Moving Egypt Forward by Vocational Training & Technology and not financial aid

By: Michael Armanious, MBA

Edit by: Nancy Girgis

Lately, there have been many depressing reports about the state of Egypt’s economy.

Egypt is in a severe state of economic and human crisis despite the fact that it has tremendous resources[1] such as human (with over 24 million employable persons), the River Nile and land (while Egypt covers an area over one million km2, only 6% of Egypt’s land is inhabited). Tourism is the driving force of the Egyptian economy and has the potential of creating millions of jobs. There are also resources such as the Suez Canal, petroleum, natural gas and much more. Despite all that, Egypt is still dealing with some serious challenges, especially after the January 25 popular uprising. 

Sadly, following the revolution, there was a near-complete shutdown in the tourism industry ($10 billion in revenue in 2010 alone). Foreign reserves are decreasing sharply, which will impact the country’s ability to borrow more money or attract foreign investment. Furthermore, the country’s “traditional” challenges such as corruption, insufficient infrastructure, and, most importantly, its large workforce that is lacking the necessary job skills coupled with high unemployment.

Are there any solutions to these numerous challenges? Should they take the form of traditional aid and loans, or should we perhaps think outside the box?

On May 19, President Barack Obama announced a new financial assistance package geared at creating new jobs in Egypt. While this might be a viable solution in the short term, I doubt it will have any sustainable impact on the long-term challenges facing the country.

Egypt needs a new vision and different solutions to its long-term challenges, particularly the unskilled work force.

In reality, Egypt needs a revolution in its education system. Not in the post-secondary level, but in vocational/technical training.

On the same day President Obama announced his aid package for Egypt, I visited Minuteman High School in Lexington, Massachusetts. I wanted to learn more about vocational/technical training and if this formula could apply to Egypt. Let me say that I was blown away from what I learned that day. Superintendent Dr. Edward A. Bouquillon had arranged for two students (Mike Breen and Alejandro Cuellar) to give me a tour of the school and explain the vision behind the school’s curriculum.

I learned that the main component of the Minuteman formula is to understand the needs the market place and work with the employers to create courses. In recent years, the school created new departments such as electromechanical/robotics, biotechnology, business finance & marketing, and computer technology.

My two young tour guides took me from one department to another, explaining the vision and mission statement behind each one. At times, I was lost in the terminology they used; I thought I was talking to people at MIT as their intelligence was astounding. They further explained their career and academic path. Mike is aiming to obtain his PhD while Alejandro is working as a research assistant at a major hospital’s liver disease lab.

I was left wondering about the environment the school created for them, and if a similar environment could benefit Egypt’s students.

Mike and Alejandro selected this “alternative” path because they were interested in math and science and hands-on experience. The school not only offered them the opportunity to select a career they love, but also give them the skills to be employed upon graduation as well as the option to pursue a higher education.

Egypt has a great potential of becoming an energy exporter, not only to other Middle Eastern countries, but also to Europe. Historically, Egypt has proven that it is capable of massive engineering undertakings. Ancient Egyptians created one of the original wonders of the world, the Pyramids of Giza. More recently, in 1859, Egyptians began excavating the Suez Canal[2], which has since become a major source of revenue for the country. Meanwhile, in 1960, Egypt began work on the Aswan dam, which quickly became main source of electricity for the country, and in the process created Lake Nasser, a 6,000 km2 artificial lake.

Author and clean-energy entrepreneur Tony Seba believes that if Egypt took the equivalent landmass of Lake Nasser³ (which represents only 0.6% of Egypt’s landmass) and created a solar power plant, the country would have the capacity of becoming a global energy leader.

Egypt needs a new vision to achieve its full potential, and I firmly believe that a radical change at the vocational and technical training level is the solution.

---

[1] http://wwww.iie.com/blogs/?p=2136

[2] http://seaplus.com/suez.html.

^[3] http://tonyseba.com/desert-power/can-egypt-join-the-ranks-of-energy-world-powers/

Michael Armanious is the founder of Egypt Forward, which works to educate the American people about current events in Egyptian society.

