Since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in February 2011, our brothers and sisters in Egypt have remained determined to seeing their revolution to its completion. Just as the Egyptian people continue to defend the revolution in the face of US-backed military rule and state repression, our work as solidarity activists in the US is far from done.

Join the Coalition to Defend the Egyptian Revolution (NYC) for a fundraiser at Layali Dubai to support our upcoming legal projects. It is important to note that funds collected will not go towards any form of humanitarian, medical, etc. aid, but rather towards building real solidarity work with activists on the ground.

Come out for a fun night of music, dancing, Middle Eastern food, hookah, and most importantly, to show your support with those continuing the struggle for justice. We hope to see you all there!

Thursday 26 April 2012, 7:30-10PM
Layali Dubai, 24-17 Steinway St, Queens, NY 11105
$20 Advance. Tickets will NOT be sold at the door.
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/295304647214681/

If you purchase your ticket beforehand, you can pick it up at the door. Please note, this is considered a donation and the $20 does NOT include food, drinks, or hookah.

If you cannot attend but would like to donate, OR would like to purchase an advance ticket, please send payments via PayPal using the donate button:

Sponsored by the Coalition to Defend the Egyptian Revolution

For more information:
defendegyptianrevolution@gmail.com
www.defendegyptianrevolution.com

Deported from Bahrain
An Eyewitness Account of an Ongoing Revolution

Sponsored by the Middle East Institute at Columbia University and

Over the past year, tens of thousands of Bahrainis – inspired by the Arab Spring movements in Tunisia and Egypt – have taken to the streets in an attempt to win democracy and respect for their human rights. The regime responded by killing over 80 people, detaining thousands and beginning a campaign of retribution against anyone supporting or participating in protest.

As the one year anniversary of the revolution drew near, the Kingdom of Bahrain attempted to keep out foreign observers, denying visas to high profile human rights groups and journalists. Radhika Sainath, a civil rights attorney, and a small team of monitors were able to gain entry and document the regime’s repression of democracy activists. Just a day after announcing the Witness Bahrain initiative, she was arrested in the midst of a police attack on a nonviolent march and deported the next day.

Radhika is a human rights activist with experience in conflict zones and has supported democracy movements in Mexico, Pakistan, Palestine and the Philippines. Join us in our conversation with her.

The Arab Upheaval: What has it achieved? Where is it going?
A Talk by Gilbert Achcar
followed by a Discussion with Samah Selim

Sat, April 14, 2012 12:00 pm at Alwan for the Arts, 16 Beaver Street

11:30-12:00pm – coffee and refreshments
12:00-12:30pm – Gilbert Achcar
12:30 – 1 pm Discussion between Gilbert Achcar and Samah Selim
1:00-2:00pm – Q&A and open discussion

The Arab upheaval ignited in Tunisia in December 2010 is now well into its second year. It has overthrown three Arab rulers, in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, and forced another to hand over power in Yemen. However, uprisings in Bahrain and Syria have been violently repressed, the latter at the cost of ten thousand lives already. This is while the future of the revolutionary process is uncertain in the four countries where initial victories have been achieved, with electoral processes proving unable to quench the upheaval’s fundamentally social dynamics.

About the Speakers

Gilbert Achcar grew up in Lebanon, and is currently Professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) of the University of London. His books include The Clash of Barbarisms: The Making of the New World Disorder, published in 13 languages, Perilous Power: The Middle East and U.S. Foreign Policy, co-authored with Noam Chomsky, and most recently The Arabs and the Holocaust: The Arab-Israeli War of Narratives.

Samah Selim was born in Egypt and has lived in the UK, Libya, France and Germany. She received her BA in English Literature from Barnard College in 1986 and her PhD from the Department of Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures at Columbia University in 1997. She has previously taught at Columbia University, Princeton University and the University of Aix-en-Provence, and she directs the literature module of the Berlin-based postdoctoral research program, Europe in the Middle East; the Middle East in Europe. Her book, The Novel and the Rural Imaginary in Egypt, explores the relationship between the rise of the novel genre, the politics of nationalist representation and the peasant question over the course of the 20th century in Egypt. Dr. Selim, who is also a practicing literary translator, is currently at work on a book about translation, modernity and popular fiction in early 20th century Egypt.

