OUT OF AFRICA

Like so many worldwide I’ve been glued to the unfolding events in Cairo and the Middle East.The revolutions that have taken place in Tunisia and Egypt have been extraordinary and show how powerful people are when they are united in their desire to bring real change to their lives instead of living in increasing desperation and frustration. One look at the story and accompanying horrific and heartbreaking photos of KHALED SAID in Cairo or the story and pics of MOHAMED BOUAZIZI in Tunisia or the horrifying video clips of NEDA dying on the street in Tehran and you can fully understand the rage and the fire driving these revolutions. Tahrir square in Cairo in particular was incredible to watch as it veered from peaceful demonstrations to the sight of pro democracy protestors fighting for their lives against vicious onslaughts organised by Murbarak and his thugs. Then to see these incredibly brave people gain victory over a 30 year old brutal tyrannical regime was just something to remember forever. They’ve a long road ahead but they will never allow that kind of repression or tyranny rule them again, a tyranny I might add, backed and supported financially and militarily by many western governments, utter hypocrites that they are. Having seen the rise of Solidarity and the shipyard protests in Gdansk in what was then occupied Poland in the early 1980’s and then the revolutions of Eastern Europe in 1989 and early 90’s as the Berlin Wall came down these protests have a very similar feel but they are also different in that the Egyptian Revolution in particular seems like the beginning of something very new for the world. This was virtually a leaderless revolution and was conducted peacefully and with the minimum of violence and could almost be called a graceful revolution and it’s not going to stop within the borders of Egypt. This has resonated deeply across the world particularly in the light of the recent economic turmoil and sense of despair felt by so many worldwide in terms of their economic future and in terms of people instinctively feeling they’ve been “had” by a small self- interested incredibly greedy, deeply corrupt collection of bankers and corporate parasites in collusion with equally inept and corrupt politicians. The game is up and people are waking up and pushing hard against what they perceive to be a rotten system globally which has benefitted a tiny few at the expense of the majority of humanity. What’s so interesting to me personally is the speed and ease with which these so called immovable dictatorships and corrupt governments are being overthrown. It feels like they’re so corrupt they’ve rotted from the inside out and so it doesn’t take too much to pull them down and destroy them. For many decades, probably longer, a small handful of people have kept us dependent on fossil fuels for our energy despite there being alternative sources of energy, they have destroyed entire nations with their financial practices and flooded the world with weapons of every description, each weapon system more horrifying and disgusting than the last. Their days are numbered. I truly feel that 2011 will bring massive changes. As they were and are saying in Tahrir Square and many other countries - KEFAYA: -ENOUGH! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKLunyiOjBc

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