Project #1: Story Corp
Interview Transcript
Interviewer:
Sarah Saad
Interviewee:
Amal El Nakeeb
Date:
March 7, 2011
Place:
Radio Lab, BEC building
University:
The American University in Cairo
Professor:
Kim Fox
Due Date:
March 9, 2011
Saad: Do I have your consent to record this?
El Nakeeb: Yes
Saad: I have with me today Amal El Nakeeb, she is an M.A. student in television and digital
journalism. She is also currently working as an assistant to professor Hafiz Al Mrazi, and she
lives in Giza. Amal is a friend of mine since last semester. Hi Amal
El Nakeeb: Hi
Saad: Um, in 2010, in a previous short interview I had with you. I asked you about whether you
wanted Mubarak to win the upcoming elections or not. And your um, and I asked you for your
justifications to your answer. And you said, and I quote this “Well we don’t really have any
other person than him. To be realistic you can’t actually say you don’t want him, uh, you don’t
want him to win because who else will rule us. We need someone else, and then I will actually
say for sure I don’t want him.” Um, so during the revolution, um when protestor where
demanding him to step down and leave, was your, uh, opinion the same as last year or did it
change?
El Nakeeb: No actually my opinion like completely changed. Um, like last year, last year I am
pretty sure everyone like before the 25th of January had the same thoughts as I did. Or like, I am
not going to say most people but yea, almost all people had the same, um, had the same views as
me. Because we really didn’t have anyone like who, who was prepared to be a president and all
we had in mind was Gamal Mubarak and we were all scared that he would actually make his son
the next president. But after the 25th of January everything like, everything changed and you
keep hearing this saying “ Egypt is different, uh, than the Egypt before”, sorry *laughs*, “Egypt
before the 25th is another Egypt than after the 25th” and that’s completely true. So yea I take
back my words *laughs* I really take back my words.
Saad: Yea, because I mean when they asked him to step down there was no replacement, there
was not, and until now there is obviously no replacement. So you are ready to take that chance
and not have a ra…replacement?
El Nakkeb: Yea yea, I actually am. And I don’t mind, I don’t mind that anyone can, uh, can be
a president right now. Um, I don’t know, I just think that in a coup…upcoming months there
will be different candidates and, uh, I think they have a chance, they’re not scared anymore.
People will come up, its not just going to be Amr Mousa, and El Barady , and even Ahmed
Zewal. I am pretty sure other people will come up. Um, Who? I have no idea who will come up
next in these couple of months. But, I don’t know, I am just like waiting. I am waiting like
everyone else, but, um, I am very hopeful and, and I am not scared. We are without a president
right now and I don’t really feel any difference *laughs* so, so I will just like keep on waiting.
Even if we have to wait, uh, an even longer time. I don’t mind, I just, it’s good that he is gone.
Saad: Um, of course a chief , or let me say the chief role of media in all that happened is
definitely doubtless. Um, as I understood from you previously, you were switching back and
forth from, um, national state television and private channels, and news channels. Uh, what was
you analysis, or what were the main points you noticed from comparing, um, the information
given from each channel?
El Nakeeb: Well, our state channel is, well, they actually didn’t show us anything that’s why I
just kept just , I just like kept checking to see what they’re actually saying because they are the
spokesperson for the government. I was just waiting for the government to like do any
statements, which were they, which were, came very late as everyone knew. But ,um, I just like
kept checking them for updates but they didn’t like, they were like in a completely different
world than the other channels. So I kept like focusing on Al Arabya, Al Jazeera, and BBC
Arabic. Just like kept going from there to there, just like checking all the news and stuff. But
state television , I did, I did actually go and watch what state TV had to say because , um,
because the government they were just like, as I said before, it’s the, it’s the spokesperson , the
Egyptian television. And uh at the same time I wanted to see how the viewed this because I
think they were in denial for a long time. That this was actually not happening, and they like, I
think it was in late February, before they started to like change their view on what’s happening.
