Eamonn Gearon - The Arab Spring

On the 21st of January, Mr Eamonn Gearon gave a talk to the whole school in the BSR. Although he is principally an author, political journalist and Arabist, he is well known for his great insight and understanding between the greater Middle East and the West. He is best known for is his book 'The Sahara: A Cultural History', and in 1997 he began his life-long education in desert survival, navigation and camels.

Mr Gearon started his talk on the areas of North Africa and the Middle East that had seen any form of a revolution in the past year, and he focused on Egypt in particular. To give some background as to what it was that Mr Gearon was lecturing on, the Arab Spring, otherwise known as the Arab Awakening, is a revolutionary wave of protests that occurred throughout the Arab world that began 18th December 2010. There have been revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt and a civil war in Libya resulting in the fall of its government. Mr Gearon captivated his audience talking about the reigns of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, leader of Tunisia, Hosni Mubarak, former leader of Egypt and probably the most talked about worldwide, Muammar Gaddafi. I found this fascinating and Mr Gearon gave some perspective on the lives of people living in these countries by telling us that, due to these tyrants' long reigns, they would probably have only seen one or possibly two leaders in power. Mr Gearon went on to talk about how the people of these countries, especially in Cairo where he stayed during the demonstrations, managed to combine the energy of youth and the experience of the old in a dynamic way. As he went on to tell us about the use of the internet and mobile phones to spark the uprisings, Mr Gearon made a fascinating point which I think summed up not just that point but also the entire talk: "A leader with 30 years' experience under his belt doesn't stand a chance against teenagers with the internet and mobile phones."

After a captivating talk, Mr Gearon answered some key questions from the floor and thanked the school for the invitation. Eammon Gearon had a lot to tell, with an air of Kate Adie about him. I look forward to reading his book.

Charlie Gordon (5b)

Posted: Tuesday, January 24, 2012