People From Cairo

"Writing: such has been my crime ever since I was a small child. To this day writing remains my crime. Now, although I am out of prison, I continue to live inside a prison of another sort, one without steel bars. For the technology of oppression and might without justice has become more advanced, and the fetters imposed on mind and body have become invisible. The most dangerous shackles are the invisible ones, because they deceive people into believing they are free. This delusion is the new prison that people inhabit today, north and south, east and west...We inhabit the age of the technology of false consciousness, the technology of hiding truths behind amiable humanistic slogans that may change from one era to another...Democracy is not just freedom to criticize the government or head of state, or to hold parliamentary elections. True democracy obtains only when the people - women, men, young people, children - have the ability to change the system of industrial capitalism that has oppressed them since the earliest days of slavery: a system based on class division, patriarchy, and military might, a hierarchical system that subjugates people merely because they are born poor, or female, or dark-skinned."

"All the men I did get to know, every single man of them, has filled me with but one desire: to lift my hand and bring it smashing down on his face."

"Yet not for a single moment did I have any doubts about my own integrity and honour as a woman. I knew that my profession had been invented by men, and that men were in control of both our worlds, the one on earth, and the one in heaven. That men force women to sell their bodies at a price, and that the lowest paid body is that of a wife. All women are prostitutes of one kind or another."

"They said, “You are a savage and dangerous woman.”I am speaking the truth. And the truth is savage and dangerous."

"Life is very hard. The only people who really live are those who are harder than life itself"

"With respect to the right to life, liberty and security of person (Article 3), Egypt’s efforts to fight for peace and security through its fight against terrorism have received worldwide admiration and recognition. One of the government’s main responsibilities is to meet the people’s need for safety and security and it has met with considerable success in this domain."

"Unfortunately, the question of human rights is sometimes used as a propaganda tool. In this regard, Egypt has recently been the focus of another wave of criticism by parties driven by political, economic or personal agendas and whose attacks rely on unsubstantiated sources or plain fiction. As the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the mother of human rights instruments, it seems worth making a calm and reasoned assessment of how Egypt truly fares in terms of its provisions."

"The right to peace, justice and development is enshrined in the declaration’s preamble. Egypt has a solid record in the pursuit of these goals. It has struggled to realise ambitious developmental aims despite arduous circumstances and limited resources. Its war against terrorism helps protect the region and the world from this blight while the government has made more progress in development in recent years than previous governments had in 50 years."

"Egypt has an honourable history in the advocacy and defence of human rights, unlike some countries that always attack Egypt on its human rights record."

"In Europe, too, racism — one of the worst human rights violations — is widespread. Related to this is the way European countries handle the problem of refugees. There, they are not even treated as human beings, in contrast to Egypt which, according to a report by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, is one of the most humane countries in its treatment of refugees (see Article 14). Egypt does not pen up refugees in camps. They are welcome as ordinary members of society and enjoy the same rights and duties as others."

"I may be a woman, but women’s rights are not my only focus. I want the rights of all Egyptians."

"We are beginning a new era. If there hadn’t been a revolution, I would never have run in the presidential elections.""

"I think it’s good to talk about everything. It’s not good to try to cover the truth,"

"We have to be alert because it’s possible that there will be danger. The important thing is to know that this stage is not easy and that we are still in the beginning.”"

"And she’s not alone in that fight. It might look like quite a few people are interested in seeing her fail, but there are also many who want her to succeed."

"It was very difficult [to talk about gender equality] because we were in a corrupt political system,"

"we did it through the revolution and we’re doing it again by telling the whole world that Egypt, like every other country, has a real chance for change."

"[It] would potentially open the door for violent males who identify as men to abuse the process of acquiring a gender certificate and the rights that are associated with it. [...] This presents potential risks to the safety of women in all their diversity (including women born female, transwomen, and gender non-conforming women)."

"[N]ot only disappointed but also very concerned about this dystopian ruling ... which distorts key concepts like sex and discrimination while dodging Australia's international human rights obligations vis-à-vis women."

"What I was saying was that there is no right — and I repeated that again and again — to self-ID and that self-ID also, when it is so unregulated, leads to negative consequences for specific groups of women based on their sex."

"[The proposals] do not sufficiently take into consideration the specific needs of women and girls in all their diversity, particularly those at risk of male violence and those who have experienced male violence, as it does not provide for any safeguarding measures to ensure that the procedure is not, as far as can be reasonably assured, abused by sexual predators and other perpetrators of violence."

"We have seen numerous instances in which the presence of just one male on a female team is enough to knock women and girls off the podium. Moreover, allowing athletes born male to compete in women’s and girls’ sports also dramatically heightens the vulnerability of female athletes to injury. Regrettably, the fear of experiencing such harm can and does result in women and girls choosing to self-exclude themselves from participation."

