Protesters Making Political Statements by Setting Themselves on Fire
- Posted on January 17, 2011 at 12:23pm by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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CAIRO (The Blaze/AP) — Two men set themselves on fire in Egypt and Mauritania Monday, raising to three the number of self-immolation attempts apparently influenced by a similar action in Tunisia that helped trigger a popular uprising.
The desperate acts raised concerns that the practice could become a trend among activists seeking to force change in a region that has little or no tolerance for dissent.
The Egyptian man was engulfed by flames after he ignited himself outside the parliament building in central Cairo. Policemen guarding the building and motorists driving by at the time used fire extinguishers to quickly put out the blaze, according to security officials.
An Egyptian news outlet claims video of one of the acts has made its way on to YouTube, however the video has not been confirmed:
Health Ministry spokesman Abdel-Rahman Shahine said the man was taken to the hospital with light burns, mostly to his face, neck and legs. Officials identified him as Abdou Abdel-Monaam Hamadah, a 48-year-old owner of a small restaurant from Qantara, an area close to the Suez Canal city of Ismailia east of Cairo.
Officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media, said Hamadah was protesting a government policy preventing restaurant owners from buying cheap subsidized bread to resell to their patrons.
A subsidized loaf of typical Egyptian flat bread sells for about 1 U.S. cent apiece, but sells for five times that much to restaurant owners.
Hamadah asked policemen guarding the parliament building to meet speaker Fathi Sorour, officials said. When they refused, Hamadah stepped back, took out a bottle filled with petrol from his pocket, doused himself with the liquid and set himself alight.
The policemen and passing motorists rushed to him with fire extinguishers to put out the flames.
Hamadah (Photo: AP)
The website of Egypt’s leading Al-Ahram daily said Hamadah was a father of four and had repeatedly entered heated arguments with local officials over the bread issue.
A Mauritanian man reportedly unhappy with the government also was hospitalized after setting himself on fire Monday.
Witnesses say 43-year-old Yacoub Ould Dahoud drove to a government building in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, and torched himself in his car. Foreign ministry official Adbou Ould Sidi says police rushed him to the hospital.
The attempt follows similar incidents, including one in Algeria.
Monday’s incidents appeared to be attempts to copy the fatal self-immolation last month of an unemployed Tunisian man. That event triggered the protests that led to the ouster of Tunisia’s authoritarian president.
Algeria’s Liberte daily reported that a 37-year-old man set himself alight Saturday in a village near the Tunisian border, and died hours later in the hospital.
The acts follow that of Tunisian Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old with a university degree, who set himself on fire after police confiscated the fruits and vegetables he was selling without a permit. He later died in a hospital near Tunis, and his desperate act touched a nerve with educated, unemployed youths nationwide in Tunisia, and sparked the mass protests that toppled President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Al Bouazzizi shown after setting himself on fire in Tunisia. (Photo: CNN)
News of the Tunisian uprising has dominated the Arab media over the past few days.
Opposition and independent newspapers lauded Ben Ali’s fall and drew parallels between his toppled regime and that of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who has ruled for nearly 30 years.
Egypt has posted impressive economic growth rates over the past few years, in part fueled by a host of ambitious reforms. But the growth has failed to filter down to many of the estimated 80 million Egyptians.
Nearly half of all Egyptians live under or just above the poverty line set by the U.N. at $2 a day. Mubarak and his ruling National Democratic Party have been pledging to ensure that the fruits of economic reforms benefit more Egyptians.
Self-immolation as a method of protest is uncommon in Egypt, although women in rural and poor urban areas have been known to set themselves on fire to protest violent husbands, abusive parents or an unwanted suitor.
In November, the New York Times noted the practice was on the rise among Afghan women.
—
Associated Press writer Ahmed Mohamed in Nouakchott, Mauritania, contributed to this report.
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Comments (93)
Carl1
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 1:37pmThat’s a shame people has to go to that extreme. But Life gets bad when Government controls every aspect of your life. Seen stories here in America where the Gov shut down a little girls lemonade stand for her not having a permit. Small town farmers have been the same way, They aren’t allowed to sell fruits and vegetables without paying the good ole Government first. Even that story about a place in Houston TX. They was shut down from feeding the homeless till they got a permit. When did it become a crime to work a garden to make ends meet? Or to help people???? They want the poor to depend on them for a monthly check. More people on getting a monthly check means more democrats to vote for them.
Sure hope the Government don’t find out i drive a elderly couple back and forth for their Dr. Visits? I might have to get a permit cause I’m helping someone in need?
Report Post »inexiletill2012
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 1:33pmSend a Bic to Nancy
Report Post »CapitalistforGod
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 1:29pmAs far as something like this happening here is very possible. The only difference is, in the U.S. It will be drunken hopped up on meth kids setting themselves on fire for fun and all in the name of U-Tube! Either way it is simply mindless. I pray for the stupid idiots and let God sort them out!
