Security Doctrine In Egypt

A Call For Change!

Approaches to security vary in different parts of the world. In the USA, the levels of security for doors and locks are  below those in Europe. This is probably attributable to easy access to guns. In the US, robbers are more likely to be armed;  secure locks won’t block automatic weapons. The approach to safety also differs; where the British have firemen who seek to contain fires from the outside inwards, the Americans have firefighters who storm into the fires with flame retardant clothing and breathing apparatus. The high death toll amongst American firefighters from 9/11 and nearly annual tragedies from forest fires are a consequence  of this American doctrine. In another contrast, the American policing doctrine of remaining apart from the threat while ordering: “get out of the vehicle, put your hands on your head, or I blow you to pieces” often results  in unnecessary deaths. These opposing approaches have historic and cultural roots which change over time.

Similarly, in Egypt, we can observe certain practices and contrast them with approaches from different parts of the world. I will focus on the following key points that can be seen in the Egyptian approach to security and safety: Rotations, Shift Structure, Crowd Concentration and Safety Overrides.  The Egyptian practices may have served Egypt well in the past but the nature of the present environment and threats highlights a dire need for change.

Rotations: Egyptian security agencies tend to rotate their officers across different provinces and assignments. An officer in charge of the passport office in Aswan may be transferred to combating crime in Alexandria, another who’s in charge of airport screening in Assiut may rotate into checkpoints in Sinai. There are historic advantages in a security force familiar with different parts of the country and different roles. In contrast, in the UK, for example, airports rely on private specialist aviation security firms and, in the US post 9/11, a dedicated governmental agency for securing airports was established. The nature of threats today has made specialist security personnel vital. In the USA and UK, those responsible for screening passengers are different from those responsible for the arrivals’ passport control. These are different careers, not just temporary assignments. The technology and training used to support these two groups are different since one screens for imminent threats while the other looks for future threats.  

Shift Structure: From Hong Kong and Japan to Germany and Switzerland, across Middle Eastern countries such as UAE and Jordan, I cannot recall ever seeing a guard on duty at an airport or road checkpoint drinking tea, smoking or holding a personal mobile phone. Yet, this is normal practice, observed routinely in Egypt. The issue is the length of a shift with no breaks and the absence of supervision. It is impossible to fault a an officer or a security guard losing concentration when assigned a full eight or twelve hour shift. These are critical roles that often combine surveillance, screening and response or intervention.

Crowd Concentration: Perhaps as matter of doctrine, Egyptian security often relies on creating funnels, whether at road checkpoints, metro stations, entrances to buildings or airports. These funnels create large crowds and these crowds make it harder to observe the threat through automatic means such as video analytics or trained specialists. It is extremely difficult to detect suspicious behavior or threatening objects in overcrowded areas. Terminal 3 at Cairo Airport has multiple doors, yet only  one or two are ever in use. These bottlenecks present an added security threat both to the operatives and to the public, for they could allow a hidden approach to the checkpoint with explosives or weapons. Japan and Saudi Arabia, like Egypt, have vehicular checkpoints for cars approaching major airports, yet both avoid creating funnels, by having multiple tollgate like checkpoints and keeping the number of lanes unchanged.

Safety Overrides: A significant investment in large modern facilities goes into safety. There are  systems to detect and extinguish fires, control spread of smoke and to facilitate egress of people in emergencies. The number of exits is often based on analysis of projected use. At Tahrir Square, in the very heart of Cairo, stand two examples of how safety can be set aside to create funnels as described above. Many of the doors to the Sadat Metro station are permanently locked and barricaded. Entrance to this extremely busy station is limited to a few crowded points, where security operatives, on long shifts, screen commuters. Should an emergency actually occur in the station, the result could be tragic as many exits lead to dead ends. Tahrir Garage, a modern underground parking, has the same problem. Many of the fire exits are locked and can’t be opened from inside. These real examples of limiting entry points, show how crowd concentrations result in the override of safety while not improving security!

Looking Ahead: The evolution of the type and size of buildings and of the threats in Egypt, like elsewhere, requires the authorities to deal with security, safety and crisis management in new ways. This is an urgent matter, for the sake of protecting the security personnel as well as the general public.  Appreciation of the new types of threat, such as suicide bombing, requires a new security doctrine that abandons the deliberate creation of congestion and crowd concentration in favor of  the exact opposite. Since Egypt already invests in modern security and technologically advanced systems, it is critical that the human element is addressed. Specialization, training and monitoring of the officers and their personnel are of paramount importance. Finally, safety should not and need not be compromised to enhance security. With modern structures and present day threats, the consequences for marginalizing safety could be catastrophic.  

Ayman S. Ashour

The article was first published in Al Ahram here and also appeared in Egyptian Streets here.

On Running ... Cairo Half Marathon and What it Means to be a Runner

If you are not a runner you may not appreciate this much, so proceed with caution into our strange world full of peculiarly intense joys and pains both for the body and the soul.