"Where there is a contradiction or a conflict we have to give consideration to the rights of women based on sex in these specific circumstances. In the letter I named a few — for example women in prisons, shelters from victims of violence."

"Peaceful living together between religions and cultures is possible if from the start we know how to identify the values in which we believe and if we recognise rules that apply to everyone. The real problem which we don't address, because Europe is suffering an identity crisis."

"The Church has gone in search of lost sheep, with patience and perseverance, full of love. Encourage and accept the participation of the lay faithful, because they contribute to the work in the field of the Lord."

"At this moment of grave danger, we simply cannot allow the party to flounder, become utterly irrelevant to the political debate and disintegrate into a second-rate pressure group. Make no mistake — unless we listen to our voters, our party faces political oblivion."

"They can't get a home for their children, they see black and ethnic minority communities moving in and they are angry [...] When I knock on doors I say to people, 'are you tempted to vote BNP?' and many, many, many - eight out of 10 of the white families - say 'yes'. That's something we have never seen before, in all my years. Even when people voted BNP, they used to be ashamed to vote BNP. Now they are not."

"Told by leading Government politicians that they pose an "existential threat" to the West's way of life, that they are part of a "hurricane" of mass migration, that MPs feel "besieged by asylum seekers", and that asylum seekers are "invading" Britain. We should reflect on what we say and what we do today before we exercise any moral entitlement to condemn the atrocities of the past. The language we use today matters."

"We as a nation should understand that how we treat those who escape from persecution and genocide is central to our reputation as a country that boasts a humanitarian approach to genocide and the Holocaust."

"[T]wo of my granddaughters are of secondary school age, so they go to a single-sex girls secondary school. And because it's single-sex, there's a very large Muslim population there. The school originally put up some sort of display where they had an Israeli flag and a Palestinian flag. Good stuff. But the Muslim girls tore down the Israeli flag and replaced it with another Palestinian flag. So, only two Palestinian flags. The girls came home — they live next door to me — and they said, "We're not going to tell anybody we're Jewish." So then we had a bit of a discussion about that. They went back the next day and the one who is — she's just 12 — some of these Muslim girls came up to her and said: "Are you Jewish?" So she says, "Yes". So they said, "Which side are you on?" Terrible. So she sort of said, "I’m not on either side," and then they started poking her with a Palestinian flag."

"On Saturday, the worst nightmares of the people of Kfar Aza were realised. A barrage of rockets sent men, women and children into their safe rooms. Then hundreds of Hamas terrorists breached the security barrier. A group of them, fully armed, went from house to house in Kfar Aza, searching for Jews to slaughter. People were burned alive in their homes and cars. Babies and young children were killed and mutilated. Others were dragged into Gaza as hostages. These heinous crimes are unspeakable, and yet we must speak them. The world must know what happened to the people of Kfar Aza."

"Kishinev. Babi Yar. Munich. The sites of Jewish massacres throughout history. Now there is another place that will for ever be associated with the slaughter of innocent Jews: Kfar Aza. Kibbutz Kfar Aza was home to about 800 people and was established in 1951 by Jewish refugees from Morocco and Egypt (where I was born and from which my family escaped in 1949). Like so many kibbutzim, its founders were idealists, living communally on a model with socialist foundations. Its name – literally meaning "Gaza Village" – reflects its location, just over three miles from the city of Gaza."

"[Is Labour never having a female leader "shameful"?] Yes. [...] Oh, it’s horrible. There’s still sexism, which is why you can never take your foot off the accelerator."

"[After the 2019 general election] Had Corbyn won then, I think things would have been different; I couldn't have stayed in the party."

"It was only because of his actions and his words that I came to the decision in 2018; this man was an antisemite and a racist."

"[T]he government proposes to outsource the registration of companies to the professionals working in this space, like accountants, lawyers and company service providers. While most professionals act with integrity, it is people in these very jobs who have been responsible for creating the web of opaque corporate structures that obscure illicit financial flows. So why does the government refuse to put in place robust systems to regulate, check and discipline the professionals involved so that the few bad apples can be eliminated?"

"The terrible truth is that [Mr Corbyn] constantly makes himself the centre of the argument. What we need to root out is anti-Semitism, and for as long as he is one of the individuals who refuses to accept the extent of anti-Semitism in the party, who constantly says that people like me have been politically motivated and are attacking him personally instead of attacking the anti-Semitism that he expressly tolerates, and has allowed to spread right through the party - that's really the problem."

