Is George Floyd America’s Bouazizi? Lafayette Park: D.C.’s Tahrir Square
“Bread, Freedom, and Social Justice.” This is the Arab Spring’s most memorable slogan. In 2011, Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian street vendor, set himself on fire after being harassed by a municipal officer. His death ignited frustration, anger, and rage across the Middle East. Millions of Egyptians, Syrians, Libyans, and Tunisians chanted this slogan for weeks, demanding dignity from regimes that never afforded them any basic human rights. At the time, I thought it was a turning point in the history of the Middle East. With 2020 marking the 9th anniversary of these uprisings, I am forced to reflect on the millions in the Middle East who have yet to gain the rights their compatriots sacrificed their lives for.
Today, though, I am also reflecting on the ongoing events that have taken over every state in the United States. George Floyd’s death sparked rage similar to that in the Middle East in 2011, after he was murdered at the hands of a white police officer in Minnesota. “Silence is Violence,” “Hands up. Don’t Shoot,” and “Black Lives Matter” are slogans Americans are chanting from Los Angeles, to Chicago, to Atlanta and D.C. I have been protesting at the White House for the past week to call out the systemic violence, that is perpetuated on a daily basis, and the murder of innocent black bodies.
While anger in the Middle East stemmed from political failures, the rage in the U.S is rooted in anti-blackness and racism. There are well-defined similarities between both movements, despite differences in the social, economic, and political contexts of each region. Social media networks were a catalyst in mobilizing millions in the Middle East. Similarly, they have allowed millions of Americans to witness the double standards Black Americans continue to live with. Like in Egypt, the American people mobilized and spoke up, but social media platforms amplified this reach. In the case of Ahmaud Arbery, white officers buried the case until the video circulated online.
In D.C., Lafayette Park has become Tahrir Square. Both spaces have been used to share grievances, feel heard, and seek justice. American police and military forces have used tear gas and rubber bullets against their own citizens, like the military did in Egypt. Americans have taken over Lafayette Park to call out the injustices our government has been responsible for the past decades. Major cities in the U.S. have imposed curfew, like military regimes did in the Middle East. Police have arrested over 11,000 protesters across the U.S. in order to suppress the recent momentum. In 2011, the Egyptian regime imprisoned thousands of innocent people and many of them still have yet to face a trial. But there are positive comparisons too. For example, it is admirable how acts of solidarity occur during such adverse moments. Protesters have been distributing water, food, hand sanitizer, and face masks in Lafayette Park. It reminds me of when I saw protesters in Tahrir Square with garbage bags cleaning the streets and distributing food for those in need.
It is critical to realize that the U.S. is not immune to the issues of economic inequality and social injustice that plague other countries. The U.S. prides itself in its role as the savior of the Middle East and the protector of democracy. Leaders in the U.S. published statements expressing their pride in protesters in the Middle East for their acts of bravery and fearlessness. Whether these statements were genuine or not, these revolutions seemed distant to many Americans as they belonged to a region plagued by war, conflict, and strife. Today, the U.S. is reminded that it must reflect on its own history — to reflect on the culmination of years of humiliation, lack of trust in institutions, and lack of accountability for the police. Black men and women are harassed, dehumanized, and murdered with no repercussions. This is the story of Sandra Bland, Travyon Martin, Eric Garner, Breonna Taylor, and many others whose lives matter but their government showed them otherwise.
The U.S. needs to reeducate itself on its own history because it has failed millions of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). I hope this is a pivotal point in America’s history like millions in the Middle East thought Bouazizi’s death was going to be. The images and social media posts circulating give me some hope that the U.S. might change its ways. Everyone is watching, America. As you watched men, women, and children fight for basic human rights in the Middle East, everyone around the world is turning their attention to you now. Will you let George Floyd’s death become a statistic? Will you resort to the same police and military tactics regimes in Tunisia and Egypt abused? Will you choose to embrace all communities in the U.S.? Will you domestically enforce what you preach abroad? Will Floyd become America’s Bouazizi? The lives of millions of Americans depend on decisions you make during the next weeks and months. Egypt failed me, but I hope the U.S. will not.
