Egypt Celebrates a Revolution

Egypt Celebrates a Revolution – Images by Trevor Snapp

I just arrived in Egypt. It will take years to figure out what will come of this, but the scale of change surpasses anything I’ve every known. Yes the Berlin wall was a massive moment, but that was because it was in Europe. Now change is sweeping the Arab world. If this happened 50 years ago, it may have been be a flash in the pan, inconsequential. But in our brave new world, where China rises, America flounders, and a few extremists define all Arabs, what is happening turns everything upside down.

In Bahrain where money flows like water, liberal middle class youth join the long standing grievances of the Shite community. In Morocco’s an educated minority tries to convinces Maghreb’s poorest country to rise up for something better. In Yemen students cast aside their Kat and demand change. And everywhere dictators scream and point fingers at terrorism, the ghost unleashed by Bush that has propped up ruler after ruler across the Arab world. Bahrain’s King points at Iran using the Shites as proxies, The Egyptians point to the Muslim brotherhood, Morocco’s points to Western Sahara, and Yemen’s ruler points every direction.

And this is the issue at hand. For years the west has seen the Arab world as too violent and unstable for true democracy. (An exception was made for Iraq to settle old scores) This paternalistic perspective has never allowed Arabs to prove otherwise. Now the fears of America will be put to test.  It’s completely possible that democracy could be hijacked by the many ruthless interests in the region. But if it does, we can take a large part of the blame for it. Not because of some massive conspiracy, but because US policy is driven by short term economic interests and not what is good for the world. However in this increasingly connected globe there is only one way out. What is good for the People is good for the world.

I’m in Egypt to document the celebration of the achievements of a people who went beyond fear. This is the beginning of a project documenting the change Arab Youth have brought to the region and to the world. I will be photographing for a variety of media, but this story is an attempt to document what has so far been one of my generations proudest moment.