If you don’t know that is a problem. If you follow Mideast activists on twitter, you know. If you read about Mideast issues in the blogosphere, you know. For those of you who don’t know, Essam was a 24-year-old Egyptian activist who was tortured and killed last week by guards in an Egyptian Military Prison. Water hoses were pushed down his throat and up his anus.
The images are beyond horrific. But most people don’t know who Essam Atta is…and that is a crime. The media has for the most part moved on from the struggle for justice in Egypt. But we won’t. Our friend and TalkBackMideast ranter Khaled Eibid (@KhaledEibid on twitter) has posted a haunting and moving tribute -- a call for justice that you can watch at http://www.talkbacktvmideast.com/watch/0kKQyLP7d09DTSLvJYpL2g/دم-المصرى-فى-بلده-رخيص/ TalkBackTVmiceast.com. This rant should be playing on every news program throughout the world.
The crime is not just Essam’s death but our inattention and the mass media’s need to compress the news cycle, chase the new and let important stories fade from sight. The New York Times buried its one paragraph story about Essam’s death story on page nine! There was no coverage of the mass demonstration in Tahir Square on the day of his funeral.
The death of Essam Atta and what is happening in Egypt under military rule has faded from consciousness and our TV screens.
That is the crime. …And just another tragedy around the death of Essam Atta. The media should be all over this story. The images of Essam’s brutalized corpse should be seared into our brains. Those responsible must be punished. Now.
Khaleds Eibid rant honoring Essam Atta and other activists killed by the regime is in Arabic. Here is the rough translation. I can't tell what the music is. But it is perfect.
"We did not get justice for Khaled Said"
" We did not get justice for Said bilal"
" Are going to let justice flee again for Essam Atta?"
" Why the Egyptian blood so cheap " ?
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