The New Tool to Democracy: Social Media

As a public affairs officer in the US Navy, I was intimately familiar to the power and pull of the social media revolution. Tweets, status updates, blogs, microblogs, and yes, even Vlogs, have been indispensable tools to communicate in a viral medium as well as to track the pulse and viability of a story long after it is written and forgotten.

Credit: thepunch.com

During the Iran presidential elections in the summer of 2009, the US State Department specifically requested that Twitter not be taken down for maintenance.  This request substantiated the geopolitical value of Twitter and forever changed the landscape of social media in government, politics, and yes, even diplomacy.

A mini revolution ignited in Iran after the flawed Presidential election of dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.   Meanwhile, the Iranian fascist government virtually choked off the flow of news to and fro Tehran.  Many Iranians who protested that the election was rigged did so via Twitter. Twitter, not CNN, evolved as the ideal medium because it was real-time, was shot-gunned by the people closest to the action, could be deployed by virtually anyone with a computer or cell phone and was virtually impossible for the government to track or block.

During a revolution, crisis or emergency, Twitter really showed its spunk and stamina.  Forward to the present day: Egyptians vividly remember Iran's Islamic Revolution of 1979, almost a generation ago.  The unprecedented uprising of how the people threw out an indominable monarch has been magically weaved into the anecdotes of society as cohesively as the tales of Sinbad have become an endearing part of Arabian culture.  

Credit: Washington Post

However, history is never fully flawless. Diplomacy is screened through dense filters manipulated by the ideology of totalitarian states.  In today's dramatic string of Middle East uprisings, social media has been the decisive medium to execution.

So could this revolution happen without Facebook?  It is no coincidence that Mark Zuckerberg was chosen as the 2010 Time Person of the Year.


Just as Twitter was instrumental in Iran, Facebook has been even more crucial to the development of political ideology that has led to this historic uprising.  Without Facebook, poverty, struggles and tension would still tragically exist in Egypt.  But without a Facebook, there would be virtually no way for these tensions to escalate to a boiling point and no way for disparaged Egyptians to vent their anger at Mubarak -- little chance for that pent-up anger to perpetuate across nations and borders. 

Egypt -- Depriving the People the Human Right to Tweet

"The rioting in Egypt is an Egyptian problem, but when the country suppresses the people's basic right to communicate amongst themselves and with people throughout the free world, it suddenly becomes a world problem, for which we must stand up and proclaim."

Egypt means a lot to me.  My travels there this summer brought me friends and memories that will never fade as long as the Great Sphinx guards the pharaoh Khufu's Pyramids.

And I made many friends, some who I converse with on Facebook -- others whom I've lost touch with, but they're still deep inside my thoughts today.  Though Cairo with all its congestion and chaos (had to get up at 5:00 AM just to go for a run without choking to death or been run over) was one tough city to hoe, I found Egyptians warm, open and compassionate.  They were smart, savvy, and welcomed me with a strong handshake or even a hug, and they wanted to make a difference, if not for themselves, for their children.

And the children lived and worked in the most abject conditions I hadn't seen since Haiti.

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Though the people got my vote, the government surely lost my trust.

The living conditions for the common people, the children allowed to labor all day for a measly $3.50, the chaotic congestion on the streets and the way their women were pushed around like commodities made me revolt in the stomach.

Thankfully, the women of Egypt are finally saying enough is enough.  We abhor the way we are treated by our men, by our government.  We deserve to be treated more like equals.  Has that voice fallen on deaf ears?

They say that living in Cairo and breathing the foul, smoke-laden air is equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes per day.

I've heard and now I'm fully convinced that Cairo is one of the most polluted cities in the world.

The cars are centuries old, many of them held together by chicken wire and duct tape.
The drivers are even more edgy -- they don't stay in their lane, they don't stop for pedestrians and they completely ignore the sea of traffic cops that are attempting to keep things in order.

Every time I crossed the crosswalk, I felt I was putting my life on the line.

What's almost as bad as air pollution is the onslaught of honks, beeps and clangs throughout the busy Cairo streets -- drivers and bicyclists feel that they need to announce their presence with an unofficial siren.

