Mission Four: Human Rights

Mission Four: Human Rights

Objective 1: LEARN

States were initially built to protect their citizens, but as proven in recent history, the state not always succeeds in this objective. Rather, it sometimes protects a selected few in terms of maintaining their power as well as finances.

As a result of their lust for money and power, some heads of states forget their initial duty of protecting the welfare of their citizens who, in the first place, were the ones responsible for bringing them to power. The more vigilant of their citizens will then take action in order to restore order or a new head of state who will protect their rights and will have utmost concern for their welfare, a servant of the public and not of himself.

There is a recent spate for revolution against states because some of these states are failed states, such as Bosnia and Herzigovina. The governments of some of these states are weak and unable to wield absolute power to keep opposing forces and parties at bay as well as provide for the basic necessities of their citizens.

The example of the Romanov family in Czarist Russia was a failing state that was unable to feed the starving masses and, to make matters worse, was unable to win battles in the Eastern Front during the First World War. This massive starvation and losses of their men against the Germans and their allies, coupled with the rising popularity of Vladimir Lenin and the ideals of Communism, led to the overthrow of their family and the conception of the USSR.

Sometimes, a handful of powerful people will seize the power for themselves because they see the present rulers as unfit to rule over their nations. The military usually plays a large role in the overthrow of a state by a handful of powerful people. Generals who have led military juntas as well as coup d’ etats have been known to assume power once they have overthrown the previous government.

Idi Amin, who was beautifully depicted by actor Forest Whitaker in the movie The Last King of Scotland, as well as Cuba’s Fidel Castro and China’s Mao Ze Dong, are just some of the known military leaders who have taken the reins of power for themselves, although most of the time their iron-fisted backgrounds in the military gets the better of them once they have assumed the role as heads of states.

Also, there are some cases, in which there is an entire group of people which are being maltreated by the presiding government, and it is this group of people who will embark on a revolution to overthrow the government.

There are various reasons, but there is a common ground for these people or groups of people who sought to overthrow their governments: they see something that needs to be changed, and they want change to be drastically achieved, whatever means necessary. 

Objective 3: IMAGINE

Note: This unnamed and imaginary person is a photographer who was in Egypt when the Revolution happened. This is what is running in his head about his job and about the nation.

Is He A Pharaoh?                                                                                                                                                               By Immanuel Canicosa

He had taken thousands of photographs from his trusty camera (which isn’t much, really, but, given that he was at the right place at the right time, meant much) in the past couple of weeks, and he can conclude that this stretch of the Revolution had to be the most boring part in terms of generating interesting images which news agencies would buy from him.

The Tahrir Square, which is only a couple of days removed from being inundated with protestors who were successfully able to force the resignation of former President Hosni Mubarak, is relatively quiet now. They had celebrated his resignation like it was a holiday.

There were fireworks which blazed across the dreary night sky. There were huge flags being waved and passed around and anthemic chants being shouted, phrases which he didn’t understand, phrases which would have borne ill of Mubarak and his supporters.

From an observer’s standpoint, you would think that Egypt had won the World Cup.

Total strangers were jumping and clutching hands, and shoes were being raised up in the air. I guess athlete’s foot doesn’t matter much once democracy has been achieved, he mused. That was the situation a few days ago. And now?

No more camel or horse-riding protestors who braved the firepower of the other side, the side which eventually won. No more dead bodies slumped on the sidewalk like they were commodities on the marketplace which had expired and were not fit for consumption anymore.

Not that he liked these things altogether. Because he, as well as other journalists, have also borne the brunt of the protests as much as these Egyptians who braved the streets. For some phantom reason, stones were being thrown at them. They were being harassed. For telling the truth? He did not know.

There was this good picture he had taken, of children stomping on a portrait of the tyrannical leader, destroying his features, features which they have grown to hate. He had ruled for thirty years. Who does he think he is, a pharaoh?

He had very few good shots, and he knew not much money could be made from them, in the same way that he knew that it would still be a long way for this nation to achieve what they had thousands of years ago, when they lorded it over other civilizations.

But at least he isn’t being harassed anymore, that was the upside. The country is relatively quiet but now entirely quiet. Uprisings are still rife, some them still say. People still complain. But then again, they always do.

It would be a long way for this country, he thought, as he walked away from Tahrir Square, which is devoid of any potential photographs which he could sell to news agencies, but at least, at least they’re making the necessary steps.  

:)