The Darkest Day Yet...

Yesterday was a horrible, horrible day for Egypt. By far the worst incident since the Revolution began. 

Egyptian security forces executed a brutal crackdown yesterday on Morsi supporters who had been camped in two Cairo locations since Morsi's ouster in late June. Whatever the initial intensions were, the situation rapidly spun out of control. The death toll now exceeds 600, along with over 3,000 injured.

There is no justification for such senseless violence and bloodshed. And the failure of this new nascent government is even worse than the failure of Morsi's. The new government was composed of what seemed like objective, forward-thinking technocrats who wanted to compensate for the ineptitude of Morsi's party. Now they've made things even worse. The violence and chaos they have caused is even worse than the neglect of Morsi's government. 

I don't see what the government hoped to accomplish by authorizing this move - whoever's decision it actually was -  but they shot themselves in the foot by making martyrs of the Muslim Brotherhood.  

This is the first time in this whole ordeal that I'm really feeling despair - even more so than in the 18 days in 2011 when we didn't know how long it would take for Mubarek to step down. At least then there was a single evil entity, a single goal to rally behind. Now the situation is worse. No one is ready to lead. Everyone is confused and emotional. We thought the new interim government would provide a rational, more careful movement in the right direction, but not anymore. ElBaradei was smart to resign immediately yesterday - I hope that he will step up again when a new government is ready to form. The existing interim government will dissolve under internal and international pressure. The military will likely run the show for a while, which will not ease tensions within the population. Eventually, another transitional government will form, and the cycle will begin again - hopefully, next time, with peace and actual progress.

The good news is that I do not think the situation in Egypt will deteriorate to that of Syria. As bad as things are, the conflicts and divisions in Egypt are different and do not run as deep as those in Syria. Syria is still in a war between the populace and a tyrant whose allies and resources are greater and tighter than what Mubarek had, especially because Syria does not have an army that operates independent of the government. Egypt's struggles boil down to a lack of agreement over the best new direction for the country, and heated emotions and frustrations on all sides. 

I still firmly believe that Egypt has a brighter future ahead. In the immediate future, however, it may be a longer and more difficult struggle than I had hoped for. I doubt that anyone thought it would come to this, and it will be a while before any real solution presents itself. We just have to be patient and supportive, and hope for the best.