“Threatening the Haseirra (straw mattress) Council of being dissolved” 

Newspapers have written about it! Abu El Maaty Masoud has prepared the place, he sent Abdel Moemen the young boy to call the village people one by at their houses. Abu Rahma’s house there came five, Fadaly’s there came 9, Mr. Shaker the teacher, Aliann, Gaber and 5 of their laborers. Also the two students in law school, the other one in agriculture. Sheikh Hassan from the mosque and Abdel Maseeh from the church, everyone would gather in Abu El Maaty’s house on the first Thursday of every month and they called this the Haseirra council
They would start after the evening prayer and go on until dawn, a set of tee cups would follow another, and they would light their water pipes and change the tobacco regularly. The atmosphere is just perfect and people are busy exchanging salutations and news, sometimes they sang and told local poetry, and then the talk starts about anything and everything. They talked about themselves their children as well as about the Americans in Iraq and their speculations about the situation in Iran, they talked about elections, problems they have in their fields and the latest news some of them have read in newspapers, news of their homes and of their work, about prices and everyday struggle. Everyone talked and they all listened. Through the disucussion they would come to solve many problems and help each other ….the Haseirra council as they called it has solved many many problems and discussed even more. It became the most important feature of the village even more important than the Omda’s (governer) house and the police station.
Abel Moemen ran fast, he passed by every house and told them all one by one: Abu El Maaty says you all have to come tomorrow after the evening prayer, yes I know it is Monday, yes but you have to come it is very important.
-Abu EL Maaty said tomorrow very very important.
-Did he say why?
-He only said tell them all to come tomorrow, it is very urgent.
And so, from house to house they were all informed that they should come the next day, and they spent the night thinking about it.
The next evening in Abu El Maaty’s house after they had all their cup of tea and the water pipes were ready, Abu El Maaty toke his place and put his water pipe aside and prepared to speak.
-so what is up Abu El Maaty?
-I am afraid it is not good news Fadel, I fear for our gathering here in this place!! People looked surprised and some thought that this was the beginning of another subject, but the concern on Abu El Maaty’s face convinced them that it was serious…..one of them said: what are you afraid of?
-the government.
-Government!!! it sounds serious, why the government what did we do? We are no criminals, neither terrorists! Were are peaceful people and everybody knows even the Omda and the superintendent.
It is bigger than that, it is the government itself. In short there are two things that me call you this evening, and both were published in the newspapers….the government is dissolving center and associations made by citizens….people like us? -a farmer asked: what centers and what associations dissolved by the government, and why? Where is it happening?
-Shaker the teacher said: yes it is true I did read several times about such events, laborer services, and then another one named Help.
-the priest Abdel Maseeh said: but those are places for helping people, places for the good recommended by God, one presents services and the other helps people why would they close them?
-Mahmoud the law student answered him: It is true that they do good things but this is not the kind of good that the government is looking for. One of them was named the house of services and it stood with the laborers who complained against employers, it filed law suits for them and wrote complaints, they taught them about their rights and how to obtain them even through strikes. How to form syndicates and write about workers, prices and privatization and as you know the owners of factories are close family to the government.
Workers and simple people as you know aren’t by any means related to the government and the government wants people to say Amen and not those who ask questions….whereas the people of Help were working on the injustice of the government, they were working to stop torture…not the torture of God but the one of officers and informers, the ones who capture people even for no reason and instead of treating them as human beings they treat them even worse than animals they tie them like cattle and hang them like slaughtered animals in police stations and torture them in everyway, using hands legs, sticks and cigarettes. People don’t survive and they die in many cases and as for those who survive they are broken and afraid and they never report what happened, Help association encouraged them and helped them to complain and publish what happened and denounce the officer. They helped them make the world know what happens and reveal the lies of the government when it says there is no torture.
-yes but this is the government and people aren’t all the same, they are far more big. -there is no big and small people in the law, we are all the same and nobody is bigger than the other is. Both associations were doing good things of a kind unwanted by the government.
-the sheikh of the mosque murmured: Oh God save us from what are afraid of. -Gaber said: yes, I have a colleague from Helwan who called me at home and said that they are filling lawsuits for laborers, and that they organize meetings to teach them about their rights, they even had a branch in Mahalla but too bad the government shut it down.
-Ismail asked in surprise: all this is fine, we agree with you that there is injustice and torture but what has all of that to do with us? -Aliann has answered angrily: How come you ask what has it to do with us, those people were helping poor and simple people and you are one of them or have you become important and big. The other day when they toke your cousin and humiliated him, wouldn’t it have been good if we knew those people from Help? They would have helped us since nobody else did and Big people don’t care about small ones like us.
