By Miranda Landsman and Molly Waddell
Egyptian journalist and activist Shahira Amin remains under fire for simply doing her job.
Back in 2011 when she was visiting SHSU, she urged Americans to be patient as Egypt seemed to be heading toward democracy. At the time she insisted that “free voices could never be silenced.”
Little did she know that she would soon be a target.
Amin was charged with "inciting violence and supporting the opposition" by her employer Nile TV. She was cleared of all charges, but her bosses continue to make her life difficult. She has been pressured not to interview certain guests and even had her show suspended.
Amin, who regularly appears on international news channels, caught flack when she said Egypt had witnessed a “military coup” on CNN after former President Mohamed Morsi was ousted from power.
Many secularists in Egypt charged Amin with betraying her country and insisted Morsi was justly removed by the people. They say Morsi and his party, the Muslim Brotherhood, were sabotaging Egypt’s revolution. When Amin called Morsi’s ouster a military coup, her critics complained she was supporting the Brotherhood.
But Amin says as a journalist, she doesn’t support anyone. Instead she focuses on presenting facts to the people. Because the military orchestrated the ouster, Amin says she had no choice but to call it a coup.
“We had a revolution for freedom. I’m just trying to be objective and professional by showing both sides of the story and this is what I’ve always done, and landed in trouble many times for that,” said Amin.
Amin says she receives threats on a regular basis. Unfortunately, she adds that’s become part of the job of being a journalist in Egypt.
“Journalists are being intimidated and threatened, arrested, detained and physically assaulted and at times shot dead,” Amin said. “These are dangerous times for journalists. All free voices have been silenced.”
Pressure comes in other forms as well, from all sides. Amin says military leaders approached her to produce a documentary voicing support for them, “to polish the image of the government abroad.” She flatly rejected their request and says she’s determined not to take sides.
Her courage has earned her many supporters, most noticeably on her social media sites. On Twitter alone, she’s got nearly four thousand followers.
Egyptian Democracy advocate Nadia Soliman says that Amin is under attack for her standing up for democracy.
“As we say in Arabic, its just a pinch in the ear, meaning a warning signal to her to stop, trying to frighten her,” Soliman said. “But the voice of freedom will not shut up, because fear does not exist when you insist on getting all your basic rights as a citizen of this country.”
Pro-Democracy Activist Robert Becker, who lived in Cairo until recently says journalists like Amin are rarities in Egypt.
“Some of the bravest people I know in Cairo are some of the Egyptian and foreign based journalists that do it day in and day out... There is a group of them that I consider to be absolute heroes,” said Becker.
But heroes often end up dead, a threat Amin says she won’t back down from.
“It is my duty as a journalist to speak the truth. I refuse to be intimidated. If all free voices give up or pack up and leave, there will be no hope for change. I believe that journalists should come together and fight for free expression. Without it, all is lost. It will be the end of our dreams for change, the aspirations of the January 2011 revolution for freedom, bread and social justice.
She is convinced that if more Egyptians would join her to speak out against abuses, the “counterrevolution” could be stopped.
“So much blood has been shed; lives have been lost... We cannot give up now. We owe it to ourselves and to those who sacrificed their lives for those noble goals.”
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