Runners are generally nicer than the population at large, we are calmer, we use the effort of running to gain peace with ourselves, we are less angry at the world .. I do know that cycling and swimming have similar effects but there is purity and simplicity to running unmatched in any other sport, we runners require nothing but our bodies, no equipment, no pools, no bicycles, no helmets, in some places we can even run bare foot, so not even shoes. It's not that we have lesser or fewer problems in our lives, in our jobs and with our relationships than anyone else, it's just that running allows us to process problems differently and with the intense effort, our sweat helps us set anger and emotions aside, somehow, it helps us see the issues clearer, get to the core of our problems as it cleanses and removes the distortions. 

This is mostly true for runners, be it in Boston or in Bombay, in Chicago or in Cairo. We sit on the ground waiting for road races with no fuss, we are modest, practical. Setting aside the elite runners, we mostly are only competitive with ourselves; I don't know a single runner in a race who doesn't want other runners to achieve their goals. We support each other and it's much more the case towards the middle and the back of the pack, the further away from elite runners we get, the more genuine solidarity there is..... Questions such as "How did you place?" or "Did you win?" are alien and borderline offensive to my ears and I suspect to most runners. We are highly competitive, watching minute differences in our form and pace, but only competive with ourselves, we log our runs proudly and note our new personal records, knowing that no one else can ever appreciate their meaning, or what it took to achieve them.

I had one of my best races ever at the Cairo 2014 Half Marathon, it was my first race in many years, my last race was the first running of the BAA Boston Half Marathon, my hometown including circling the field of my beloved Fenway Park. it was funny that I would be there also at the first running of my native Cairo Half Marathon. It took me nearly four years since I broke my foot, a corrective surgery and two stints in casts be able to get back to running over 10 miles, so in a way this race felt like my very first Boston Marathon. I was nervous and anxious, uncertain if I will be able to finish without leg or foot problems. I started very slow, cautiously, my first mile was my slowest, my second, the second slowest and only after I started the first long climb and started overtaking so many runners less than half my age, did I get the confidence to start to go harder. The uphill peaks with a magnificent view towards the desert of Wadi Degla Protectorate, and then the long down hill at about mile ten, I deliberately slowed down to avoid cramping. 

Cairo runners were just like other runners, pleasent, supportive, talkative, contemplative, funny as ever; but this was no ordinary event! We were actually running and the traffic was stopping for us on the roads of one of the least pedestrian friendly cities in the world. So Cairo runners were actually in euphoric mood. After months of street protests, curfews, street blockades, we were laying a claim to the streets, like never before, thousands of us, this was unprecedented! The grace of these young runners as they passed me or I passed them was endearing, they seemed genuinely happy that someone much older, knee braces and all, was out there with them, so words and signs of encouragements and smiles through the strain. For races in the US, 54 years old isn't a senior citizen, but in sedentary chain smoking Egypt, I was an unusual sight. 

Shouts of a'ash or عاش the standard cheer for athletes in Egypt, meaning live or long live were common, from the few spectators who were out on the streets, the volunteers were amazing in their cheers too. At the very last uphill after the long brutal downhill, I gave it my all, I went as fast as I could, pounding my legs, pumping my arms to will me faster, I heard a cheer "wahsh .. wahsh ...wahsh" " وحش ..وحش... وحش"؟  a word best translated as beast, can be used as an insult but also as a word implying brute strength ... I felt it, I could never imagine myself actually liking to be called a beast, but I did, it boosted me, it made me run harder!

Runners often track their progress by keeping pace with other runners and those runners we run with typically change in a long race. So shortly after the start, I was keeping pace with the guy in a large blue hoodie then not sure when it was, that it changed to the two women in red T shirts with " me vs. me" written on the back and so forth. We never actually make an active mental decision to change pace buddies, it just happens. The last four miles or so, the fellow runner or pace buddy who motivated me was a beautiful veiled young woman, who saluted me with a beautiful smile as she overtook me on the steep downhill, at the end of the race we had our pictures taken together as we crossed the finish line, I will always remember her beauty, grace, modesty and wonderful smile. 

Three days before the Cairo Half, I was at a business function, I was chatting with a very elegant and charming beautiful elderly Italian French lady. She asked me out of nowhere about prayers and communication with God. I told her that often times the deepest spiritual times I have are during running, as I run outdoors, the green hills of Dorset, England or as I run around the canyons of a Wadi Degla near Cairo. I look at the beautiful nature around me and feel the strength in my body as it operates in rhythm with my surroundings and I pray to God, thank him for his glory and for the glory he bestowed on me, in me. I recite short verses of the Quran and feel a sense of unity with my world. She looked at me very attentively and said, I do the same as I walk briskly around Verona, I celebrate God's creation including my very own body.

AA March 9, 2014