Not All of Them are Raouf Alwan, Some Resemble Saeed Mahran
By: Gamal Eid
They are all neither former prisoners of conscience, nor tired returnees after years of expatriation. But some of them are political faces, known to whoever is following up the political arena, while others are competent journalists, who aspire to climb the power ladder rather than the press ladder.
They are unquestionably supervised by and work alongside officers from various bodies in order to communicate with them and coordinate their efforts in the optimal exploitation of the needs and conditions of former prisoners or returnees from expatriation, whether due to difficult physical and economic conditions or fear of returning to prisons.
Needless to say, it cannot be done unless they are persuaded to do so by offering them opportunities that meet their desires for fame, luxury, and glory.
To recruit a former prisoner of conscience for surveillance activity, keep apart or silence him/her, there is no better option than to resort to a similar prisoner of conscience. There is no better way to incorporate a fatigued and bewildered returnee in the ranks of supporters than to recruit a former returnee with a lengthy history of activity. And to domesticate an ambitious intellectual angry at his poor living conditions, there is no better option than a journalist who climbed the power ladder and achieved luxury.
Egypt Greets You
You are aware that Egypt has been going through difficult circumstances. We certainly have problems and make mistakes, but we are really working to solve them. And we know that you have complained. We are not the ones who are attempting to compensate and help you; it is Egypt that is compensating you!
It is not a big deal! It is just a job to help you after the difficult time you have been through.
This is a paltry amount of money so you can pay your bills and overcome your crises, and this is not my money, this is from Egypt.
Write what you see and satisfy your conscience. Journalism is a wide and tolerable field, and there is no specific need for you to write.
Write down what you see to appease your conscience. Journalism is a broad and flexible career, and nobody will force you to write about certain issues.
We want you to participate in a serious and real initiative; an initiative that benefits our people and families away from the people working in human rights and funding fields to distort the image of Egypt.
Continue your work and I will not let anybody harm you.
And if you need anything, please let us know. And if you have time, you may help us with the initiative of integrating and correcting the conditions of inmates who have been released from jail.
Of course, you are a good person and not ungrateful, and you will think twice before criticizing, attacking, or ridiculing someone.
People were good with you, although you are aware that if they get angry with you, what would happen to you?! Yes, it is better not to think about it.
Some are Like Raouf Alwan
He was impatient and rebellious, but with an ambitious and forward-thinking mindset.
He was cognizant enough to establish an alternate viewpoint, express his disapproval, and expose society’s flaws and misdeeds. He was also conscious of his right to better living conditions, and that they, the others, were no better than him. Rather, he outperforms them in consciousness and intelligence, and merits a place fit for a king.
But when the opportunity occurred, he disavowed these viewpoints and also Saeed Mahran, and even tried to advise him to follow suit in the same society. That society in which only the circumstances of Raouf Alwan have changed from bad to better.
When Saeed Mehran objected, he became a fugitive from the police, with the efforts of Raouf Alwan.
Raouf Alwan is not only a fictional character in the novel The Thief and the Dogs by Naguib Mahfouz, but also a real-live persons that smokes Marlboro and Merritt cigarettes, sits in air-conditioned rooms, attend top-level meetings, uses a Samsung phone, and earbuds. It is a clone character that is spreading and infiltrating these days.
What Do the Real Raouf Alwans Do?
The true male or female Raouf Alwan impersonator does not urge their victims to be complicit or supportive, but rather to have reason, maturity, and fair judgment from their perspective. They always say: “Can you deny the magnitude of the accomplishments, roads, and bridges that have permitted the country’s progress now? Yes, there are still faults, but our function is to be merely judges and support those who make an attempt, and we applaud them so that they become more enthusiastic to complete it. You came with us to Alamein, the new capital, and numerous projects, and you saw that if we left the arena to the opponents, who attacked everything, we would spread frustration, and those who work would stop.”
However, the scenario of assessing accomplishments does not easily attain the aim due to the high number of injustices on the one hand, and the profusion of achievement creation with inadequate distribution on the other, most of which serve a certain class.
In that case, the real Raouf Alwan resorts to the scenario of the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, saying: “Certainly, there are innocent individuals in prisons, but it is difficult to free them all. Even if they attack us, we must be patient and convince the Interior (the police) and those who take the decisions that the best option is to free the innocent. We must do our best. Believe me! The officials are enthusiastic to release them, but the fear is that they will then attack and insult the Interior’s officials, or travel abroad and distort its image or slander it.”
We Must Respect these Concerns
Remember! Not all the decisions are made only by the Ministry of Interior, but also the attorney general, and the presidential amnesty committee that delivers information to the president. It is a lengthy process. Ultimately, it is better than attacking all the time, even if we helped free only one innocent individual!
And as you see that many people have been freed, and all of them will be freed gradually, God Willing! The important thing is that you help and do not worry about the opponents, who always disagree, believing that every issue can be quickly handled with a signature or phone call from officials.
The Good, The Evil
The good Raouf Alwan is active on social media, posting birthday wishes, condolences on funerals, laughing at silly jokes, responding to insignificant messages, and appealing to God to release the innocent: “Our Lord protects them from the extreme heat in prisons.”
His/her timeline is full of posts expressing the radiance of a new road, the splendor of the North Coast, and development projects, in addition to posts of thanking the amnesty committee, praising the national discourse, unknown soldiers, and all the young people everywhere.
The fights over football matches are also of great importance, in which he participates with comments that pleases fans of Al-Ahly, Zamalek or Ismailia clubs, and some enthusiastic posters and comments on some safe battles. Every now and then, s/he publishes pictures with famous figures, captioning “my companion and my beloved,” and so-and-so. It is important to show that s/he is present, complimenting others with a wide smile.
As for the evil Raouf Alwan, s/he takes the side of attack, assailing on people, saying: “They deceived us, we thought of them as fighters but they are deceivers,”, and “they think themselves heroes, but they are profit-makers and fund receivers.”
They occasionally vent their anger and sadness from the pals who have been exposed, announcing that they will not do any good, because there is no true companion.
They doubt those who take stands, filling the atmosphere with suspicion, caution and wonder. They make people believe such thoughts.
Indeed, all that glitter is not gold.
Here and There
Almost no house here in Egypt is free of oppression; an innocent prisoner, an angry opponent, a former prisoner who fears his return to prison, a professional out of work, a relative of a forcibly disappeared person, hunger and unemployment, a friend of an expatriate denied the right to return to Egypt, and if he does, prison awaits him.
There are thousands upon thousands of expatriates, immigrants, and escapees, looking for security, a dream or a living.
Many of these are potential victims of the good Raoud Alwan. They are welcomed, if they quietly comply. But if they refuse and condemn, the evil Raouf Alwan is ready to indirectly slander him.
In any case, the indirect defamation of Raouf Alwan is better than the defamation and insults of the Green-lighted Samsung (informants).
Because they are ready to throw you in jail, and change your name from citizen to inmate.
Whether You Are Saeed Mahran or the Innocent, You Lose!
Saeed Mahran, whose ambitions were modest and his dreams legitimate, was transformed by Raouf Alwan into a fugitive killer hunted by the police!
As for the innocent, whose friend died in prison following a visit by human rights observers, and after his friend revealed the lie and the trick, and according to the end allowed by censorship, he became a gear in the machine of repression and lying, and the most he can do is playing the flute that fell at the beginning of the film.
But even so, we love Saeed Mahran and the innocent, regardless of loss, and we despise Raouf Alwan, both the good and the evil.