|
Just who is the most important person in all the Middle East and North Africa? It's certainly not Libya's Gaddafi, Egypt's Mubarak, Syria's al Assad, nor, was it Tunisia's Ben Ali. No, the most important person in current Middle East events, while no longer with us, was a 26-year old unemployed computer science graduate named Mohamed Bouazizi. The oldest of six children unable to find work, Bouazizi was trying to sell produce on Tunisian streets...that is until the police told him to stop. When he protested, a police woman struck Bouazizi in the face, knocking him to the stone path on which he had established his retailing enterprise. As he lay there bleeding a small gathering of police taunted him.
Yet, undeterred, Bouazizi went to the city's commerce department and asked for the correct licensing to sanction his produce stand. He was unceremoniously rejected, eliminating his family's only source of income. Next, the computer science graduate did something completely out of character, say his family and friends. He bought a gallon of kerosene, doused himself, and lit a match. Within hours, through Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, and cell phones, Mohamed Bouazizi achieved more than self-immolation. His desperate act ignited the entire Middle East, beginning suitably enough with the exile of Tunisia's ruthless monarch, virally spreading to Egypt, Libya, Syria, Morocco, and beyond. One seemingly small act had become an instant cause.
This is not a political column. To write one would extend beyond reach and betray the theme of our weekly effort. But while traveling to England this past week, two personally remarkable things occurred. First, I had been at the Goring Hotel for 20 minutes when in walked Margaret Thatcher and her son, there to celebrate her 85th birthday (exciting to be sure). Only days later I met a man you should know. He's an English scholar-writer who's spent 20-plus years in the Middle East and North Africa and has just released his book The Sahara-A Cultural History. If not yet on American shelves it soon will be. It overturns longstanding misconceptions and unemotionally looks at past and present. Eamonn Gearon is easy to talk to. You can learn a lot from off-hand conversations and in his case, much of it comes right back to our lives in media; including the implications of viral communication. Gearon was talking about the initial days of Egypt's eruption. Wandering Cairo streets, he could not crack the codes for internet access or e-mail transmissions. Much like the Iranian uprising of mid 2010, the government had blocked all access. "So I asked a 14 year old Egyptian kid if he knew a way through the blockage. He smiled and said in rough equivalent to Anglo-American slang, 'are you kidding me'?" Within seconds Gearon's laptop was in play. He skipped diplomatic channels for a 14 year old with a cell phone.
There are multiple messages in his observations; among the most positive, Gearon's strong and expert contention that what these young Middle Easterners really want is democracy. In Egypt alone, a country of 80 million, 60% are under the age of 30. 33% are 14 or younger! There are 20 million internet users, and if you think about it, so many protesters' banners and placards are in English! Gearon cautions, however, having a lot of unemployed people under 25 hanging around is a bad idea. The world is on the bubble.
I will long remember time spent with Eamonn Gearon and wish him success with his new book. And what are its takeaways? Starting with the concept of small groups making a massive difference is neither new nor fanciful. Within hours of a lone and seemingly obscure incident, millions upon millions were impacted, oscillating tremors across a continent. Finally, those among us who fail to grasp the impact of social media's potential for change-creation from marketing to revolution, will fall behind and likely remain there. The world is wired.
|
