Friday, September 9, 2016

Do People Even Still Know What "Freedom" means?

I spent the last two years in Egypt, everyone knows that by now. Right now, I am pretty unpopular there because, unlike the majority of the foreign visitors, I didn't enter Egypt as or became a Putin-loving, America-hating pseudo-tolerant conspiracy theorist that believes that as a visitor in a different country I should forsake my own understandings. For a nation that is yearning for "freedom" but failed at getting it to disagree with me on what freedom actually entails makes total sense: Egyptians feel trapped in their own country, have no legitimate democratic power and, whether they realize it or not, are under constant threat of persecution for things any average European would consider a constraint on human rights. It is, as a European who cherishes the system I grew up in, sad to me I seem to have been born "freer" than an Egyptian, although this definition of course is subject to a biased, one-sided definition: mine!

Speaking of human rights, it's interesting to actually remember what that means because many seem to have forgotten. Our values grant every individual to own clothes, have enough to eat and access to a safe living situation. My patriotism does not stem from Germany or Europe being great at some sports or making good cars but from the reality I am from a society that celebrates these values. Despite our history, I am happy we have found a way to grant human beings some rights I find essential. Of course I only consider them essential because I was raised with them and taught to keep them dear. Other parts of the world are different and might not have the same execution of the rule of law or equality as my own state, however, they are not "worse" countries. Fact is though, that in my understanding the Charter of Human Rights is how I want every single person on this planet to be able to live. And I thought everyone agreed with me on that....

For Egyptians to disagree, as I said, is almost excusable. The majority of Egyptians I know are perpetually criticizing their tyrant and are eager for more freedom, yet have no cultural tolerance for any criticism, especially when it involves religion. The week after Charlie Hebdo I was appalled by how many times I heard someone say that a certain punishment, albeit not murder, was to be expected when someone ridicules the Prophet. Very clearly, President Sisi could give his people all kinds of freedoms tomorrow and they would probably still be offended by me telling them that their country is not free. Sadly for Egyptians, denying such a thing won't make it any less true. To them freedom means being able to wear what they want. They are allowed to do that. It means they can marry inter-racially and belong to whatever religion they might like. They are allowed to do that. If that is freedom, yes, Egyptians are free...

Funny we should speak about religions because not having one isn't that great in Egypt. Sure, we are waiting for government numbers about actual prosecution of atheists, and every half-witted person knows we won't ever get them. When you are faced with the census numbers that claim that among 90 million Egyptians less than 1000, or even 10,000 or 100,000 if it would say that, are atheist, you should realize that the government is not a fan. Not having the government be a fan of yours shouldn't matter in a free state; in Egypt it more often than not means you will encounter a few problems though, one of them potentially being jail. The same, of course, applies to homosexuals. We may want to remember that the UN Charter states freedom of expression as a human right. Hence, to claim Egyptians are free is ridiculous...

For two years I was pretty vocal about how much I cherish the freedom that comes with living in Europe. As an LGBT supporter, for starters, I could not accept Egyptian culture to be "better" than mine, although I'd say expressing any culture to be better than another is essentially wrong. My undeniable opinion, however, is and always has been than equality, at the very least, is a right worth fighting for. This applies to women as well. And there I was telling everyone in Egypt that in Europe, women, men, homosexuals and even felons are all the same human beings, with the same set of rights and the same value in society, at least on paper. Quickly the time had come where I no longer wanted to watch Egyptians demand more freedom, then not being willing to accept equality or secularism, so I left. And then, just before I knew it, I had to watch the French, historically most notable for "liberté et egalité", tell a woman to take off her burka at the beach. Ouch!

Here I was believing that it's actually still a privilege to live in a free society, and then the country that actually came up with the idea of equality in Europe openly expresses how this rule excludes Muslims. And women. Now, I do not consider Europe "not free" anymore because Muslim women are under threat of having a dress code imposed on them (although I won't tell anyone they're wrong if they perceive this as a first move in a downward spiral), but the sheer willingness of people to allow to have this basic detail, clothing, to be determined by no other than the person wearing it is a sheer shock. Fine, so the police thought burka ladies do not belong into "French values", but people actually agree. What part of "freedom of expression" did the burka clash with? I don't like burkas and frankly would love for nobody to wear them, yet for me to decide if someone does or not and continue to call myself a believer in freedom and equality simply can't coincide...

Last time I checked, French values were not a dress code; they were a set of values which allow people to be free. I couldn't care less if people feel threatened by burkas. Many also seem to believe there is an underlying threat that comes mainly from members of this religion, especially men. "Jail them before they can become terrorist", I hear all the time. I mean, cool idea, y'all, but I thought we were supporters of the rule of law. I thought we cannot impede on someone's life unless we have proof it harms another. Today, in the face of fear of terrorism which is irrational to say the very least, we have more and more people actively standing up for giving up these rights that some of our forefathers freaking died for. Sorry, but how am I not supposed to be scratching my head? I was unaware that there are people out there, celebrating our freedoms, exercising their right to vote and being respectable citizens who believe these rights are not for everyone.

Right now, there is way too much of a conversation around a religion. Since France's embarrassing beach incident, it is no longer just about religion; now it's about finding a definition to what French values really are: is it freedom or a bikini? Is it equality or a Baguette? The fact this question exists means we will have nationalist debates because of course we will soon have a laid-out definition by Marine LePen who will, let's face it, do really well next year. The days of defining French values as a belief in "fraternité" is on the back burner. Whoever is different is clearly no longer welcome to be called French, only that by now almost all French people are at least a little bit "different". All this sounds an awful lot like Hitler who, on top of being a megalomaniac mass murderer, started an exclusive idea of who is still entitled to this belief in rights. In the end, nobody still had any. But sure, trying to see how far we can push the border between "right-wing" and "xenophobia" this time sounds like a great idea.... NOT!

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