And it was like, it made us really angry, the ways that they showed the revolution, and just like
kept focusing on these hundred people in front of Ezaa Wel Telivision , um, Maspero building
and they didn’t show anything happening in Tahrir. That made me really angry, but I , it’s, it’s
common that they will do that because they don’t wanna like say that anything is happening in
Egypt. So I just like kept following Al Arabia and Al Jazzera and BBC and see what they had to
say, and even CNN and sometimes BBC world, I just kept checking everywhere. That was my
main job *laughs* I kept searching all over the, um, television just like sat in front of the TV and
kept flipping from channel to channel , seeing what’s happening. Because I, the first few days I
couldn’t actually go down, because no one knew what was gonna happens. So that was my main
source of information.
Saad: Yea, you just said that you noticed the change in national state television at the end of
February. Um some people said that this was sort of hypocritical and they were really criticizing
and they called them two-faced. But some others were like well it’s ok, you know it’s, it’s better
now than never. And um, they were , they were ok , they’re like now at least they know. What’s
your position on that?
El Nakeeb: Mmm, *sighs* I think they started to change their ways even before Mubarak like
left was because they got heavily criticized. Because everyone was like, you can’t do this, and ,
uh, it’s wrong. But my opinion on them like changing, well it’s about time they changed.
Because it’s not their, it’s not a government’s television, it’s called the Egyptian television. It
supposed to be our, ours , it’s supposed to be neutral and just like show what’s really happening.
Their drastic change is kinda of hypocritical, I am not gonna lie and I do see them as like being
hypocrites and everything. But if they’re gonna like change for the better, I don’t mind. But the
thing is, um, honestly I see them as two-faced and I , especially the presenters who like first were
like criticizing the revolution really badly and then after that they just changed the, changed the
way of speaking. I thought it was, it wasn’t really professional on their side because I know that
some, um, presenters chose not to like go on TV when they were asked to like , um, just say this
lies to the people and stuff. They chose not appear on television, which I respect. Even if it’s
right or wrong I am not, I am not really sure but kinda respect their view. But the television, its ,
uh, I just hope that they gain their credibility because it’s pretty low. And honestly I don’t like
listening to them still cause we’ve still got this like stereotype of them and then changing
drastically is *laughs* a bit too much for us. But I guess, I don’t mind their change; I hope they
change for the better. I hope that they actually are the voices of the Egyptians later on and that
they can be very neutral after that and just show us facts and not to be a spokes person for any
side. Even if it’s *coughs* sorry, even if its, um, against or with, I just want them to be neutral,
and just like present us with the facts. I don’t want them taking any sides, later on hopefully.
Saad: Um, and I understood also there was , um, on mehwar channel , which is ,uh, a private
channel, um there was an incident about a girl named Shaymaa who went on there and claimed
some things. Uh, could you please tell me about that?
El Nakeeb: Well , its Shaymaa. Um, the supposedly spy that was sent, like she was the leader of
the revolution, or something like that, it was ridiculous. Um, yea, I, I actually, we actually got
this like news, everyone was calling us “watch Mehwar, watch M-mehwar, there is something
going on” so we actually flipped the channels and saw what was going on. They had this like
ridiculous layout of someone who was like, uh, under like the mozay…mozayek thingy, I don’t
know, they were blurring her face out. And they were talking to her and she was saying she was,
supposedly, a spy, which is very weird, I don’t know how they got a spy, to like actually talk to
them very freely. And I don’t know what our national security was doing like letting her go, but
it was ridiculous. Honestly when I first saw this, the blurring out, out her face and stuff, I flipped
the channel straight away because I know that this was all lies. It didn’t take a smart person to
like know that this person, it’s all stage. It was ridiculous, I, I hated what they did. And later on
when everyone like confronted them with , with this , they just like kept saying “oh we didn’t
know ,um, we didn’t know. It was, um, the guy who like sets the news, he was the person in
charge of this.” It was just all ridiculous, how they just like tried to get , get themselves out of it,
although this caused a lot of trouble afterwards because people kept thinking of the people in
Tahrir as traitors because of something stupid they said, and they didn’t even bother to like check
their facts. And before like getting something this drastic or this dangerous, they should have
checked their facts if, if, what they were saying is true, they should have checked before like
getting this random person. Which later on turned out to be, uh, a journalist and she, she is
known that she just like gets these reports for Amn El Dawla , and uh *laughs* so yea, it was
pretty bad on their side. And I think, I think they’re, uh, the owner of the channel, he showed his
views on the uh, whole, uh, revolution thing. I think that’s why they like started to change their ,
their tone a bit. Because he was against the revolution, that’s why I think his presenters and his
programs started to take this like slight change and started like doing this fabricated stuff. But I
don’t know, it was really bad on their side.
