ICDS FORUM

Louis Grais: Human Rights Culture Should Prevail in Egyptian Society

March 2004

In his speech about the enactment of Egypts Human Rights Law, Mr. Louis Geris stated that Egyptian society focuses more on obtaining a loaf of bread than on reading the countrys newspapers.

He held that a large number of Egyptian intellectuals and professors are not aware of the new law, and asserted that such a lack of knowledge about current events will inevitably have a negative impact on the countrys future.

In 1954, a number of university professors sent a statement to president Gamal Abdel Nasser expressing their support for Egypts revolution and the attainment of liberty and democracy. The revolutionaries interpreted the statement as a protest against the abrogation of political parties and consequently had all signatories removed from their posts at their respective universities. Dr. Louis Awad, the first Egyptian to head the French Department in the Faculty of Arts, was one of many professors left with no income. The Egyptian populace, occupied by other causes, did not attempt to help the professors who suffered at the hands of the government. Awad now asserts that Egypts new human rights law may well be marginalized just as his difficulties were sidelined 40 years ago.

Mr. Ahmed Bahaa Eddin Attempted with his book titled Days Which Have History to establish a constructive dialogue between the son and his father on one hand and the daughter and her mother on the other hand, Awad said. Awad added that Egyptian citizens must acquire a copy of the law, and demanded that the law should be published on the Internet not only in English, but in Arabic as well. He believes that the Egyptian people must gain a deeper awareness about human rights, and holds that civil society associations should play a major role in educating the public about their rights. Newspapers, he asserted, can also enhance the publics understanding of human rights issues by making sure that a certain number of columns consistently cover the topic.