———-
Co-sponsored by CUNY Graduate Center’s Center for Place, Culture, and Politics (CPCP), South Asia Solidarity Initiative (SASI), and Ad Hoc Coalition to Defend the Egyptian Revolution.

From Sand to Concrete: The Transformation of an Egyptian Soldier

Saturday, February 18 at 7:30pm, $9 suggested donation.

Menna Khalil, Yosra Sultan Moussa and Mohammad Shawky Hassan in attendance for discussion.

Purchase Tickets

January 25th of 2011 marked a new arena of possible encounters in Egypt between citizens and the regime, protestors and the police/military, and people and public space. Set against the backdrop of enduring violence, the Egyptian soldier has evolved, both physically through increasing interactions with the public, and perceptively through an engrained characterization in collective imagination. Menna Khalil documents this process of transformation, and the conflation of historical attributions to the army with the people’s present encounters, through the layering of medium.

The presentation is based on a recitation of a personal journal, offering an imaginary manifestation of a soldier’s (namely Kareem) recollection of events around the 2011 Egyptian revolution, accompanied by audio recordings and a projection of a digitized album containing images and illustrations, some collected and others drawn. Caught between the legacy of the army as a national revolutionary-defense force in the glorious days of the 1950s and the notoriety of other brutalizing state security forces in the last three decades, Kareem ponders over the utterly unfamiliar encounter with everyday security dynamics in 2011 Egypt. Through swelling interaction with the public, Kareem evolves, flustering engrained characterizations of the soldier in collective imagination.

Drawing on her fieldwork in Egypt, Menna extends and manipulates medium – images, narrative, and sound – deploying a sensorial montage in an attempt to strike a balance between aesthetic and academic method, steering the documentation of narrative in a space where non-fiction and fiction (writing and image making) are muddled.

The presentation will be followed by a discussion with Yosra Sultan Moussa and Mohammad Shawky Hassan.

This Program is part of ArteEast’s series “Making the Real: Practices of Documentation”

Menna Khalil is an independent researcher and writer working between North Africa, the Middle East, and the United States, interested in pursuing further graduate studies in Anthropology. She holds a MA in International Human Rights Law from the American University in Cairo, and a BA in International Studies, Economic Theory, and Art History from DePaul University in Chicago. Menna’s academic interests in anthropological approaches to language, sensorial mediation, and aesthetics have guided her work on translation and forms of storytelling. She has been carrying out ethnographic work on the relationship between citizens and the Egyptian army following the ouster of former President Mubarak.

Yosra Sultan Moussa is a PhD candidate in the Middle East and Islamic Studies program at New York University. As an aspiring historian with a focus on 19th Century Egypt, she looks at the aesthetics and practices of urban life in Cairo. More specifically, she is interested in chronicling the interchangeable experiences between inhabitants and the city.

Mohammad Shawky Hassan is an Egyptian filmmaker currently living in New York City. He holds a B.A. from the American University in Cairo (2004), and a graduate diploma in film directing from the Academy of Cinematic Arts in Cairo (2009). In the academic year 2010-2011, he was a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Columbia University School of the Arts, where he made his last short fiction film It Was Related to Me – Balaghany Ayyoha Al Malek Al Sa’eed. He is currently ArteEast’s film programmer.

PRESENTED WITH:

ArteEast presents the works of contemporary artists from the Middle East, North Africa and their diasporas t a wide audience in order to foster a more complex understanding of the regions’ arts and cultures and to encourage artistic excellence. Through public events, exhibitions, film screenings, a dynamic virtual gallery and a resource-rich website, ArteEast supports artists and filmmakers by providing the platforms necessary for them to showcase groundbreaking and significant work. We also give the public the opportunity to learn more about and develop an appreciation for the talent of these established and emerging artists.

 For Immediate Release

Organizations: Egyptians & Egyptian Solidarity Groups              

Egyptian & Egyptian Solidarity Groups Rally to Support Egyptian Revolution’s Demands on the Anniversary of the Egyptian Revolution

Global Event: The Struggle Continues

Global Day to support the Egyptian revolution on Jan 21th, 2012 in:, New York, Washington DC, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Melbourne, Sydney, Paris, Rome, and more.

