The wind of change has been blowing in the Northern more developed part of African where the people are not black. They suddenly realised that they own a country (Tunisia and Egypt) that they were not given the freedom which the western world had been lecturing their leaders to give them.
Most of those who decided to demonstrated are people who are educated and have embraced the technologically changes taking place in the world that has improved communication. They use these tools to assemble disgruntle people to effect a type of demonstration never seen before in the region.
Tunisia started this movement which saw their leader took his heels and fled the country. Then the effect gripped the biggest of all, the core of the Arabs world, Egypt. People have been for the past 8 days demonstrating for their president of more than 30 years to go. They have finally realised that fear is not the solution to their future. They have been placed in abject poverty for years and now they want all their wealth - not material wealth only, back. This relates to the wealth built in the freedom of man, dignity, pride of the land as well as the means to provide for oneself.
As said by the French philosopher Rousseau's in his one of his most important work, The Social Contract, - at that time, in the 1700s, "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains". Does this still apply in modern days? Or is it what he added that "The legislative power belongs to the people, and can belong to it alone", that is changing the face of events in this part of the world today?
But what is being observed today could still be traced back to the times of Jean- Jacques Rousseau's when he said that the "English people are free only during the election of the MPS. As soon as they are elected t is slave...it is nothing".
Something that is characteristic of African dictator surprisingly did not happen in most of these demonstrations in Tunisia and Egypt. If it happened they intensity was milder than expected in this area. In the darker part of the continent - the black Africa or sub-Sahara Africa, believe me any such uprising will be crushed with the brutest of forces. Why is the protest in Egypt and Tunis succeeding?
People have been allowed to demonstrate and the governments whom their subjected wanted them go have decided to grants concessions. Is it the external forces of USA that is playing this way?
This phenomenon has been disturbing us here in Gothenburg, Sweden, as we look into the advanced democracies in Europe and ask how the government here, in the west have responded to the plight of its people. After all it was the French who first showed the world that demonstration for social justice was useful in ousting dictators or those MPS who don't listen to its people
Looking back into history, the French in the 1700 chased away the then French king Louis XVI and this glamorous wife Marie Antoinette whom many historians claimed she used the state treasury as her personal purse to do shopping. In fact it was in October 1789 that Louis XVI and the Royal Family were removed from their palace in Versailles to Paris to be judged. Earlier, in July 14 of that same year, the Bastille, the famous prison which house political activists and critics had been stormed and its content released to the society. The King was later brought to trial in December of 1792, and executed on January 21, 1793. A republic was proclaimed and the country’s struggle towards democracy continued. During this time however, protest were not organised on Facebook, twitter or the so called social network. People secretly met in cafes, clubs, and libraries and so on.
Now back to modern times, protests in the northern parts of the Dark Continent – African which happens to be part of the Arabs world is working and the protests in Egypt, the birth place of civilisation is going well. This means that the dictator there has already made some interesting concessions, such as, that he will not stand for the next election, he and his son have resigned from the ruling party among others. But again why are protests here in the west, these days failing to provide satisfaction to protesters? Why are wester politicians becoming more dictatorial and the people becoming less powerful?
Recently in the UK student were protecting against the increase of tuition fees. That sis not scratch the government in anyway. They did not call for a debate about it, They did not seek the interest of student, parents and the public on how university education could be made affordable and accessibly to all. Even those parties that clear said that hey will not increase university tuition fees prior to the election voted for it anyway.
When contacted the Liberal Democrats, which is part of the ruling coalition said that they did not win the election and the they are here to clean the mess the former government created. But is that enough not to listen to the people? Why not resign if you are asked to do what they people don't want?
The coalition government went ahead and instituted the increased instead of reforming the educational system for example making it harder for students to be admitted for degree programs that don’t contribute more, e.g literature, media studies, history etc and promote admission for technology, science etc. However for us this could be a great opportunity for Sweden universities to attract more British students to study here as there are great facilities here but student in the UK don’t know more about. It will also be tuition - free for them who are EU citizens
Today in the UK, people across the country are protesting against public spending cuts that will see libraries closed, older people’s service quarantined among others. But is one looks to places like Sweden public libraries are extremely modenised- a place where people don't only go to read, but also to meet, socialise, play games and discover new things and ideas. British public libraries are fit for closure because they have nothing other than a few books. They can't generate money because they have no films, music, games, and the like to let out generate money from, meeting places for groups to study, discuss, for entrepreneurs to develop new ideas, WiFi which individuals can come in with their own computers and get connected on line etc.
It makes not sense to protest in the UK for no political figure will listen to them. Just as JJ Rousseau said, after election of the MPS, it is slavery all over. Prove of this - remember the protest in 2003 - protest against the war in Iraq. The demonstration in London was the biggest in the UK capital's political history, with nearly two million took part according to organisers then. Even the then Mayor of
London, Ken Livingstone said: "This war is solely about oil. George Bush has never given a damn about human rights." Ton Blair did not give a damn about that protest.
In Sweden recently we see thousands of people have staging protests in Stockholm, Gothenburg etc against the election to parliament of 20 members of a far-right party. Although here there is nothing government could do given they did choose far right politicians. Here it was the people who decided to vote in the far rights to law making position.
But again Sweden deported Iraqi refugees amidst protest, still went ahead and no official listened despite Sweden priding itself as a place where people running for persecution could be harboured. The immigration minster instead said that immigration must be controlled although it was later reviled by wikileakes leak that it was already planned long ago that Iraqi refugees or immigrants were unfit for the Swedish society and their presence here must be curbed.
Today the Swedish foreign minster Carl Bildt is saying that the Egyptian leader should listen to the people. The British prime minister, David Cameron is also saying that the will of the people must prevail and that the Egyptian government must start the process of transferring power. These developing lowly placed countries look upon us to set the right tone and the right example. Are we doing it? Are we leading by example? Does it matter to protest these days in the western civilised world?
