the Arabs. Democrats screw the Arabs, but with a smile," Cairo under siege

EXCLUSIVE from comrade Hossam: Cairo Under Siege Ahead Of Obama's Speech

Right before he took off from DC, on what the media has been depicting as some "odyssey," to address the Muslim World from Cairo, President Obama had described the 81-year-old Egyptian President Mubarak as a "force for stability." This week Cairo and its twin city Giza have been a showcase of what this "stability" cost.

The capital is under occupation. Security troops are deployed in the main public squares and metro stations. Citizens were detained en masse and shops were told to close down in Bein el-Sarayat area, neighboring Cairo University, where Obama will be speaking. In Al-Azhar University, the co-host of the "historical speech," State Security police raided and detained at least 200 foreign students, held them without charges in unknown locations. Exams were postponed in the major universities fearing demonstrations, and students were told to stay at home. And in several areas in Cairo and Giza, there will be in effect a curfew, where shops won't be allowed to open, citizens instructed not to open their windows. Almost everyone I know will be staying home tomorrow watching Obama's speech, not necessarily because they are keen on knowing what the freshly-elected US leader has to say to the Muslim world, but because they know it will be virtually impossible to move anywhere in the city on Thursday thanks to Obama's force-for-stability host.

Tuesday, 26 May 2009

Press release: Students in Solidarity with Gaza

Contact: Kat Sullivan

Mobile Cairo: 019.264.1283

On Monday May 25th, a group of students from Cairo attempted to enter the Gaza border to deliver aid. Thus far, all efforts to enter have been stopped by Egyptian authorities.

The student delegation from Cairo is planning to meet with numerous other delegations from around the globe. Each group has medical aid and supplies, sports equipment for children and monetary donations. The Egyptian authorities have been completely aware of everyone attending and everything that we are carrying. All members attending were told that they were given full clearance to enter Gaza. However, now at the border, they suddenly refuse. We are being either blocked from entering or even turned back at checkpoints before the border

itself.

Knowing that our efforts are supported worldwide, we are compelled to reach out to all media outlets within and without Cairo, Egypt.

For more information

twitter.com/studentsforgaza

Thursday, 21 May 2009

80% of Egyptians don't like Palestinians apparently

...according to our waiter at the Windsor Hotel.

'they come here and take all our money and land' he said...sound familiar?

Of course this is not true...as i've just been reminded by Egyptian comrades that Egypt has the biggest pro-Palestinian demos that happen in the Arab World. Sorry ya camaradeen Masreyeen.

Just managed to quickly catch a photo of this SAVE GAZA road sign miles from nowhere

I will post more from Egypt soon.x

Check out Egpytian socialists blog

http://www.e-socialists.net/

Tuesday, 19 May 2009

Assed Baig is with Aid workers who are to go on hunger strike at Rafah-Gaza border

18/05/2009

British, Belgian and Greek doctors, nurses and aid workers will go on hunger strike tomorrow over the Egyptian Authorities’ refusal to allow entry into Gaza.

After constant attempts aid workers, doctors and nurses, have been refused entry in to the Gaza strip by the Egyptian authorities. Some doctors have been waiting for forty days. Out of utter desperation and witnessing the treatment of Palestinians by the Egyptian authorities, aid workers and activists have been left with no choice except to go into hunger strike and stay at the Rafah crossing until they are allowed through into Gaza.

Although the Egyptian authorities had said the border was open for two days the fact is that non-Palestinians were not allowed to enter, even though some were Palestinian but held different nationalities.

Contact Dr Omar Mangoush
Tel: 0020193764783

Assed Baig
0020178126819

Monday, 18 May 2009

Protect the pigs...

British student activist Assed Baig is ok for now...

Assed texted. He's ok. He's not held separately from the rest of group anymore. The group includes Brits, Belgians and at least 1 Italian.

More on mine and hossams twitter.

http://twitter.com/solomonsmfield or arabawy

Will email more once known.

Other International activists are camping out in Rafah and will start a hungerstrike till Egyptian authorities allow them entry to Gaza

Friday, 15 May 2009

Photos from Cairo

On steps, originally uploaded by solomonsmfield.

See more here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/solomonsmfield/

Reports soon...

Monday, 13 April 2009

Egyptian circus clowns on strike!!

From arabawy

Talk of a strike wave: Egypt’s state-run National Circus clowns, performers and workers stage sit-in against privatization, demanding medical insurance, allowances and bonuses…

Now there's a story to brighten your day. I bet the bosses aren't laughing (all the way to the bank) now.

Sunday, 22 February 2009

Cairo Uni protest over fees and police repression

جامعة القاهرة تحت حصار قوات الامن المركزي, originally uploaded by أحمد عبد الفتاح1.

أقتحام البوابة, originally uploaded by أحمد عبد الفتاح1.

Sunday, 18 January 2009

Evidence of the tends for ethnic cleansing of Gaza?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Under cover of announcing humanitarian relief for injured Palestinians, it is now emerging that Israel is planning the transfer of tens of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza into Egypt.

Evidence of the Israeli transfer plan has been sent to London based Islington Friends of Yibna** [IFY]. Earlier today, Sat 17 Jan 09, IFY received a photo of tents [see attached] outside the main hospital in Egyptian Rafah, near the border with Gaza.

The white tents with no markings are being erected by the Egyptian Army, starting last night, Fri 16 Jan 09. The photo was taken this morning [Sat 17 January 09]. The soldiers stated that 5,000 tents were planned for refugees from Gaza.
Further information is available from our contacts in the Egyptian side of Rafah [Rafah was divided by Israel after it occupied Gaza and Sinai in 1967; Israel divided Rafah when Sinai was returned to Egypt].

From our contacts in Yibna Refugee Camp in Gaza we have learnt that, in the north east of Rafah, near the Egyptian border, Israeli tanks have surrounded and sealed off the Al Sarayh neighbourhood, for more than the last 48 hours. There are many injured people trapped there, the Israelis are not allowing access for the Red Cross and many people are dying of their wounds, isolated and with no medical treatment.

We have grave concerns that Israel will target the Al Sarayh neighbourhood to be the first to be transferred and that this might be within the next 24h.

Read the rest of the release at http://deepermindfield.blogspot.com/2009/01/evidence-of-tends-for-ethnic-cleansing.html

For further information and updates please contact Yael Kahn on +44 (0)7880 731 865 or Rob Langlands on +44 (0)7977 490415

Regards,
Yael Kahn, Chair of IFY: +44 (0)7880 731 865

Rob Langlands, Secretary of IFY: +44 (0)7977 490415
Islington_Yibna@yahoo.co.uk

Wednesday, 31 December 2008

Updates from Egypt protests

Comrade Hossam has been sending updates all morning about what's going on over there. I am adding them to this article regularly so keep checking if you need to know more.

I think the messages are self-explanatory: basically, Mubarak and his pro-West/neo-con government are using heavy tactics to intimidate and paralyse any opposition. Hossam's blog is down at the mo, Bandwidth exceeded apparently but keep trying.