What Copts Can Do

Events of the past few weeks demonstrate that violence against Coptic Christians in Egypt is on the increase. The Egyptian Army has failed to intervene and the media is spreading rumors that arouse hostility and suspicion toward Copts and Israel. The Egyptian army and the Muslim leaders are trying to blame the Copts for the attacks they have endured. Muslim extremists are calling for Copts to leave the country.

Investigations into attacks on Copts at Imbaba and Maspero indicate that Egyptian leaders are not serious about punishing perpetrators.

A small number of Coptic Christians have protested outside the United States Embassy in Cairo. This is a hugely important step. Copts in Egypt have been typically reluctant to ask for help from the West for fear of arousing suspicions from their fellow citizens. The fact that even a small number of Copts has gone public with their pleas to the U.S. indicates that the hostility toward their community is unprecedented. These people will likely be arrested and receive a harsh sentence for their actions.

Coptic Christians and their allies living in the U.S. can play a huge role in drawing attention to the mistreatment of their friends and relatives in Egypt. Here are some suggestions on how to proceed in the next few days – before the end of the week.

1. Contact your U.S. Representative and your Senator.
1. If you contact them by phone, you won’t be able to speak to the lawmaker directly, but you will be able to speak to a staffer who tallies the number of calls regarding important issues of the day.
2. Immediately tell the staffer your name, where you live and say that you are a constituent of the lawmaker’s. Then report that you are calling about attacks on Christians in Egypt. Tell them this is a high priority issue.
3. Ask the staffer what their boss is going to do in response to these attacks. Is their boss going to work on a resolution to send a message to the Egyptian military – which receives a substantial amount of military aid from the American taxpayer?
4. Tell the staffer that not only has the Egyptian military attacked monasteries, it has failed to respond to the attacks against a number of churches in a timely manner.
5. Be quick and too the point and be polite and respectful.
6. Do not attack Islam or Muslims. Focus on the failure of the Egyptian government to protect the rights of the country’s Coptic citizens.
7. It’s only one call, but they add up. The more phone calls lawmakers get from their constituents, the more attention they will pay to this issue.

You can find the phone numbers of your U.S. Representative here and your Senator here.

2. Contact the White House. Tell them that violence against Christians in Egypt is on the rise and that Egyptian leaders need to hear a ringing expression of support for the safety of Copts in their country. You can contact the White House through this website. Callers can leave comments at (202) 456-1111. Faxes can be sent to (202) 456-2461. Again, the more phone calls and faxes, the more attention President Obama will pay to this issue.

3. Contact the U.S. Department of State. Call (202) 647-4000 and ask to leave a message for Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State. Leave your name and city and state that Coptic Christians have been subject to increasing levels of violence in Egypt. Ask that Secretary Clinton express the appropriate level of outrage over the failure of the Egyptian government to protect the safety of Copts. Again, be short, to the point and do not attack Islam or Muslims. Emphasize the failure of the Egyptian government to protect its citizens.

4. Reach out to your fellow Christians in your communities. Tell them about the attacks that have taken place against the monasteries in Upper Egypt, the church in Helwan, and most recently in Imbaba. Ask your neighbors to call their Senators and their U.S. Representatives. Ask them to call the White House and the U.S. State Department. (Send them a link to this page.)

5. Call local churches in your area and ask to speak to the pastor. If you can get through to the pastor, ask that they offer a word of prayer on behalf of the Coptic Christians in Egypt during their upcoming services. If you can only get through to the church secretary, do not despair, because church secretaries are hugely influential. Ask for an email so that you can send links to relevant articles about the attacks that have taken place and ask that they forward them to the pastor. Leave a phone number for the pastor to call you back.

6. Hold a vigil in the town common. Ask local church leaders to participate and inform the local media. The most logical time to have such a vigil in the U.S. is Thursday evening, the day before Friday prayers take place in Egypt. Historically, most attacks against Christians have taken place after these prayers. Reach out to the Assyrian community in your area.

7. If there is a Coptic Church in your community, call the local newspaper and tell them about the attacks in Egypt and inform them that there is a local angle to a story of international importance.

The time to act is now. Copts and their allies in the U.S. can draw attention to the mistreatment of Christians in Egypt and pressure leaders in both the Middle East and the U.S. to protect the rights of Christians throughout the region.

