DBQ on UDHR and Egypt (Winter 2011)
WORLD HISTORY
SECTION II
Part A
(Suggested writing time--40 minutes)
Directions: The following question is based on the accompanying Documents 1- 8. (The
documents have been edited for the purpose of this exercise.) This question is designed to test
your ability to work with and understand historical documents. Write an essay that:
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Has a relevant thesis and supports that thesis with evidence from the documents.
Uses all or all but one of the documents.
Analyzes the documents by grouping them in as many appropriate ways as possible.
Does not simply summarize the documents individually.
Takes into account both the sources of the documents and the author's points of view.
Be sure to indicate an example of an additional document or documents that would
provide a missing point of view.
You may refer to relevant historical information not mentioned in the documents.
The Question:
Use all the documents to comment on the connections between Human rights and the Egyptian
revolution as they relate to Motivations, Tools, and Legacy using the documents below. Include
a request for an Additional document.
Was the Revolution motivated by primarily by the desire for more
economic or political rights?
What “tools of revolution” were employed that reflected the attainment
of some political rights?
What will be the human rights legacy of this historic event?
Created by Deb Johnston
Lakeside School, Seattle, WA
Deborah.Johnston@lakesideschool.org
DOCUMENT ONE
Preamble of the United Nations Charter
The Charter of the United Nations was signed on 26 June 1945, in San Francisco, at the
conclusion of the United Nations Conference on International Organization, and came into force
on 24 October 1945.
We the peoples of the United Nations Determined
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to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime
has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and
to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human
person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and
to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from
treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and
to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/preamble.shtml Accessed 12 Feb. 2011
DOCUMENT TWO
Spokesperson for SECRETARY-GENERAL [Ban Ki Moon] STRESSED NEED FOR LEADERS TO
LISTEN TO VOICES OF THE PEOPLE
“In response to questions on recent protests …, the Spokesperson noted
that the Secretary-General had repeatedly said that leaders in the region,
and elsewhere in the world, must listen attentively to the voices of the
people. He added that freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and of
association as well as freedom of speech were rights that needed to be
guaranteed. “Protests, when they take place, should be peaceful and
violence should be avoided.” The Spokesperson also said that freedom of
information and access to information were fundamental rights and that
freedom of the media was an essential part of any democracy.”
http://www.un.org/News/ossg/hilites.shtml Accessed 15 FEBRUARY 2011
Created by Deb Johnston
Lakeside School, Seattle, WA
Deborah.Johnston@lakesideschool.org
DOCUMENT THREE
Women protest in Tahrir Square in Cairo on Feb. 1 to protest rising food costs and widespread
joblessness amongst young males. (90% of all the unemployed are educated men under 30).
http://www.csmonitor.com/CSM-Photo-Galleries/In-Pictures/Exclusive-Monitor-photos-of-Egypts-turmoil/(photo)/335857 Accessed 14 Feb. 2011
DOCUMENT FOUR
President Obama , 10 and 11 Feb, 2011
“The Egyptian people have made it clear that there is no going back to the
way things were: Egypt has changed, and its future is in the hands of the
people. Those who have exercised their right to peaceful assembly
represent the greatness of the Egyptian people, and are broadly
representative of Egyptian society. We have seen young and old, rich and
poor, Muslim and Christian join together, and earn the respect of the
world through their non-violent calls for change.”
“Comparing the success of Egypt's democracy movement to the fall of the Berlin
Wall in 1989, the president celebrated "the moral force of non-violence" in
affecting change in the nation's troubled political system, and bending "the arch of
history toward justice once more.’ “There are very few moments in our lives
where we have the privilege to witness history taking place," he said. "This is one
of those moments. This is one of those times." "This is the power of human
dignity, and it could never be denied. Egyptians have inspired us, and they've
done so by putting the lie to the idea that justice is best gained through violence.
Over the last few weeks, the wheel of history turned at a blinding pace as the
Egyptian people demanded their universal rights. We saw young Egyptians say,
'For the first time in my life, I really count. My voice is heard. Even though I'm
only one person, this is the way real democracy works.” “I'm also confident that
Created by Deb Johnston
Lakeside School, Seattle, WA
Deborah.Johnston@lakesideschool.org
the same ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit that the young people of Egypt have
shown in recent days can be harnessed to create new opportunity, jobs and
businesses that allow the extraordinary potential of this generation to take flight.”