New York City, NY— During the 18 days from Jan 25^th to Feb 11^th, 2011, the whole world witnessed millions of Egyptian protesters marching in the streets of Egypt and protesting in Tahrir Square, demanding their basic human rights: dignity, freedom, and social justice. After decades of patience and suffering, Egyptians finally spoke out loudly and peacefully demanding the fall of a police-based authoritarian regime, the end of Mubarak’s dictatorship, and the establishment of a civilian, democratic state. Under the maximal pressure exerted by Egyptians, Mubarak was toppled. The Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) took charge in leading the country through the transition stage. At that time, SCAF members and military personnel were regarded as heroes.

After almost one year since those unforgettable, historical days of the Egyptian revolution, the status quo in Egypt is worsening.  The post-revolution rulers of Egypt publicly claim to work towards the safety and stability of the country, while they continue the implementation of the emergency law, detaining innocent citizens without trial, Under their authority, thousands of civilians are subjected to military courts as they are confined and tortured in prison. The Egyptian military has actively participated in killing protesters, using prohibited weapons against peaceful demonstrations, kidnapping and defaming revolutionists using state-owned media, as well as targeting, torturing, and sexually assaulting women. These inhuman and terrible actions justify the shared belief among many Egyptians at home and abroad, that the members of the SCAF are leading and orchestrating the actions of anti-revolution forces to diminish the gains of the revolution.

For these reasons, Egyptian revolutionists have decided to go back to Tahrir Square and the streets all over Egypt on January 25th, 2012, the first anniversary of the revolution. They have decided that the revolution must continue until the complete and genuine achievement of all of the revolution’s goals. Egyptians decided to stand up peacefully again for their rights and for their stolen dream of a democratic state that respects and values its citizens. In solidarity with the Egyptian revolutionists, Egyptians & Egyptian Solidarity Groups and human rights groups are organizing a global day of rallies to support the Egyptian revolution on January 21st, 2012.

The NY event will start with a Rally at Times Square (42^nd & 7^th Ave) from 12:00 -2:30, the, a March to the Egyptian Mission between 2:30 – 3:30, ending with the second Rally at the Egyptian Mission to the UN from 3:30 – 4:00.

Accordingly, We call upon those inspired by or those who supported the Egyptian revolution to demand the support of their government to the Egyptian revolution. We ask every freedom supporter to join us in requesting from the current rulers of Egypt to act immediately on the following demand:

Immediate and complete transfer of power from SCAF to the elected parliament. And for the parliament to act immediately on:

1. Honor, morally as well as financially, the families of 900+ protesters murdered and those injured during the Egyptian revolution, over the last year.
2. Immediate release of the detainees and end to all militarily trials of civilians.
3. Abolish military tribunals for civilians.
4. Bring to justice all government officials accountable, all who gave or executed orders to kill protesters over the past 12 months.

For the US government – Immediately end all exports of tear gas and torturing weapons from US government or US companies to Egypt.

For more information about our global events, check the following pages:

NYC, https://www.facebook.com/events/260847190641653/

Chicago, https://www.facebook.com/events/333069303378244/

Washington DC: https://www.facebook.com/events/267428249983815/

Dallas: https://www.facebook.com/events/126133287506194/

Detroit:http://www.facebook.com/events/351716144845389/

Toronto: https://www.facebook.com/events/331641186860592/

Ottawa: https://www.facebook.com/events/273368782718567/

San Francisco: http://www.facebook.com/events/276075239108860/

Vancouver: https://www.facebook.com/events/217834458302050

Boston: https://www.facebook.com/​events/307379872639634/

Minnesota:  https://www.facebook.com/events/294341487283937/

Norway, Oslo:  https://www.facebook.com/​events/294341487283937/

Paris – France:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/-2012/144117872368159

Australia, Melbourne: https://www.facebook.com/events/356382054388578/

Australia, Sydney: https://www.facebook.com/events/294341487283937/

For media committee, please call an email:

Dr. Maha El-Attar: mahaelattar@gmail.com or call (508) 406-8673

Ayman El-Sawa: aelsawa@gmail.com or call (908) 902-5904.