Thank You Pope Benedict

Pope Benedict XVI

Palazzo Apostolico Vaticano
I-00120 Citta del Vaticano
ITALY

Ref: The Egyptian Coptic Christians

Dear Pope Benedict XVI;

As a Coptic American, I would like to thank you for calling the world’s attention to what is happening to the Coptic Christians. Hopefully the world will start to understand the dimensions of the campaign of elimination against not just the Copts in Egypt but the entire population of Christians in the Middle East. 

This campaign was in the works for some time in Egypt, with its origins dating back to the early 1970s. Nevertheless the Egyptian leaders chose to put their heads in the sand and refused to acknowledge the problem by blaming individual attacks on foreign elements, unstable individuals, or unknown persons.

In many cases, local police have forced Christian victims of violence to accept negotiated settlements and to give up their right to have their attackers prosecuted in court. As a result, there were over 200 homicides and attacks against Copts in the past 10 years without one single court conviction. The majority of these homicides and attacks were after the Friday prayers.

Dr. Mufid Shehab, the Minister of State for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, blamed the lack of police and investigative resources. However, he takes offense when Copts show dissatisfaction with police or the legal system.

I was not surprised when Egypt recalled its ambassador to the Vatican for consultation after you urged the country to do more to protect its Christian minority.     

Their action shows the mentality and the thinking process of the Egyptian administration and the culture of the country. You merely asked them to “to do more to protect” Christians in Egypt. In response the Parliament, Imam of El Azhar, and the executive branched  rejected your call as “interfering” in Egypt’s internal affairs. This is a common response from leaders of countries where ethnic cleansing is taking place. Similar responses have been heard from leaders in Rwanda, Sudan and Serbia.

Sadly, they do not understand the value and the importance of the words “The Truth Will Set You Free.”

I pray that all Western countries recall their ambassadors from Egypt to protest not just what is happening to minorities in the Egypt, but to protest and call the attention to the system the produces and exports radicals that threatens our civilization.

Again, thank you so much for your courage, leadership and for calling the attention to what is a happening to Christians in Egypt and the Middle East.

Michael

January 14, 2011

A Letter to Senator Joseph Lieberman

Senator Joseph Lieberman

Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee

706 Hart Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

RE: Copts & the USA Homeland Security

Dear Senator Lieberman:

I am a U.S. citizen.

I am a Coptic Christian who immigrated to the United States in the 1970s because of a worsening climate of hostility toward non-Muslims in Egypt.

The recent attack on the Coptic Church of the Two Saints in Alexandria, which cost 23 people their lives, demonstrates that things have only gotten worse since I left.

I am writing to you because I am extremely worried about my fellow Copts in Egypt. I also want to point out the relationship between what is happening to them now and its long-term impact on our security in America.

On December 24, 2010, I e-mailed President Obama a note and predicted something very bad will happened to the Copts in Egypt in the near future.

I provided evidence.

Sure enough, eight days later, terrorists attacked Church of the Two Saints in Alexandria and just minutes after the New Year Mass, while people left the church. The explosion resulted in many casualties. Many of them were very young children. In the aftermath of the attack, Muslim Egyptians chanted “Allahu Akbar” in celebration.

Sadly, before the investigation began, Egyptian officials were blaming “foreign elements” for the attack. At first glance, this might sound like they were blaming terrorists from Iraq for the attack, but in Egypt’s over-heated environment, some listeners would take this to mean that Israel was ultimately responsible for the attack.

This may seem outlandish, but the fact is, many commentators in Egypt did explicitly blame Israel for the attack, just as some people blamed Israel and Jews for the attack against the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001.

I am afraid the New Year’s attack is just the beginning.  We will witness more attacks on Copts in Egypt who have been the target of an ongoing campaign of incitement that has lasted many years and has intensified in recent months.

Egyptian culture and the education system reject non-Muslims and call for them to be isolated from the rest of society. Some commentators call for Copts to be gotten rid of altogether.

On January 7, 2011, Boston Globe and AP wrote about a very small example what Copts experience on a daily bases. “…worshipper dressed in black entering Mass at the main Coptic Church in the Cairo district of Giza. “But even on my way here, a couple of young men shouted at me, ‘God take you all and rid us of you.’ ’’.