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/02/10/statement-president-barack-obama-egypt and
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20031578-503544.html Accessed 12 Feb 2011
DOCUMENT FIVE
Hosni Mubarak, former President of Egypt addressing the world, prior to
stepping down. 11 Feb, 2011.
“I will hold steadfast to continue to take on my responsibility to protect the constitution and the
rights of people until power is transferred to whomever the people choose during September, the
upcoming September, and free and impartial elections that will be safeguarded by the freedom -the call for freedom. This is the oath that I have taken before God and before you. And I will
protect it and keep it until we reach -- we take Egypt to the safety and security. I have given you
my vision to get out of this current situation, to accomplish what the youth and the people called
for, within the respect for the legitimacy and the constitution in a way that will accomplish
security, and security for our future and the demands of our people, and at the same time will
guarantee a framework of peaceful transition of power.”
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2011/02/10/transcript-of-egyptian-president-hosni-mubaraks-television-addr/
13 Feb. 2011.
Accessed
DOCUMENT SIX
Created by Deb Johnston
Lakeside School, Seattle, WA
Deborah.Johnston@lakesideschool.org
DOCUMENT SEVEN
Bruce Nussbaum blogs, tweets, and writes on innovation, design thinking, and creativity. The
former assistant managing editor for BusinessWeek.
“ Economics played as significant role in Egypt's revolution as social media.
Probably more. Yet media coverage of Egypt's youth revolt is absent any
economic context. Without that context, the wrong conclusions will be drawn, as
they are now. The political power of social media is a complex matter, involving
far more than the generation of smart mobs through the sharing of information
over the web.
Over the past decade, Mubarak did two things that ultimately led to his
downfall. He opened up the Egyptian economy, boosting economic growth to 56% a year. Huge opportunities were made available, with most of them going to
a small group of corporate cronies close to Mubarak's wife and son. For the first
time in decades, inequality grew sharply. At the same time, liberalization of the
economy led China, Turkey, and a number of European countries to open
factories in Egypt and increase the number of manufacturing jobs sharply. New
opportunities opened up for hundreds of thousands of workers. But inflation in
the pas year has put pressure one the new Egyptian workers, as wages fell behind
rising prices. These workers, together with the huge group of government
employees, joined the students in tipping the smart mob into a revolutionary
movement. Mubarak also expanded the university population sharply. He
increased the number of students who attended and the number of years they
stayed. With few job prospects, many stayed well into their 30s. Without jobs,
they couldn't marry, get apartments, or start families. The jobs this generation
could get were beneath their levels of education. They were, in effect,
humiliating. The young saw opportunities all around them but couldn't access
them. Corruption added an additional burden. You had to buy your way into
the few positions that were open. Mubarak created an educated elite able to
connect on Facebook but were unable to live a decent life. The cries of "dignity"
in the square were as much about economic as political dignity. This explains the
success of the Egyptian revolution. Unions and workers joined the Gen Y
students, united by a common anger at economic conditions. The soaring wealth
of a few infuriated those who worked for little. The recent spike in food prices
around the world added fuel to the fire. Generations and classes were united in
economic protest as much, if not more, than political protest.”
http://www.fastcompany.com/1727844/gen-y-rising-why-china-should-fear-the-egyptianrevolution Accessed 15 Feb 2011.
Created by Deb Johnston
Lakeside School, Seattle, WA
Deborah.Johnston@lakesideschool.org
DOCUMENT EIGHT
Written by Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of one of the founders of Hamas, a
(some would say, terrorist) organization dedicated to Palestinian rights. Yousef
spied on the organization for the Israelis and the Americans, emigrated to the US,
became a Christian and has just published a book called, Son of Hamas.
“America was founded on a Constitution that ensures basic human rights. Yet, for more than half
a century, America and the West have turned a blind eye and deaf ear to flagrant human rights
abuses in Egypt and other countries they support. Tyrants loot and torture their own people, yet
we maintain an uninterrupted flow of aid dollars to ensure low gas prices and protect favorable
trade agreements. Even today, as clouds of black smoke choke much of the Middle East, Western
eyes are glued to pump prices, when our hearts should be broken over decades of needless
human suffering. Western governments need to stop compromising their values for the bottom
line. We must stop supporting regimes that are guilty of systemic human rights abuses. Diplomacy
is unlikely to turn the tide in the Middle East. One of the most effective things we can do now is
go to our keyboards and engage the Egyptian people. Assure them, one on one, that we are with
them. If the social network can help bring down governments, it can help to rebuild them.”
