Abdel Latif el-Menawy

By : Abdellatif El-Menawy

:: There is no doubt that what the Egyptian army is fighting now in Sinai, unconventional as it may be, is a real war. And while terrorism knows no borders, it appears that combating it does. In Sinai, the world has left Egypt to fight alone.

The Egyptian army, accustomed to conventional warfare, is engaged there in a guerrilla battle with extremist groups, some of whom will exploit any “victory” to announce the extension of Daesh in Sinai. It is also fighting other jihadist terrorists who infiltrated Egypt amid the chaos that followed the events of January 2011 and the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood. Some observers believe the number of mercenaries and non-Egyptian extremists to be about 3,000. The militants also have massive logistical and financial support coming through the border with Gaza from radical groups. Then there is the direct and indirect support of Qatar, whether by supplying extremist groups in Libya, Syria and Sudan with weapons that reach terrorist groups in Sinai, or through providing them with media platforms to spread their poison.

Other than militarily, there is a way for Egypt to defeat the terrorists in Sinai, and that is by winning over the people of the peninsula. The state must take steps to restore their sense of nationhood, and all the rights and obligations that come with it.

When we talk about Sinai and what Sinai needs, we must first talk about the price paid by its people, and not only after the Israeli occupation in 1967, or the war of attrition between 1969 and 1972, or the victory of October 1973, or even the years that followed. We heard only talk about the development of Sinai without seeing real results, and without giving the people of Sinai the appreciation they deserve. Despite the heroics of the armed forces, the people of Sinai continue to pay that price. Realizing this is the first step toward solving the problem.

Sinai desperately needs economic development to eliminate ignorance, terrorism and poverty, and the path to that development must be laid by the state. The people of Sinai have been told for the past 40 years that this development is coming, and they are still waiting. They no longer believe the promises of major projects, factories and jobs. These people must no longer be treated simply as numbers in government files.

The peninsula’s people have for decades felt disconnected from the rest of Egypt, which has fueled poverty and bred terrorism. The solution lies in promoting economic development through small and medium-sized enterprises.

Abdellatif El-Menawy

The ideal solution is small and medium-sized enterprises. This will achieve real development that will immediately be felt by the people of Sinai. Small businesses cost less than mega projects, they will not be concentrated in a specific area, and they will not be controlled by a limited number of big companies who employ a relatively small number of local people.

To encourage small businesses, Egypt must discourage the view that Sinai is no more than a site for military action, or a buffer zone between Egypt and its enemies. Sinai is Egyptian land with Egyptian people, and needs to be treated as such. Its people must be made to feel that they are citizens of Egypt, not just citizens of Sinai.

Building a new Sinai economy with small and medium-sized businesses cannot rely solely on individual initiatives. It must be the direction of a country that understands how its economy is reviving. It should work on real development that reaches citizens, and encourages banks to expand the financing of this vital sector that drives economic growth. Achieving sustainable development and providing job opportunities to end unemployment can solve other problems caused by unemployment, most importantly involvement in terrorism.

The complete solution to the Sinai problem lies not only in one project, and development requires a real effort by the state, reaching its beneficiaries and achieving its purpose. But targeted investment would be a huge step in the right direction of reducing terrorism, creating jobs and giving the people of Sinai the feeling that they belong to Egypt.

:: Abdellatif El-Menawy is a critically acclaimed multimedia journalist, writer and columnist who has covered war zones and conflicts worldwide. He can be reached on Twitter @ALMenawy

:: Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in the Column section are their own and do not reflect RiyadhVision’s point-of-view.

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