Report Post »RoAdFiXeR
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 1:29pmYou got to give them props for their dedication to the cause, at least they brought harm to themselves and not a crowd of people minding their own business at a food mart….
Wouldn’t it be nice if all crackpots went out in this manner…..
Report Post »matinva
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 1:27pmAnd this hurts who, precisely?
Report Post »fishstx777
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 1:19pmI feel sorry for burnie , they got to stop watching that richard pryor clip.
Report Post »TheMarine
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 1:14pmI wouldn’t have wasted my fire extinguisher. If a person is truly dumb enough to set themselves on fire to prove a point… then I would help them prove their point by letting them remain on fire.
Report Post »ItsallaboutJesus
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 1:13pmAnd what, may I ask, did he accoomplish? They don’t care if you destroy yourself over disagreement.
Report Post »Doc_Slammin
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 1:10pm… could this be the fate of Americans as government grows to the point of hopelessness for the person who is trying to make an honest living?
Report Post »ItsallaboutJesus
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 1:19pmYes—this is what they want us to do> Top down, bottom up and inside out.
Report Post »NickDeringer
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 1:10pmLet’s pray this never happens hear.
Report Post »forgetz_alot
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:43pmor here even…
Report Post »thorkyl
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 1:07pmThey just don’t get it, if they really want to make a statement what they need to do is sit down on the steps and peacefully ( they are the religion of peace ) and have a nice PORK sandwich.
That actually might get someones attention.
I need more bacon in my diet…
Report Post »MrButcher
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 12:59pmhere’s a great article on the Tunsia occurances.
http://www.slate.com/id/2281450/
Report Post »fertlmind
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 12:56pmWould I go to prison if I shot one of these guy’s in self defense if he was on fire and running toward me and my family at Safeway?
Report Post »GUT_CHECK
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 12:55pmi wonder if we ban books of matches, maybe the population will realise such a shortage of wooden matches that they wont waste any lighting themselves on fire…
Report Post »– example of typical government logic–
Diamondback
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 12:48pmNow if we can just get the communists/progressives to protest in this manner only, our problem will fix itself over time.
Report Post »Avidmonkey
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 12:47pmPhoto of Al Bouazzizi is probably not going above the fireplace.
Report Post »eat-more-bacon-USA
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 12:45pmSelf-immolation is soooooo yesterday.
Report Post »Showtime
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 1:43pmI watch Glenn Beck, too! :-)
Report Post »Adlu
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 12:42pmAre you patriots taking notes?
Report Post »EqualJustice
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 12:47pmYes, what NOT to do… become a SOCIALIST country!
Report Post »Showtime
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 1:41pmYeah, we’re taking detailed notes, ADLU. We’ve BEEN taking notes. Why do you think the Democrats got the 2010 shellacking?
Be sure to read EQUALJUSTICE’s comment, too. We are alive, well, awake, organized, and chomping at the bit for 2012!
Report Post »Cuthalu
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 12:42pmWell that is one way to protest, I guess. Another is simply holding up a sign. A bit less painful I’d imagine also.
Report Post »Jovan2
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 11:36pmIf I were a protestor, I think I’d prefer “Here’s your sign“ to ”Got a Light?”.
Report Post »Pitiful, Plum Pitiful….and not too bright either, no pun intended.
awizard
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 12:40pm@MAULEMALL
Ditto … “Set yourself on fire” … go for it.
Report Post »Showtime
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 1:33pmAWIZARD, you’re GOOD! I second your comment!
Report Post »JohnQTaxpayer
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 12:39pmThose poor tortured souls
we must ban matches and lighters
Report Post »Marcobob69
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 1:16pmThat is what the progressives would propose! Candles-outlawed!!! Matches-outlawed! Lighters – outlawed! You get the idea. “If you don’t change your policies, I’ll…..I’ll…..I’ll set myself on fire! So there!!! How do you like me NOW!
Report Post »GEW
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 12:38pmNever understood the process of setting oneself on fire to protest a cause. If one is willing to die, there are other ways to make the front page than the horrible burning to death. Or the chance that someone would put out the fire and have to live the rest of ones life with the scares and pain of trying to burn oneself to death.
Report Post »moriarty70
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 1:10pmI believe it’s meant to show dedication to a cause that it incites you to self-harm, but also shows a respect for other human beings that you’re not blowing yourself up and taking others with you.
Also, someone doing this to themselves goes against the natural instinct of self-preservation it gets attention and forces people to listen.
Report Post »The Bees
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 12:37pmOk I’m good with this!
