Lara's Theme

Those in the West who have been following events in Egypt were outraged to learn about the vicious beating and sexual assault of CBS news correspondent Lara Logan in the heart of Tahrir Square in the midst of the jubilation surrounding the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. No doubt, many in the Middle East were outraged as well. The Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights published a survey three years ago that showed that 83% of Egyptian women and 98% of foreign women in Egypt had been exposed to some form of sexual harassment, including groping, verbal abuse, stalking and indecent exposure. Egyptian director Mohamed Diab’s recent film “678” takes direct aim at the fact that sexual harassment and sexual assault are commonplace everyday occurrences in Egypt. That would be reason enough to point out this incident.

Many were also appalled to find out that as they attacked and assaulted her, the mob screamed “Jew!” “Jew!” at her. Anti-Semitism has been taught not only among the brethren of the Al Ikhwan (Muslim Brotherhood), but also, despite official peace, by the institutions and state run media of Hosni Mubarak. As the majority of Egyptians  were born and/or grew up in his Egypt, their expression of Jew hatred as either an excuse for or a rationale for brutality and rape is a sad, but unsurprising commentary on the mindset of too many in revolutionary Egypt. That would be reason enough to point out this incident too.

Some commentators, like conservative Debbie Schlussel, have made the rather obscene observation of “sow the wind, reap the whirlwind”, surmising that gung ho reporters like Logan should know better, or that she should have expected no less from those she chose to report on. This seems to me to be a shallow attempt to chastise the mainstream media on the back of a horrible experience. There are more obvious and way more appropriate avenues to  point out the media’s shortcomings.

What truly stands out about this incident beyond the disgusting crime committed is the knowledge we all have now that even in the midst of Tahrir Square, where the pro democracy forces held sway; even at the moment of greatest joy in Egypt in 30 years; even with the army managing access to the area;  and even with the no doubt earnest and serious best efforts of the April 6^th movement which had guided the revolution, dozens of Egyptian men  - not one criminal, or even a small group, but dozens – were able to perpetrate such a heinous offense, and were not stopped for a half hour. When they were stopped, by a group of women and a few soldiers they managed to find, no one was arrested. I

’ll ask the question I haven’t seen asked anywhere else:

If the forces of democracy are so weak and disorganized, with so many taking advantage of the freedoms they dearly bought with blood, and helpless or at worst careless in the one place at the one time where they were truly strong, how on earth do they expect to influence a massive nation of 82 million? How do they expect to be taken seriously elsewhere? Perhaps most importantly, how will they impart a commitment to democracy, human rights, women's rights, religious freedom, tolerance and civility before the Al Ikhwan imparts their own “wisdom”, and an iron veil descends on Egypt?