"Within the Labour Party, we now have a culture which sadly has become embedded, which was allowed to drift from the fringes of the Labour Party into the heart of the party, which enables people to express anti-Semitism. Probably my talking to you this morning will fill my Twitter with abusive tweets which are basically anti-Semitic."

"I am a secular, immigrant Jew. I have never been active in the Jewish community; my two marriages were to non-Jews. I have visited Israel a number of times and have been a vocal critic of successive Israeli governments on many counts. But I am a Jew. My grandmother and my uncle were murdered by Hitler and many cousins and other relatives were slaughtered in the gas chambers. Indeed, my grandfather was one of six siblings; we are the only surviving line left and that was because my parents were in Egypt when the war broke out. I joined the Labour party to fight racism. In the 1960s the Labour party was the natural home for Jews. To find myself 50 years later, in 2018, confronting antisemitism in my own party is completely and utterly awful."

"What has happened in Barking and Dagenham is the most rapid transformation of a community we have ever witnessed. Nowhere else has changed so fast. When I arrived in 1994, it was a predominantly white, working class area. Now, go through the middle of Barking and you could be in Camden or Brixton. That is the key thing that has created the environment the BNP has sought to exploit. ["Mrs Hodge claimed the anger is not down to racism"] It is a fear of change. It is gobsmacking change."

"I was celebrating Mass when the white smoke appeared. I was informed and immediately announced to local Catholics the name of the new Pope Benedict XVI, faces were radiant with happiness. I gave the people a brief outline of the new Pope's life and work. We then joined in prayer and will continue to pray for the new Pope that the Lord may assist him and help him in his mission which will not be easy. We hope he will be a bridge between the Church in the East and the Church in the West."

"Catholics in Egypt are offering the rosary, the Stations of the Cross and Masses for the Pope and his intentions. We pray that God will comfort him in his suffering. Here both Christians and Muslims are praying for the Pope recognised by all as a great spiritual leader. Christians and Muslims pray that God’s will may be done. Our Catholics love the Pope and our Muslims respect and admire him. John Paul II has won everyone's heart he is a symbol of peace and unity."

"Christians of all confessions in Egypt pray and wait for the new Pope. We know the Holy Spirit will choose a Pope who is a true disciple of Jesus. For our part we hope the new Pope will continue along the path of inter-religious dialogue with Muslims and other believers. This is important for those of us who live in a Muslim country. We hope too that he will promote deeper communion among Christians and with the Orthodox Churches, much desired by Christians in Egypt where Easter and Christmas are celebrated according to the Orthodox Calendar somewhat later than the Roman calendar. All Christians are united by the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus Christ and like the first disciples we must be witnesses today."

"It would be proper to mention the presence and the role of the Oriental Churches and those of North Africa for them to bloom in ecclesial communion and not be diminished to only "Monumenta Archeologiae Christianae". The entire Church-Family of God should be interested in Africa and not only the Churches that are in Africa."

"On behalf of myself, the secretary general and all staff members of Palestine Academy for Science and Technology, I would like to extend my deep sympathies and condolences to you and the entire American nation in these extremely difficult times. I must say we were all utterly shocked and dismayed at the terrible human loss incurred and the excruciating pain that ensues. May God ease your pain and grant you patience."

"By the gate of your generosity stands a sinner, who is mad with love, O best of mankind in radiance of face and countenance! Through you he seeks a means (tasawassala), hoping for Allah's forgiveness of slips; from fear of Hime, his eyelid is wet pouring tears. Althought his gerealogy attributes him to a stone (Ḥajar), how often tears have flowed, sweet, pure and fresh! Praise of you does not do you justice, but perhaps, In eternity, its verses will be transformed into mansions. My praise of you shall continue for as long as I live, For I see nothing that could ever deflect me from your praise."

"His black saints, facing a timeless space and without noise, fix nothing, expressing the absolute suffering of African culture, deep and highly symbolic and solemn elephants adorned with red are exposed to the eyes of the world. (Giovanni Carandente)"

"These saints look at nothing, as if facing the ideality of a timeless space and therefore without the sound of worldly looks. They condense, within their peoples, the condition of absolute suffering of a culture, the African, profound and highly symbolic, open to the fluidity of a sentiment suited to the absolute and not to the precariousness of everyday life. (Achille Bonito Oliva)"

"Ibn Tulun, when he built his world-famous mosque in Egypt, at one end of it there was a place for ablutions and a dispensary also as annexes. The dispensary was well equipped with medicines and attendants. On Fridays there used to be a doctor on duty there so that he might attend immediately to any casualties on the occasion of this mammoth gathering."

"Je n'étais pas une femme, mais une industrie de la chanson."