His earnings have dropped dramatically since the uprising that ousted president Hosni Mubarak. These days, he can barely afford a $25 bag of fertilizer.
Around him, the nation has plunged into a deepening political crisis that has created a grim backdrop for parliamentary elections that begin Monday. The vote will be a milestone now that Mubarak’s National Democratic Party, which was notorious for rigging elections, has been disbanded. But a date many hoped would be the first fruit of an arduous revolt looks more like yet another bump in a revolution far from over.
Hassan said he understands the demands of urban protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, where thousands of people are calling for the ouster of Egypt’s military rulers and an end to alleged human rights violations at the hands of their forces. But like most Egyptians in the so-called silent majority, he doesn’t have the time or the money to take action.
“We are people of the land,” he said, his face aged beyond his years from days of fieldwork in the blazing sun. “We go from the field to our home and from our home to the field.” Only time will heal Egypt’s wounds, only time will rid it of corruption, he said. He said he’s sympathetic to the prospects of change but scared of the upheaval revolutions bring.
The election follows nine days of protests in Tahrir Square. The resulting brutal crackdown by military forces has left at least 42 people dead and wounded more than 3,000. Egypt’s military chiefs, the country’s interim rulers, are digging in their heels and refusing to immediately cede power to a civilian government, arguing that stepping aside would invite chaos.
As Hassan simply tries to survive, the loudest voices in this country of 82 million are divided into pro- and anti-military camps. Borrowing a tactic from their rivals, a group supporting the military chiefs’ plan to remain in control until after presidential elections has called for a “million-man march” Friday. On Sunday, Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi warned of “grave consequences” if the vote does not proceed as planned and promised the council would not submit to popular pressure.
With the country polarized, many fear that Election Day will be violent, as the nation’s elections have been historically. Already, at least two candidates reportedly have been attacked, according to a candidate for parliament; one was stabbed and the other threatened by men with sawed-off shotguns. There is a growing debate among activists about whether to boycott the election.
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