Moreover, in my letter to President Obama, I mentioned what Sheik Wagdi Ghoneim said about Muslims what should do to Christians in Egypt. Two days later, Sheik Wagdi, repeated the same threats from his residence in Yemen, however, this time he was more aggressive and asked Copts to immigrate to America.

Unfortunately, the education system in Egypt is the main cause for of Egypt’s troubles.

It is also a threat to American security.  This system  produced 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta and a number of extremists such as Dr. Ayman El-Zawahry, Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, Abu El Hamza El Massey. It has produced many members of al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations.

This system is still producing young radicals with no vision, no job opportunities, and no chance of earning a decent living in Egypt.  Some will leave Egypt for the West and bring their hate with them.

This represents a threat to our safety in the U.S.

Since 1979, Egypt has received over $35 billion in military assistance as part of the reward of the peace treaty with Israel. Unfortunately, the current regime and the military leadership still view Israel as the main enemy. Furthermore, after over 30 year’s of anti-Israel campaigns, the Egyptian culture now is rife with Anti-Israel, Anti-Semitic, anti-Western, and anti-Christian attitudes.

Commentators and government officials blame Jews and the West for everything, from jellyfish and shark attacks in the Red Sea to shortage in food, and much more.

To be sure, there are signs of hope. After the attack, prominent Muslims in Egypt acted as human shields to protect Coptic churches during their Christmas celebrations.

But these signs are too few and far between.

It also important to point out one negative side effect of our military assistance to Egypt.

It has freed the Egyptian military to spend their money on other businesses like retail, agricultural, construction and tourism. In so doing, we are subsidizing this culture of hate.

Americans should demand that its foreign assistance be used in ways that enhance their interest in the Middle East and to protect – not endanger – U.S. citizens here at home.

The U.S. government must redirect part of the military assistance it provides to Egypt to improve that country’s education system and to promote a culture of peace.


In conclusion, Egypt needs a different kind of help than what we have been giving her. After 35 years in power, the current regime has failed to solve many of Egypt’s challenges. As much as 45% of the population is illiterate. Thirty to 35 percent of the population below the poverty line. In addition, almost 57 million out of the total 85 million people living in Egypt have no access to sanitary sewers, which in turn leads to the pollution of the Nile River, which is used to irrigate much of the country’s crops. This results in many health problems. For example, roughly 17,000 children die each year because of diarrhea. (However, it is interesting that just this week, some members of the Parliament are starting to hold the government responsible because its failed policies.)

 

In light these problems, it’s clear Egypt needs engineers, scientists and doctors. She does not need any more radicals. Egypt has access to many natural and human resources. We must help Egypt to develop its own processes to be self-sufficient in many industries, such as food, healthcare and transportation. 

She needs engineers, scientists and doctors. She does not need any more radicals. Egypt has access to many natural and human resources. We must help Egypt to develop its own processes to be self-sufficient in many industries, such as food, healthcare, transportation, etc. 

Many Muslims leaders in America are calling for America to understand their culture and to be more tolerant. Furthermore, many of those Muslims leaders are trying to change America to be more compliant with their beliefs even after they have gained their citizenship.

It is about time that America regain its confidence and demand that Egypt and the rest of Arab world understand her culture, her Bill or Rights, her commitment to individual rights, and to be more tolerant to non-Muslims, just as Americans work to be tolerant of Muslims.

These are the things that brought those Muslims leaders to America in the first place.

We shouldn’t be shy about promoting our way of life because it is GREAT.

I apologize for not sharing my contact information, but I withhold this information for reasons of security. As you probably know, Al Qaeda has posted the names, addresses, phone numbers and photos of Coptic Christians in Canada.  I will however, include my blog address for your staff to leave me a message and I will contact your office to answer any question.

Many thanks for your attention to this matter.

Michael

Jan. 11, 2011

An Old Movie Title -- Hassan, Marcus and Cohen

In the 1954, there was a movie in Egypt titled "Hassan, Marcus and Cohen." It was based on a stage play written by Naguib Al-Rihani and Badi' Khayri. The movie told the story of three businessmen -- one Muslim, one Christian, and one Jew -- who were able to work together despite their religious differences.

