Bassem Youssef, Where Are You?

Egyptians tend to grow attached to anything that makes them comfortable. However, there’s a thin line between attachment and obsession.

El Bernameg (The Program) was a political satire show that gained popularity in post-revolution Egypt. It came to an end after host Bassem Youssef criticized then newly elected President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s policies throughout his show.

Although his criticism was more toned down than what he directed at former President Mohamed Morsi, Egyptians grew furious of Youssef’s attitude and took to extreme measures.

I believe that Youssef was a journalist whose “type” is pretty rare throughout the Middle East. He managed to raise awareness of political and current affairs in a way that grabbed the attention of the majority of the Egyptian population.

As a matter of fact, his outreach was not limited to Egypt’s borders; I had a friend of mine who lives in Lebanon come tell me, “Maram, I used to learn of Egyptian current affairs and political situation through El Bernameg. What happened?”

Unfortunately, what happened was a state of paranoia. Egyptians quickly grew frustrated with Youssef’s criticism of the “hero” who managed to “save” them from the Brotherhood.

This is despite the fact that Youssef would support his arguments and criticism with facts, figures.

While he would sometimes cite statistics, he would also present his audience with sound bites from other television shows to show how the media started swaying in favor of the government and seemingly forgot about their responsibility of reporting the truth.

Youssef managed to make Egyptians more aware of day-to-day political issues occurring in their society – but also managed to put a smile on the viewers’ faces.

Cafes, restaurants, social clubs and even bars would be filled with screens every Friday for people to gather to share moments of laughter and their opinions on affairs that they would not have heard about it were it not for Youssef’s broadcasts.

We needed an influential, unbiased figure such as Youssef, and we still need someone like that now.

However, when Youssef’s program was terminated, some grew aggravated while others appeared to not mind the loss – especially those who opposed his criticism of the new Egyptian “leader”.

Why was this not the case when he ridiculed Morsi?

Although Egyptians tend to label the Brotherhood as extreme and narrow-minded, the latter never opposed the show as much as El-Sisi’s supporters.

On the one hand, this  could be attributed to the fact that Egyptians became comfortable with the existence of an individual who promised stability, and they in turn didn’t want to compromise this state of relative calmness.

On the other, it could also be attributed to the fact that when Egyptians turn an individual into an icon, they grow intolerant to any kind of criticism

My question here is, where is Bassem Youssef? Where is any individual who manages to raise awareness and capture the attention of masses of people in a way that makes them stop being politically and socially naive?

If we wish to live in a country which respects freedom and transparency, we’re in desperate need of a person who manages to do the latter without being severely criticized by obsessed masses – masses who prohibit them from carrying out one of the community’s most important roles – journalism.