A major voice of Egypt's 2011 uprising publishes an anthology of his writings

A major voice of Egypt's 2011 uprising publishes an anthology of his writings

Transcript¹

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Egyptian human rights activist² Sanaa Seif about her brother, a well-known activist involved with Egypt's 2011 uprising, who completed his new book from prison.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah is one of the most well-known voices of Egypt's 2011 uprising, but he's spent most of the past decade in prison. His case symbolizes³ what human rights groups call systemic repression⁴ under the current Egyptian president. Alaa's sister, Sanaa Seif, is here in the U.S. to promote her brother's new anthology of his writings, many of them letters written from prison.

SANAA SEIF: He's been deprived of books, reading materials, sunlight, fresh air. He's not allowed a clock. He's not allowed to be, like, aware of time.

INSKEEP: The book is called "You Are Not Yet Defeated." Seif herself has been imprisoned⁵ three times, and she spoke⁶ with Leila Fadel.

SEIF: It's very inhumane. The level of inhumanity differs on who you are - a boy or girl, high-profile or not. Unlike others, I had, like, access to a few things that helped me cope. But you have to fight over every little right.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

And ultimately, your crime was that you criticized COVID conditions in the prisons, right?

SEIF: We've heard a lot of rumors⁷ that prisoners were suffering from COVID, and that was before - like, before the vaccine⁸. And we were very concerned about what was happening inside. And there were no visitations. And knowing prison, I know this - the cells are very unsanitary. I know the number of people inside each cells. They're always stuffed with people. And then at some point, we knew that one of the employees in the prison where Alaa is died of COVID, and we were very, very worried. And during that time, they also banned Alaa of letters.

FADEL: So you had no access to him.

SEIF: Yeah. Yeah, we had no access, and we didn't know whether he was alive or not. So we decided⁹ to sit-in in front of the prison gate until we get a letter from Alaa - me and my mother and my sister. And so they brought hired, like, thugs to us - a woman dressed in civilian¹⁰ clothes. And they beat us up and they, like, forcibly removed us from in front of the prison gate while the guards and officers were watching. And they charged me of spreading false news, rumors about prisons not taking precautionary measures for COVID and for insulting a public official, which is the officer I insulted while being beaten up. It's quite absurd.

FADEL: So you're here in the U.S. because of the release of your brother's book, an anthology of his writings, his letters, his interviews from 2011, the time of the uprising against Mubarak to today. And he's one of the faces of Egypt's revolution, really - a vocal¹¹ critic of every Egyptian regime, from Hosni Mubarak to the current president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who's the architect of an unprecedented¹² crackdown on human rights in your country. And what he's in prison for is essentially¹³ for his activism, for his words, and yet this book is being released. Do you worry that this creates a bigger risk for your brother, for your family?

SEIF: The regime is so stubborn with Alaa. They've built up so much over the years of trying to create an example of him for the rest of us, like, for whoever believed or participated back in 2011, that I don't think anything will make his situation worse. So I'm not worried, no. Actually, I think, on the contrary. Having his ideas translated to, like, an English-reading audience might show that the Egyptian regime claim that they're taking all of these emergency measures because they're fighting terrorism or whatever their claims are - if you read Alaa's book, you'll see that they are not dangerous ideas at all, actually.

FADEL: What do you hope comes from this book, from putting his words into English, to an American audience, to a global audience?

SEIF: This is a critical time for him where we think there might be hope for his release, and we believe attention right now is really needed. I think for the audience themself - like, for the reader - there's value in what's in the book because I think our experience, the uprising - so, yes, we were defeated. But I think in our defeat, there's also inspiration for others who have not yet been defeated. This is the whole idea behind the book.

FADEL: You spoke about Alaa being on hunger strike since April 2, and that actually has helped his mental state and his ability to cope in prison. Could you speak more about that?

SEIF: The moment he decided to go on hunger strike, I think he became in a much better mental state because suddenly he's, you know, back to being resilient. And whether this ultimately will lead to something or not, I don't think he really cares that much. He doesn't want to keep complying to this humiliation¹⁴ without fighting back.

FADEL: You know, in his book, he does write about how you're not really human in prison. You can make no choices for yourself. And so this is his choice. His hunger strike is his choice, the one he can make.

SEIF: Yes, that's exactly it. Because in prison, you don't have much tools. The only tool you have as a prisoner is your body. So, yeah, I think it gives him agency.

FADEL: You said to me that they want to make an example out of my brother, out of Alaa. What does that mean? What is the message by what they're doing to your brother?

SEIF: It's a message to a whole generation that thought they were capable of changing something in the country. And the message was received a long time ago. They're stuck in this moment in time.

FADEL: In 2011.

SEIF: In 2011. And it makes sense, honestly, because it was a very strong moment where change was actually really possible. And they are aware of that. And so it's like this nightmare that keeps haunting them.

FADEL: You come from a storied family of human rights activists¹⁵. Your mother is a professor and political activist. Your late father, Ahmed Seif El-Islam - renowned¹⁶ human rights lawyer in Egypt. You're a human rights activist - your sister Mona, also. And in Alaa's writings, he says, from my father, I inherited a prison cell and a dream. And your family has had to pay a really heavy price for that dream.

SEIF: Yeah, it is a heavy price, of course. It's unbearable¹⁷. But because a whole regime has decided to fight a family for their own existence - so in a way, you have no choice but - it's kind of - it's an inevitable¹⁸ thing. It's not a fight that you can walk away from. So you just have to bear it, and you have to fight back.

(SOUNDBITE OF OCOEUR'S "STAY")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

3 symbolizes   

v.象征，作为…的象征( symbolize的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The use of light and dark symbolizes good and evil. 用光明与黑暗来象征善与恶。
• She likes olive because It'symbolizes peace. 她喜欢橄榄色因为它象征着和平。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

5 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

11 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

12 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

13 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

14 humiliation   

n.羞辱

参考例句：

• He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。
• He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。

15 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

17 unbearable   

adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的

参考例句：

• It is unbearable to be always on thorns.老是处于焦虑不安的情况中是受不了的。
• The more he thought of it the more unbearable it became.他越想越觉得无法忍受。

18 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。