The noise is deafening, especially if you have to sleep through it. And Cairo doesn't go to sleep until 4 AM, and by 6 AM, the thick cloud of smoke and dust has finally cleared allowing one to saunter out in the predawn darkness.

So it was with great pleasure that I had the golden opportunity to run with the Cairo Hash House Harriers during one of their weekly jaunts to the desert.

The Hidden Tomb of Giza

This is a project that shows the excitement and intrigue of the Pyramids of Giza as well as the Step Pyramid of Saqqarra and the beautiful Saharan Desert

Nile and Giza

What I Learned Alone on a Saharan Sand Dune

"I was no longer stressed.  Instead the sea of drifting sand gave me inner peace -- a peace so perfect, I knew only God could bestow."

I was supposed to venture out to the "White Desert" to revere the mushroom-shaped limestone formations.

I heard about the legendary white limestone cake icing that glows magical and mysterious in the faint moonlight.

Further, Atef told me that I would be camping out with other backpackers from different parts of the world. This sounded like a lot fun to me -- staying the night in an unfamiliar landscape with people I just met, but hopefully become good friends before the night had passed.

But there would be a sacrifice...

Night on a Saharan Sand Dune

I hope you enjoy this short clip of my experiences camping out in the Sahara Desert.

A beautiful oasis

Where I spent the night alone (w/ my guide)

Chapt 8 "Cairo -- A Spectacular Failure of Capitalism

In this oft-forgotten city of entrenched customs and history, I saw so much potential and missed opportunities in the way the streets and store fronts were maintained. The buildings were beat-up, drab, squalid altogether, some almost to the point of disrepair.

But as I really took the time to walk and observe, I noticed from one Roundabout to another that the buildings resembled European masterpieces.  There was so much character, brimming with culture -- ready to be explored and forever defined.

Man running next to the Parliament Building

Cairo was built in the 19th century and modeled as a European City, once referred to as the "Paris along the Nile."  Truly the city is beautiful and the River Nile is majestic and magical.

There are many priceless relics, but today they are drab, desolate, a sooty brown, darkened from the pollution that fills every molecule of breathable air competing against the relentless stream of CO2 sputtering from every exhaust pipe, every dripping air conditioner that glamours every window ledge all around this forsaken city.


See Note below.

Around town, I saw massive amounts of ramshackle homes that were falling apart by the hinges, ready to collapse around the people who lived in these crumbling tenements their entire life.  What else do you expect from a city that let the population get out of hand and provided virtually no control and monitoring.  Meanwhile people kept on building and breaking zoning laws.  The government was sadly asleep.

Sailing on a Faluka on the River Nile

There is something magical about sailing on a http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Africa/Egypt/Muhafazat_al_Qahirah/Cairo-2008750/Restaurants-Cairo-hard_rock_cafe-BR-1.htmlFaluka along the River Nile.

The River, like the ancient Pyramids, is magical.  The boat, historic and stable, felt calm and peaceful.

The faluka is Egypt's traditional sailboat.  The Nile is the world's longest river (4,000 miles long) and runs through nine African countries.

As we sail, enjoying the coziness of the boat, we see tall aquatic bullrushes along the majestic shoreline.

Although, my friend Aya and I made a very short excursion near the Hyatt Hotel (where we enjoyed hometown food at the Hard Rock Cafe, we felt as if we were experiencing a true adventure.  It was so magical, romantic and dreamy, all in one.

The Faluka is a wonderful, iron-strong boat, ready for any voyage, short or long.

The whole experience was a pleasant part of the trip that brought me to the mystique of the Pyramids, Hash Runners who became my band of runners and a peaceful night alone in a Saharan Sand Dune, reflecting life and death lessons the night my Grandma unexpectedly died.

Heading to the White Desert

Running in Cairo is very intriguing.  It's best to start early before dawn because the streets are so crowded and the air pollution starts getting bad.  There are very good places to run -- but my favorite is along the Nile.

Not to mention, that you put your life on the line everytime you cross a street.  Drivers don't know how to stop and they drive like they are on a mission to run someone down.

But still, the running bug has gotten ahold of me.  And Cairo or not, I'm going running to brave the streets, the horns, the smoke.

But tonight, I'm going to a place where there is no pollution, no congestion, and the only lights I see on earth is the white limestone cake icing glowing faintly in the moonlight.