Euphoria in Tahrir Square

The anti-regime protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square are exultant. They are still there. They have the support they craved. They are euphoric with the sense of having accomplished the seemingly impossible. They were not physically extracted from the centre of Cairo. Their protest movement has exhilarated the young and the restless. Their will has prevailed over that of the sclerotic old men who have ruled Egypt like tyrants.

Those tyrants, through the force of their will have subjected Egypt to a peace treaty with a neighbour. The young of Egypt, some 30% of whom are unemployed may feel they would enjoy life so much more if the excitement of war, for example, was upon the land, instead of the cold peace that prevails, the peace that has allowed the country to develop rather than stagnate.

Theirs is not a wealthy country. Too many live in poverty. There are restrictions upon peoples' freedoms. But this is the Middle East, where those restrictions have expressed tradition, where tyrants have always ruled, where poverty has always existed, where justice is seldom served, where fractious disagreements between tribes and nations have resulted in bloodshed.

But hundreds of thousands of Egyptians resent their poverty, resent rising food prices, resent unemployment and no prospects for the future. Thus, the revolution they have managed to impose upon the administration of President Hosni Mubarak and his National Democratic Party that has ruled for far too long. Poverty allied with war seems so much more appealing.

This is the devil they know. In opposing that devil, what have they accomplished, aside from that deep inner sense of satisfaction with themselves and their growing pride in their resoluteness? They have indeed accomplished much; the closure of the country's stock exchange that speedily began to bleed stock values.

For each day of protest the country lost at least $310-million in GDP. Banks closed, ATMs ran out of cash, businesses were shuttered, people were not paid. Food and amenities became scarce because of difficulties in deliveries; meat prices quadrupled, shelves were cleared of goods in panic-buying excess.

Foreign investors hurriedly left that country that was in anarchic chaos; the Egyptian pound lost value. Public and state infrastructure damage from rioting, burning and looting came in at approximately $862-million. Tourism, representing a vital economic contribution, has been brought to a dead halt. Foreign countries rushed their nationals to safety.

International companies shut down their factories and workers were laid off. Quite an accomplishment. But no negotiation with the government. Which is pleading with the protesters to return from whence they came, and evacuate Tahrir Square, to enable life to return to normal. And the promised transition will proceed.

"When it's a revolution, you're not supposed to negotiate." A foolish sentiment from the mouths of the naive, prepared to tear down the house that shelters them all, and revel in exposure to the raw elements that wash away security and hope for the future.

Never fear; the Muslim Brotherhood hovers nearby. All of Egypt's problems will be solved.

Perhaps not to everyone's liking.