Day 13 Prequel - Elections
Ok, the elections I mentioned in day 10 took place on this day. We arrived there about ten minutes late with my brother and two cousins. When I walked behind two rows of seated girls to open the curtains, a girl turns back and asks if I was who I was. I say yes. She replies, please don’t upload the pictures on facebook. I am perplexed. More than anything, our fight is that of media and perceptions, and here is this girl who is actively taking part in the organization of this group refusing to have her picture posted. When this sinks in I shake my head in amazement and show my frustration to other people in the group (especially the newly elected head of the media committee). Later that girl would tell me that she works for an NGO and can’t be seen taking sides as it were. I’m still not convinced.
I asked about the video that was shot in the previous meeting, insisting that we need to upload snippets of it as soon as possible to show people what we’re doing. The response I get involves multiple levels, both technically (digitization at a video store) and organizationally (submitting to committees..) that I feel by the time we’re done the revolution would have fizzled out! I offer to help put together a quick edit. The camerawoman promises to give me the CD of the digitized video during tomorrow’s meeting at the square. That meeting gets canceled, and another takes place with the JMP, without my knowledge.
Now is not the time for secrecy, rigid hierarchies and slow bureaucracy. Our strength should be in our transparency, our tech savviness, our getting it done quickly regardless who does what. The elections ran smoothly. But I didn’t feel like taking pictures, except a few reluctant ones.
