A Conflict Culture

"Where is the security? Where is the government?"

Egyptian fans rush into the field following Al-Ahly club soccer match against Al-Masry club. AP Photo

Well, where is the restraint, the civility, the symptoms of a civilized country? Just asking. After all, this was a sport event. Yes, such sport events consume peoples' passions, and men in particular often express those passions in a manner that betrays them as unrestrained goons. And how often has it been remarked upon that such sport events are really a way to blow off national steam, that would otherwise be channelled into warfare?

We've heard that 47 people have been arrested. Ah, but 74 people died in the chaos, the melee, the violence that erupted in Port Said after their team, Al-Masry, beat the opposing Cairo team, Al-Ahli. It's just a game, right? And part of sports is sportsmanship. Teams play the game, giving it the best they can, and then they either win or they do not. If they lose there's always the anticipation that next time around they may win.

And congratulations is due the winning team. Not this time.

A vicious, truculent crowd decided to express their inner feelings. And their inner feelings were those of bestial disorder, a malign sense of rage. They're all Egyptians, aren't they? Have they nothing better to do with themselves than this kind of bitter display of fanaticism about a game, brutish loutishness directed toward those from another city representing another team?

What occurred was a facsimile representation of bloody civil war.

Although the police have been accused of disinterest in what occurred, in not having made enough of an effort to bring order to the pitch, it would appear that they were too few in number and although riot police attempted to protect people from attack, they were overwhelmed, so that the 'fans' were able to punch and kick the players as they fled the scene. One policeman at least was among the dead.

The deaths that occurred represented in large part, people who were trampled by panicking crowds. And those who fell from terraces. And people died in a stampede of wild action. Others were flung off their seats onto the pitch, killed from the fall itself; murder by deliberate misadventure. All the while, rioting fans fired flares into the stands. People must have come prepared to display their displeasure.

The riot was a pretty horrible affair. For those people in attendance who never knew what hit them, desperate to escape the pandemonium, they now have good reason to give some deep thought to the values of the society in which they live. And more thought to the violence that simmers deep within that society. Not a pretty thought at all.

A little bit of Hell on Earth.