If the movie were to be made today, it would tell a different story. Hassan has driven off Cohen and is in the process of driving off Marcus.

The question Egyptians face today is if Hassan is better off without the friendship of Marcus and Cohen?

Can Hassan really do without the expertise and friendship of Marcus and Cohen? If so, then why do Egyptian leaders go to Europe for medical treatment?

Salafist Imam Abo Ishaq Alheweny recently went to Germany for medical treatment. And when he was well, he sent a message to his Egyptian followers telling them that the west is "hell on earth."

Even though this movie was written in 1954, Hassan, Marcus and Cohen is a beautiful invitation for Egyptians to rethink the world the extremists are creating for them.

An Open Letter to President Barack Obama

Note: This letter was sent to the White House on Dec. 24, 2011, eight days before the attack on the Church of the Two Saints in Alexandria, Egypt that killed 23 Coptic Christians.

President Barack Obama
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington D.C.

Dear President Obama,

I am writing to you as Coptic Christian who immigrated to the United States in the late 1970s.

I am an American citizen.

I have grave concerns about what is going in Egypt regarding the Copts.

To put it bluntly, I fear that something very bad is going to happen to this community in the very near future.

Coptic Christians have been the victims of systematic abuse and oppression in Egypt for a long time. On November 17, 2010, the U.S. Department of State recently issued a report on religious freedom in Egypt that details the abuses they suffer on a daily basis. January of this year, six Coptic Christians were murdered outside their church after celebrating Christmas.

Sadly, I fear another attack will happen again sometime in the near future.

The tendency of blaming the State of Israel for every problem in Egypt, and linking it to the Copts, is on the rise, especially in the past a few months. By associating the Copts with the Jewish state, extremists and government officials are inciting hostility toward a beleaguered, defenseless minority.

The anti-Israel polemic is fairly well known. One official accused recent shark and jellyfish for attacks on swimmers at Sharm el-Sheikh on the Mossad. The aalleged goal was to kill the tourism season.

What is less well known is that Muslim Imams throughout the Middle East are demonizing Coptic Christians in Egypt. One oft-repeated claim is that Israel is using Coptic churches to store all kinds of weapons to attack Muslims. Such accusations lead to threats of violence.

For example, Sheik Wagdi Ghoneim recently said in a video message from the State of Qatar “I swear by God, you will not have time stay alive until America and the West arrive, this is for your own good, if you understand. Do you think the Muslims inside Egypt will say thank you and may Allah give you health? “No, by God.”

And on September 16, 2010 Mr., Muhammad Salim Al-Awa, Secretary-General of the International Union of Muslim Scholars announced on Al-Jazeera TV (Qatar): Copts Amass Weapons in Egyptian Churches and Are "Preparing for War against the Muslims".

Copts are even being blamed for the violence perpetrated against them by Muslim extremists in Egypt. For example, after a mob of 5,000 Egyptians recently attacked a Christian service building, President’s Mubarak former assistant, Dr. Mustafa El- Feki from Ain Shams University stated that Israel and the Copts were at fault for the attack and the two deaths that resulted from it. Dr. El Feki stated that Israel was behind the subsequent protests: “"It is almost certain that the Mossad is involved in these events. The State is dealing with dangerous events that could not have succeeded without external intervention with Israel at its head."

Here, it is important to note why the mob attacked the building in the first place. While the Egyptian government does not allow Christians to build churches, it does allow them to build “service buildings” where social services can be provided to the elderly and to young people in the Coptic Christian community. The mob attacked this service building after hearing rumors that the building itself was going to be used as a church and not merely to provide social services to its members.

Mr. President, in light of numerous acts of incitement and previous acts of violence, I fear that Coptic Christians in Egypt are going to have a very tough Christmas season. I implore you to use your good offices to insist that the Egyptian government protect the rights of its Christian citizens.

For reasons of my own safety, I can only sign my first name, but nevertheless, I offer wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

I ask that you use your influence to make sure Christians in Egypt can celebrate their holidays in safety.

Michael
Dec. 24, 2010