Peaceful change overnight? Not quite, as this Al-Jazeera video report makes clear in “Egypt: Seeds of Change.” Rather, this program documents the 3 years of peace training Egyptian activists went through before the recent demonstrations broke out.
Years before, members of the Egyptian youth movement called “April 6” traveled to Serbia to learn at the hands of Srđa Popović, one of the founders of “Otpor!”—a student-led Serbian uprising that led to the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević. It also shows us the methods used to keep the peace going.
“April 6” learns from Popović that non-violent struggle is a form of warfare and that non-violence discipline is key. “Violence contaminates your movement and creates your open excuse for using police and military forces. Also, there is a big problem with media and violence. If you have a march of 100,000 people, and one single idiot throwing stones, he’s going to be the star of the day,” Popović cautions. “April 6” further learns that the key to success is unity, discipline and planning. Equally important, there needs to be a clarity of their aims.
The goal of the “April 6” Movement was to awaken their countrymen and women from years of apathy and fear. They not only were well organized, but also knew that persistence was necessary once victory was in sight. These lessons will no doubt reverberate around the globe as more grow to understand the power of peaceful protest to create positive social change.
Watch this intriguing and inspiring video at:
by William Repicci
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