Saad: Well speaking about Amn El Dawla, as you currently might see in the news um, why do
you think that they decided to burn and destroy the documents now when Essam Sharaf has been
appointed prime minster and they did not act while Shafik was prime minister?
El Nakkeb: Well, um, I don’t really know why they did that but I guess because everyone,
because I guess the people started getting their demands. Shafiq, like, he left the government, so
that was one of the demands. And I guess they were like scared that people will take notice of
them now, so they started to destroy anything that was against them. That’s, that’s the only way
I see it, they just wanted to get rid of all the evidence that was against them or was against
important people because you never know what the documents, burnt documents, have in them .
What they left was important stuff, but I am pretty sure that the stuff that got destroyed is much
more serious than the stuff that we found. But, um, them burning it when Shafik, uh, was, um,
was , they didn’t burn it when Shafik was in office I am really not sure. I am not gonna say
something I am not sure of. I guess they just started to feel the heat and that it was their turn to
like be taken down or something, that’s why the destroyed the evidence, that’s why, I think.
Saad: Um, on an article on CNN, um, well first of all as you might have heard on Tuesday there
is a women’s march and, um…
El Nakeeb: really? Oh yes yes , I have, is that because they didn’t have a role in the constitution
, or something like that. Or they they didn’t get their opinions yea, yea I have read that.
Saad: so on an article on CNN, um, many women , through the article, said many women
claimed that they were not harassed despite, in Tahrir square, despite the large amounts of young
men jammed in a small area. Why do you think that was?
El Nakeeb: *laughs* cause everyone was focused on a bigger goal than justharassing girls.
Nah, I think it was just because ,um, everyone, everyone had a common goal. Everyone, I don’t
know, I just think they just felt that, men, they had this wo.. people decided to see what our
Egyptian men are all about. They were, they were really respected and they protected us and I
am pretty every person in Egypt had someone protecting them down in the streets. Um, so I
guess everyone knew the good, how good the Egyptian youth are and they got back their worth
and everyone was looking up to them in a very respectful way. So I guess they looked at women
as their own sisters and they wanted to protect them because everyone was protecting each one
another. That’s why I think there isn’t harassment, which is beautiful because yea ,*laughs* as
you said it was very crowded and no, no one reported any harassment which was incredible.
And because we got like harassed when there was like no people in the street and, and this is, I
mean before the revolution it was a common thing, getting harassed in Egypt. And it was very
bad and I, I hated that. I was one of the people who hated, whose were like hated walking in the
streets of Egypt because of the harassment and stuff. But, um, this, this is a very good thing I
just hope they keep it up. And I am pretty sure, a lot of people have changed for the better
because now when I am walking in the streets , I can honestly say I haven’t been harassed like I
used to. I used to get harassed every single day and it was annoying. But lately, even if
someone looks at you, it’s not like before. I am not like defending them or anything*laughs* but
I honestly swear when I am walking in the streets it’s not like before. Even if they harass you ,
they do it in a , its , it’s annoying that they harass you *laughs* but it’s not, it’s not like , they
just look at you and smile and just like say a whisper of a word or something. But, they are not
like vulgar or anything like they used to be. And I am pretty sure they’re like they, now because
they protected you in the streets and stuff you, you know, um, they know you in the streets now
because of all the protection and, uh, the stuff that they did. So I guess they are trying to protect
every women now, they’re not like close minded like they were before, that’s what I think.
Saad: so you believe that in the future the percentage of harassment will hopefully increase, uh,
decrease in Egypt, right?
El Nakeeb: Yea, yea I do. I am pretty hopeful if things go, go well*laughs* we, the harassment
thing will like really decrease.
Saad: Thank you very much for your time Amal.
El Nakeeb: You’re welcome.