Mosab Hassan Yousef http://sonofhamas.wordpress.com/ Accessed 14 Feb 2011
DOCUMENT NINE
Written by Egyptian Americans in NYC
following the end of Mubarak’s rule.
“Hundreds of Egyptian-Americans rallied Saturday at the United Nations to
pray, dance and bang drums, all in celebration of the end of President Hosni
Mubarak's nearly 30-year reign over Egypt. Families came from all over,
bringing small children with painted faces and balloons, to witness and
participate in what they said is an historic moment in world history. "We want
them to be able to see our culture and to be part of it. Especially me being a
young parent, it's just important," said Egyptian-American Ranya Dabbagh. For
18 days, the celebrators said they watched anxiously and hopefully to see how
the uprising unfolded. Many with friends and family in Egypt said they told
them to keep protesting until Mubarak stepped down, and said the peaceful
way Egyptians got their way is a lesson to the world. "We'll soon be in
textbooks, I think you know that," said Egyptian-American Rodina
Abdelkadeeo. "I think this is like a shout-out to everybody else, that dictators
should really leave."
Created by Deb Johnston
Lakeside School, Seattle, WA
Deborah.Johnston@lakesideschool.org
http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/133843/rally-by-un-celebratessuccessful-egyptian-revolution Accessed 15 Feb. 2011
DOCUMENT TEN
Interview with Ghonim. During the protests, Ghonim, Google head of marketing in the Middle
East and North Africa. was detained by the Egyptian government for 12 days — and kept
blindfolded the entire time. The 18-day period of protests in Egypt were organized by Ghonim
and many others using social media sites and other tools. Ghonim, Google's head of marketing
in the Middle East and North Africa, was one of the moderators of a Facebook page called "We
Are All Khaled Said" dedicated to memory of an Egyptian man who witnesses say was beaten to
death in Alexandria by police officers who have not been held to account.”
"I call this Revolution 2.0. Revolution 2.0 is, is — I say that our revolution is like Wikipedia, OK?
Everyone is contributing content. You don't know the names of the people contributing the
content ... This is exactly what happened. Revolution 2.0 in Egypt was exactly the same.
Everyone was contributing small pieces, bits and pieces. We drew this whole picture. We drew
this whole picture of a revolution. And that picture — no one is the hero in that picture.”
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/02/wael-ghonim-google-exec-says-egyptsrevolution-is-like-wikipedia.html Accessed 15 Feb. 2011.
DOCUMENT ELEVEN
Tom Porteous, director of Human Rights Watch and former foreign correspondent in Cairo.
“ A smooth transition depends in part on the extent to which the military rulers can convince
Egyptians that they are serious about making a clean break with the abusive system of the past
three decades and creating the conditions in which Egyptians can build a free and democratic
Egypt. For all their respect for the army as an institution, many Egyptians suspect with good
reason that the new military rulers continue to represent the interests of the old ruling apparatus.
Furthermore, with the suspension of the Constitution and the dissolution of parliament, the
Supreme Military Council now rules without any formal check on its power. For their part, the
protesters are now conscious of their ability to mobilize people power and bring Egypt onto the
street at the first sign that their broad aim of democratic transformation is being undermined.
People power is the only effective check on the power of the military. Of course there is much
work to do to achieve a stable transition from repression to democracy. Clear commitments from
the military, in word and deed, to uphold the rule of law, release detainees, reject the barbaric
practice of torture that has done so much to trigger these protests, and respect human rights including freedom of expression and assembly - are absolutely vital in the current circumstances.
The pro-democracy movement - truly one with massive popular support - demands these
commitments. And indeed they are necessary if the transitional authorities are to create the
conditions necessary for free, fair and credible elections. Such commitments will also help to build
trust and stability in this risky period of military rule. Let's hope that we will see some real
commitments on human rights and accountability in the next military communiqués”.
Created by Deb Johnston
Lakeside School, Seattle, WA
Deborah.Johnston@lakesideschool.org
Human Rights Watch News http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/02/15/will-egyptian-army-workpeople Accessed 15 Feb. 2011.
Created by Deb Johnston
Lakeside School, Seattle, WA
Deborah.Johnston@lakesideschool.org