I used to know this young German EU diplomat back when I worked for the Cairo Times in 2002-3. He was a close friend to some of my Western journalist colleagues, so I used to bump into him in parties, social functions, etc…

The last time I saw him was in spring 2003, shortly after my release from detention following the anti-Iraq war riots in Tahrir Sq. He was then dating a foreign journalist colleague. The woman was freaking out after the riots and the mass round ups of journalists and activists that followed, including people she knew. She was devastated, and decided to leave the country and wanted to see me before she left. He was also leaving Egypt to be posted somewhere else.

So we met, the three of us, in a Zamalek coffee shop and had a chat about the arrests and torture against demonstrators, etc..

The young diplomat told me since the Iraq war broke out, followed by the capital riots, there were “emergency meetings and briefings” that were held in the European Commission Delegation’s in Cairo everyday at 9am to follow up on the situation. Being an Arabic speaker, he was also present in the meetings, briefing his seniors about the latest developments based on his media monitoring as well as his contacts with the rights activists community.

The guy said that he, day after day, submitted reports about the crackdown, torture, riots, and demonstrations directly to his seniors… So what was the reply of his boss?

“Isn’t it nice sometimes to live in a police state,” the young diplomat said quoting his cynical boss. [YES, this is the exact quote, and I remember it well like I remember every single second I spent in that police state's custody.]

And that’s the wisdom of the story ya shabab…. The regime’s backers are not only in Washington DC.. The Europeans as well as the Canadians are directly involved in supporting the Mubarak’s dictatorship. It’s true, every now and then, you’ll hear some “concerns” expressed about “the human rights situation,” but at the end of the day those govts will continue pimping for Mubarak, coz they want stability in Egypt, they want security for Israel, they want the oil to keep flowing from the region, they want the Egyptian Gulag to keep its doors open so that Mubarak’s pigs will continue doing their dirty work… ON ANY EXPENSE!

But it happens that this expense is basically me, and the rest of my fellow Egyptians, who have to live under a dictatorship that enjoys sodomizing detainees, that enjoys assaulting and stripping women naked in the street in broad day light, that enjoys locking up innocents and treats them like animals…

You meet diplomats in conferences, courtrooms, parties held by foreign reporters, etc… And one thing that always amazes me is how they can smile in my face and tell me what a good job bloggers and rights activists are doing in Egypt, while those diplomats are not only serving govts that back the enemy we are fighting, Mubarak, but are themselves part of that policy making process. I understand this blog can be useful for diplomats as it provides info on dissent for their lazy-non-Arabic-speaking asses.. but what I don’t understand is how they can justify it to themselves deep down.. I mean, come on, have some self-respect you fucking liars, coz I think the time has come for Webster to change its definition of a “diplomat” into a “pimp” as nowadays the difference between the two is very hard to recognize…

And for those Egyptian rights activists who think that our salvation can come via the European or Canadian govts, you better fucking wake up! No one is gonna overthrow Mubarak except the Egyptian people.. No one said it’s easy.. No one said it’s a walk in the park.. It’s difficult and will involve sacrifices.. Already many of us have been thru detention and Lazoughli’s torture chambers, but we are still in the political arena, and have not quit and we will not leave until we see Mubarak, Suzi, Jimmi, and Alaa on the same boat, plane (or even better one of our ferries) that will ship those hypocrite diplomats out of the country…

And one last thing, I had a chat with Abu Se7la earlier this morning about the subject… He was extremely impressed with Mr. Klaus Ebermann, and is thinking seriously now about joining Ebermann’s Mafia Commission since he thinks he’s got all the qualifications to make one hell of fine diplomat…

Leo (Abu Sehla) ليو أبو سحلة


4 Responses to ““Isn’t it nice sometimes to live in a police state””  

  1. 1 EU pimp

    Well, I work for a EU institution and I regularly participate to all kinds of meetings with EU or national officials on Middle East issues. I must say that your description of us as a bunch of pimps and fuckin liars does not really match with what I see. I am the first to be pissed with the attitude of those who believe that after all, you people are not really ready for democracy. And I know for fact that I’m not the only one. Now, policy-making is not so easy. Some do believe in pro-dictators policies, very often by intellectual laziness more than by machiavelic ambitions. After all, even if we all wanted wholeheartedly to promote democracy in Egypt, how best could we achieve it? I’m not saying that we’re doing all we could, and I would personally like to see much more pressures, but the fact is that the absence of a guidebook for efficient democracy-promotion policies leaves us in a situation of status quo, compromise, and pursuit of other objectives and interests. Just don’t ask too much to diplomats and bureaucrats.

  2. 2 Hossam el-Hamalawy

    If you decide to be part of this institution, then I’m sorry you’ve accepted to be part of this pimping process.. coz as far as I understand, you do not get conscripted for the job Mr I-support-democracy. Don’t give me those half assed arguments. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. If you believe Egyptians deserve to live freely, without torture then you either tell your bosses to cut the ties with Mubarak’s regime, or just quit your job.. until then, you are nothing but a pimp…
    salam

  3. 3 EU pimp

    Yes, I’m putting my hands in the dirt. My “bosses” seem to believe it right to support Mubarak&Co and I try to convince them at my very humble level - in reports I can only hope they read - that it’s not only morally wrong but also politically stupid. I accept to do this job because I believe that a certain number of political arguments - arguments that should talk to top policy-makers because based on our own interests - can convince them or influence them. All bureaucracies are big machines, and the fact that the EU is a machine of 27 countries which are most of the time unable to speak with one voice doesn’t help (this is also why I think that what you call pimplomacy is as much due to a situation of status quo and lack of vision as to a deliberate choice). Also, the fact that there is no perfect answer (cutting ties - oh yes, it worked so well with North Korea) doesn’t help either. That’s what I mean when I say that policy-making is not so easy, and neither is the moral choice. Should I quit? Should I rather express myself in some academic journals or in a blog? I’m not sure i would be more useful there (and by the way, I’ve done both), unless you convince of the contrary. In any case, don’t give me the easy name-and-shame thing.

  1. 1 European Pimplomacy: Top EU official backs Zionist war crimes at 3arabawy





3arabawy on Twitter


Giza teachers protesting govt employment reforms tomorrow Thu 1pm, in front of Teachers’ Syndicate in El-Gezira http://tinyurl.com/5ewvr9 9 hrs ago




Ads are automatically generated