Interviews with Mahmoud Afifi

My name is Mahmoud Afifi, 27 years old, a political activist in the April 6th Movement [the April 6th Youth Movement is an Egyptian activist group that was founded in 2008 to support striking workers], I’m a lawyer, an individual lawyer, graduated from Banha University with a Bachelor of Law in 2006.

I have been working in the political field for seven years, as an activist in the Young Egypt Party, I was the Secretary General of the media, I was the youngest Secretary General in Egypt, as I was only 18 years old.

Then, I worked as an independent and joined the April 6th Youth Movement in 2009, a year after its launching.

As a founder of the movement in Qalyubia governorate [area north of Cairo], then a member of the Political Bureau of the movement and then a director of the Information Office and the Spokesman for the movement.

I have been really interested in public and social activities since my childhood, in addition to political activities. When I was in secondary school, I was the Secretary General in my school and a representative of the students.

And it was the same after joining the university, I had interest in public activities. I also worked in the cultural activity in the university and I worked at the General Authority for Antiquities and Culture, also, in the political activity at the Directorate of Youth and Sports. Thus, I joined the Youth Parliament. I was the head of the Youth Parliament in Qalyubia governorate. Moreover, I was the President of the Board of Directors of the Youth Forum for Thoughts and Creativity.

All this made me interested more in public and social activities in Egypt. When I was a university student, a terrible and a famous accident took place; a fire broke out in the Palace of Culture in Beni Suef [The Beni Suef Cultural Palace in Beni Suef, Egypt burned down on September 5, 2005 in which 46 people died. The incident led many to criticize the government as fire extinguishers were not accessible and emergency services were ill-equipped to deal with the situation], our colleagues were burnt to death in the palace. It was clear that the cause behind this accident is the government’s extreme and obvious negligence.

Almost at the same time or few days after, the famous accident of the ferry took place, it is then when I felt that the existing regime is corrupt, not securing anything but itself, looking for its rights rather than the Egyptians. [The ferry incident occurred in February 2006 when a ship carrying 1400 people (mostly Egyptians) from Saudi Arabia sank in the Red Sea. The Egyptian government’s rescue efforts were ineffective and many passengers were lost.] The regime didn’t even care for the people. At that time, I decided to work in the political field as an opponent of the existing regime and to have a role in changing this regime and overthrowing it.

Mahmoud Afifi is an Egyptian democracy activist with the April 6th Youth Movement, a group formed in 2008 to support striking workers; afterwards, it transformed into a nationwide opposition network against Hosni Mubarak’s regime. Today, Afifi serves as the Director of the April 6th Youth Movement’s Information Office. He is a lawyer by profession and graduated from Banha University in 2006.

Afifi joined the April 6th Youth Movement in 2009 and founded the group’s chapter in Egypt’s Qalyubia governorate. There he rallied youth to take part in various awareness campaigns and street protests against the government. As part of this strategy, he engaged the poorest segments of the population and strengthened their voice in the political arena. Following his success in Qalyubia, Afifi worked to organize April 6th Youth Movement campaigns at the national level. As the government cracked down on these demonstrations, Afifi was arrested several times and even abandoned in the desert.

Prior to the Egyptian Revolution that unseated President Hosni Mubarak, Afifi coordinated with other organizations encouraging citizens to participate in a January 25, 2011 demonstration in Cairo. On that day, Afifi marched to Tahrir Square with thousands of others demanding Mubarak’s resignation and a free Egypt. The protests intensified and expanded nationwide. Almost three weeks later, on February 11, 2011, Hosni Mubarak stepped down from power ending his 30 year reign.

With a history dating back to the 10th millennium B.C., Egypt has long played a central role in the Middle East. Egypt is the largest Arab nation and has an influential voice in Arabic and Middle Eastern culture. Egypt has a diverse economy, but has struggled to create sustained economic growth and opportunities for its population of 84 million people.

The country has little experience with representative democracy. From 1956 to 1970, President Gamal Abdel Nasser ruled Egypt with a strong hand, nationalizing the Suez Canal and taking the country into conflict with the new state of Israel. Upon his death, Anwar al-Sadat became president. Together with other Arab nations, Sadat launched the October War against Israel in 1973. In 1979, Sadat signed a groundbreaking peace treaty with Israel.

From Sadat’s assassination in 1981 until the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, Egypt was governed by President Hosni Mubarak. For all of Mubarak’s time in office, and for much of the time since his resignation, Egypt has been under “Emergency Law,” which allows the government to suspend constitutional rights, including limiting political activity and restricting free speech. Emergency Law also allows the government to use summary arrests against political opponents.

For four successive terms, Mubarak was reelected in referenda without an opponent. In 2005, under domestic and international pressure, Mubarak proposed a constitutional amendment to allow Egypt’s first multicandidate presidential elections. Because the amendment would have imposed severe restrictions on the eligibility of opposition candidates, opposition groups boycotted the vote. Mubarak claimed to have won the September 2005 presidential election with an official 88 percent of the vote, amid widespread allegations of fraud and vote rigging. The main opposition leader, Ayman Nour, was subsequently prosecuted by the government for forging signatures on petitions and was sentenced to five years in prison, provoking protests from the United States and other democratic countries.

Following the example of the Tunisian Revolution, large protests swept Egypt in early 2011. The military, led by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), withdrew its support of Mubarak. On February 11, 2011, Vice President Omar Suleiman announced that Mubarak had resigned. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) headed by Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi then assumed power in Egypt. SCAF dissolved the parliament and suspended the constitution.

In November 2011, Egypt held parliamentary elections that were reportedly fair and democratic. In June 2012, Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi was elected President, in part because liberal and secular forces failed to coalesce around a single candidate. Morsi’s popularity declined as he declared his orders immune from challenge, removed judicial review processes, and was accused of taking steps towards the implementation of Islamist policies. Conflict arose between those supporting Islamist policies and those seeking a more liberal and secular government. Protests occurred throughout his presidency until Morsi was ousted by the military in July 2013. Muslim Brotherhood leaders were arrested and their camps and offices raided. Until new elections are held, a SCAF-installed provisional government led by acting President Adly Mansour is in control.

In its most recent report, the independent watchdog group Freedom House classifies Egypt as “partly free.” On its scale where 1 is the most free and 7is the least free, Egypt earned scores of 5 in both the civil liberties and political rights categories.