Report Post »Islesfordian
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 12:34pmDo they ever ask these protesters afterwards if they are glad they set themselves on fire? That Tunisian fellow didn’t look too comfortable.
Report Post »DMcPher316
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 1:19pmI remeber the Budists monks in Saigon setting themselves on fire. They would actually set there and not make a sound. Most others like this guy, do it and start running around…….like they were on fire, and I bet most of thems first thought after lighting up is “ what the HELL was I thinking” I say if thats what they want, just one less protester, do as you will.
Report Post »Old Truckers
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:11pmWhy can I not develop any sympathy for these people?
Report Post »What is wrong with me?
I must be so calloused and fed up with the nonsense, that I do not even care anymore.
snowleopard3200 {cat folk art}
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 4:27pm@DMcPher316
My Grandfather explained it to me about the monks burning themselves to death; he said that it was their way of saying a painful death was better than having to live with the shame of oppression and of enslavement. It is suppose to be a means of shocking others into understanding that violence in of itself for the sake of violence is oppression and enslavement – to war, to pain, to hurt, to loss, and to death ultimately.
Report Post »Blacktooth
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 4:38pmIslesfordian,
Report Post »I would suggest you not ask them any questions.
The resulting conversation would not be constructive or enlightening. Right?
J.C. McGlynn
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 12:28pmThis is what is used when there is no “Free Speech.” James Clyburn (D/SC) wants this with the “Fairness Doctrine.”
Report Post »912828Buckeye
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 12:39pmSet your self on fire over a 5 cent loaf of bread………….Dedicated or Foolish?
Report Post »click4cheapandeasyweb
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 12:44pmWhat are the odds that progs in the USA pick-up and try using this attention-getting method?
Ironmaan
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 12:49pmWow they must really be pissed. Gasoline is expensive!
Report Post »http://guerillatics.com
snowleopard3200 {cat folk art}
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 12:58pmWhen you reach a point of oppresion where you feel everything is lost, or to be lost, then this is often the only way they feel a change can be made. Many cultures have a history where people were or are willing to demonstrate their resolve for change, or protesting of repression, by the taking of their own lives in dramatic fashions.
Report Post »AzDebi
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 1:03pmWell, I guess that’s ONE WAY to draw attention to your cause…personally, I’m not into self mutilation and self inflicted pain…burns?…pretty EXTREME!
Report Post »Showtime
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 1:20pmDesperate times call for desperate measures.
The king of England wouldn’t have cared if George Washington had set himself on fire, and I doubt very seriously if Obama would care if a citizen set himself on fire in an effort to produce eligibility to be POTUS. Look at what he did to Lt. Col. Terry Lakin! Stripped him of all pension, rank, income, kicked him out of the Armed Forces, and put him in solitary confinement for six months. Yeah, this regime has transparency, alright!
Report Post »cessna152
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 1:32pmOnce again… showing that schools have dumbed down these morons so much they did not realize the consequences of “fire and skin and Hot vs cold”.
Report Post »Cobra Blue
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 2:24pmHello! Setting yourself on fire doesn’t accomplish anything except giving you 15 min. of fame on Youtube. Just food for thought. What if our Founding Fathers had decided all was lost and their last resort to get their point across for independence was a bath in kerosine and a match. Instead…they decided to take matters into their own hands and revolt. And the rest as they say IS HISTORY. Oh they paid a high price, but LQQK what happened. They motivated others to join the FIGHT for independence. All this guy did was make others feel hopeless and motivate them to do the same. Dumb!
Report Post »docvet
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:07pmIt shows how far some people will go to oppose government opression (not over just the price of bread). If I remember correctly, some British colonies in the New Land started a war. Miight have to do something like it again!
Report Post »CatB
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:18pmBetter that they set themselves on fire .. than blowing up others!
Report Post »independentvoteril
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:23pmOK this doesn’t make ANY sense IF you try to use fire to get yourself heard 1. IT HURTS if you live.. 2. your in NO shape to help change anything.. 3. that‘s what happens when you disarm citizens they can’t even commit suicide..
Report Post »BTW.. I doubt if the Progressives would do the same, they ONLY destroy other peoples things.. so this wouldn‘t be top down bottom up cause even the PROGRESSIVES aren’t this stupid.. and they are stupid.. they beleive the conservatives would just let them burn.. and it would be a struggle deciding..
Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:30pmHow about if I just take my self hostage, a la Blazing Saddles?
Report Post »greg
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:39pmits the only way they get there voices herd its sad. what we have is so precious and take for granted there is a lot of things people say that i don’t agree with but it is there right to say it just as it is my right to say whats on my mind but they do not have that right
Report Post »avenger
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 4:39pmwhatever….this is what happens in a country without the 2nd amendment…
Report Post »