Abu El Maaty interfered and said: we have nothing to do with people Abu Noos. The government since it has closed the house and dissolved the Help, then it is a matter of time before they come to our place and they tell you this council is illegal and forbidden and then close the door to this place and not let anyone near this place. The Sheikh commented: God forbid, we have done no sin, and haven’t violated any law or legislation, why would they prevent us from meeting?
-Abu El Maaty: this is the problem father, the others as well haven’t done anything wrong. Sin is to do people injustice and take away their belongings with no right, it is not helping people to regain back their rights.
Mahmoud interrupted saying: Abu El Maaty is right father, and we are not different from the associations that were closed. They as well were ordinary people and not part of the government; they like us have gathered and shared ideas about their problems and how to solve them. And we in this place also discuss, think and support each other. The other day have not we gathered and went to see the Omda and the superintendent about the road accidents. Don’t we write complaints? Don’t we tell each other about our rights? The only difference between us and the people from Help is that we do this whenever we can, we aren’t as organized as they were and we don’t have journalists, lawyers and we don’t publish books, we are an organization of people and for the people.
One of the farmers said: what organization are you talking about do you want us all to go to prison?
Mahmoud: Organization is not just political parties, syndicates are organizations, associations are organizations, people talking together for a certain purpose are organization, and this is a right to everyone to make organizations to realize what they want, people from the Human Rights say so, everyone has the right to gather and form organizations, syndicates and associations since their goals are peaceful and they are not armed.
One of the farmers said:
We are already gathered and there are no problems so what are you all afraid of? Abu El Maaty: this is not just a meeting, this is a meeting of people who think about their problems and are looking for a solution, and it is natural to talk politics, Israel, Iraq, elections, unemployment, agriculture, prices, crops and the government. Don’t we do this, or would you prefer that they make us shut our mouths?
Mr. Shaker: you are right Abu El Maaty, the government wants people to be dumb and paralyzed, a people unable to speak or move. It is true, we are on the same boat as the Help or the services associations, and any other humans that think or feel or try to do anything for people, or against the abuse of the police. Mahmoud: you are right Mr. Shaker, everyone must have the right to gather and organize meetings if they want, to form organizations that express their wishes and needs. We aren’t cows we are humans and we have rights.
. Mahroos has screamed as if he just discovered something: yes there should be laws that give us this right.
Mahmoud answered him calmly: there are already laws but unfortunately they were put by the people’s assembly, and we all know how they were elected and what happened to judges when they said that there was falsification. That’s why the laws are far from people’s interests, why they prevent them from practicing their rights . there is a law for forming political parties and the same law has created a committee that has the right to refuse parties, dissolve them or just shut them down if it wants. There is also a law for making associations but the government should give its consent, the internal security and then the related ministry would control their work and can also shut them down. There is a right to express yourself and publish what you want but also if you talk bravely and dare to say something they can also put you in Gail and humiliate you , and they can also close the journal. Every right has restrictions that suffocate it and every thing is legal. Their laws are used against poor people and they throw them away from their lands, they are used against workers and prices jump high also according to the law. People are thrown in Gail by the law, they are arrested for no reasons also by the law. Laws that were tailored for their needs and what they want. We want freedom, we want a parliament without falsification and a government that is brought by the will of the people and not one that has been enforced upon them. One that takes care of their rights and not abuse them.
Abu El Maaty: It seems that the wave of enthusiasm that come with the elections and the promises is over, we are back to business as usual, and what is coming is even worse. There is no change no reform nothing. It was all empty talk just for the sake of the lections and we were fooled. They were right those who said that they were fooling us and that nothing will be reformed, it is true this is an inherited estate and they will not give up easily and will not let it be reformed, but then again it is our fault, we continued hiding ourselves until we became invisible, and nobody takes us into account anymore. What rights are you talking about Mr. Mahmoud? The government has closed newspapers and political parties, they sent journalists to Gail and humiliated men and women and even hit parliamentarians. It is not strange if say that it is soon our turn, it is the turn of anything that causes people to gather, a house, an association, a council even a simple meeting I a place …farewell Mr. Reform…farewell Mr. Change…Farewell Mrs. Country.
-there Abdel Aaty has interfered and said: the only solution is to move like the laborers of Mahalla…it is over! The government has forgotten about us, and our rights are not coming back unless we ask for them, unless we struggle and move together using all peaceful methods such as strikes, sit ins and gatherings in order to protect those rights …Mr. Shaker commented: believe me nobody is going to care about us anymore, nor think of giving us back our rights. We have to move and claim them and only in this case would we be able to protect our council and our dignity….. Only in this case would the government know that we are humans and we have rights that we must receive
Only in this case would our country move forward, our children be educated, our sick be taken care of and we find work, housing, clean drinking water and adequate food….only in this case could we keep our heads up high as other people and be proud of being humans …we have the right to be free, safe and enjoy our dignity.