You Have Not Yet Been Defeated: Selected Works 2011-2021
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- Create Date：2022-04-20 19:21:42
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Alaa Abd El-Fattah
- ISBN：1644212455
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Summary
Powerful ideas of protest and freedom of expression from the world-reknown Egyptian political prisoner and activist。 With a Foreword by Naomi Klein。
The text you are holding is living history。
-- Naomi Klein， from the Foreword
Alaa Abd el-Fattah is arguably the most high-profile political prisoner in Egypt， if not the Arab world， rising to international prominence during the revolution of 2011。 A fiercely independent thinker who fuses politics and technology in powerful prose， an activist whose ideas represent a global generation which has only known struggle against a failing system， a public intellectual with the rare courage to offer personal， painful honesty， Alaa's written voice came to symbolize much of what was fresh， inspiring and revolutionary about the uprisings that have defined the last decade。 Collected here for the first time in English are a selection of his essays， social media posts and interviews from 2011 until the present。 He has spent the majority of those years in prison， where many of these pieces were written。 Together， they present not only a unique account from the frontline of a decade of global upheaval， but a catalogue of ideas about other futures those upheavals could yet reveal。 From theories on technology and history to profound reflections on the meaning of prison， You Have Not Yet Been Defeated is a book about the importance of ideas， whatever their cost。
The text you are holding is living history。
-- Naomi Klein， from the Foreword
Alaa Abd el-Fattah is arguably the most high-profile political prisoner in Egypt， if not the Arab world， rising to international prominence during the revolution of 2011。 A fiercely independent thinker who fuses politics and technology in powerful prose， an activist whose ideas represent a global generation which has only known struggle against a failing system， a public intellectual with the rare courage to offer personal， painful honesty， Alaa's written voice came to symbolize much of what was fresh， inspiring and revolutionary about the uprisings that have defined the last decade。 Collected here for the first time in English are a selection of his essays， social media posts and interviews from 2011 until the present。 He has spent the majority of those years in prison， where many of these pieces were written。 Together， they present not only a unique account from the frontline of a decade of global upheaval， but a catalogue of ideas about other futures those upheavals could yet reveal。 From theories on technology and history to profound reflections on the meaning of prison， You Have Not Yet Been Defeated is a book about the importance of ideas， whatever their cost。
Reviews
rania
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i rarely read non-fiction + i’ll admit it was difficult to maintain momentum but this was such a devastating yet insightful read that it was worth it
Jack M
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My biggest worry these days is inflation， yes， my life is that meaningless， thank you capitalism， meanwhile Alaa is writing in prison， struggling for justice。 Some people have real problems。It’s hard for me to review this book as to be fully engaged with it I feel would require some advanced knowledge of Egyptian politics。 That’s a pity， because when Alaa talks about broad subjects， Uber， technology， climate change， for example， his critiques are clear and interesting。 Also interesting is when h My biggest worry these days is inflation， yes， my life is that meaningless， thank you capitalism， meanwhile Alaa is writing in prison， struggling for justice。 Some people have real problems。It’s hard for me to review this book as to be fully engaged with it I feel would require some advanced knowledge of Egyptian politics。 That’s a pity， because when Alaa talks about broad subjects， Uber， technology， climate change， for example， his critiques are clear and interesting。 Also interesting is when his work narrows， to his daily life in prison。 I believe the publishers would achieve more at least to a Western audience by limiting the collection to that。 。。。more
Prashanth Srivatsa
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It's hard to remain rooted to your thoughts， impressions and prejudices when you witness， through the eyes of Alaa， the years beyond the Egyptian revolution of 2011。 These are words that stretch beyond boundaries， beyond Tahrir Square， beyond Palestine。 Alaa is a revolutionary， but he's also a father， a techie， a Game of Thrones fan， someone who knows the limits of a revolution， its failures， of what constitutes defeat， and - thus giving this book that title - addresses these essays to those who It's hard to remain rooted to your thoughts， impressions and prejudices when you witness， through the eyes of Alaa， the years beyond the Egyptian revolution of 2011。 These are words that stretch beyond boundaries， beyond Tahrir Square， beyond Palestine。 Alaa is a revolutionary， but he's also a father， a techie， a Game of Thrones fan， someone who knows the limits of a revolution， its failures， of what constitutes defeat， and - thus giving this book that title - addresses these essays to those who haven't yet been defeated。 He is excruciatingly honest， brutal in his assessment of police， prisons and state， of technology and leaders， tender when it comes to topics as easily misspoken about as autism， and grieves through his struggle， for people both close to him and those who lie beyond his borders。 This book is absolutely chilling， both in terms of Alaa's prescience as well as his precision when it comes to dissecting terrible events。 It's a book that cuts into your heart and tells you how there's little to romanticize about revolutions and martyrs， that "only the monstrous can hold both the history of dreams and hopes， and the reality of defeat and pain together。"An unforgettable reading experience。 。。。more
Nancy
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A must read
Stephanie
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“We were so drowning in the minutiae of details that I didn’t realize when we’re actually won。 But at some point I looked up and saw that the hospital staff， the doctors and the priests had all switched over to our side…Even the forensics team came over to our side。 The only solution was to sit with each family one by one， explain the meaning of ‘causes of death’ and the details to be added to the forensics reports， explain the role of the prosecutor， and the role of the lawyers。 The forensic do “We were so drowning in the minutiae of details that I didn’t realize when we’re actually won。 But at some point I looked up and saw that the hospital staff， the doctors and the priests had all switched over to our side…Even the forensics team came over to our side。 The only solution was to sit with each family one by one， explain the meaning of ‘causes of death’ and the details to be added to the forensics reports， explain the role of the prosecutor， and the role of the lawyers。 The forensic doctor caught the bug and transformed from a bureaucrat into a guardian of justice: maybe when forced to translate the language of the report — a language he was used to filing for the powerful — to the language of the weak， he remembered that justice is always with the weak？”I wish I had words for how I feel about this collection， but I don’t yet， so as I sit here listening to Murad Swaity’s cover of “Mawtini” on repeat， all I can ask is that you look into the life and work of Alaa Adb El-Fattah and consider picking this up。 It will be worth it。 。。。more
Mariam
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The most brilliant book you can read this year。 Alaa is a prolific， powerful writer who resists the silencing of the revolution even from imprisonment with his pen。 Highly recommended to all looking to be inspired in the fight for human rights & justice。
Bel
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Biting， elegiac and genre-bending; like if Pessoa lucidly poetised an Adam Curtis documentary。 A monumental， mind-shattering feat of protest writing。“Haunt the dreams of your comrades， and the nightmares of your enemies; live in a future that never came - be a spectre， a memory， and a herald。”
Maysoon Elnigoumi
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Brillianta must read
Mai Badawy
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“We were， then we were defeated， and meaning was defeated with us。 But we have not perished yet， and meaning has not been killed。 Perhaps our defeat was inevitable， but the current chaos that is sweeping the world will sooner or later give birth to a new world， a world that - of course - will be ruled and managed by the victors。 But nothing will constrain the strong， nor shape the margins of freedom and justice， nor define spaces of beauty and possibilities for a common life except the weak， who “We were， then we were defeated， and meaning was defeated with us。 But we have not perished yet， and meaning has not been killed。 Perhaps our defeat was inevitable， but the current chaos that is sweeping the world will sooner or later give birth to a new world， a world that - of course - will be ruled and managed by the victors。 But nothing will constrain the strong， nor shape the margins of freedom and justice， nor define spaces of beauty and possibilities for a common life except the weak， who clung to their defence of meaning， even after defeat”“All what’s asked of us is that we fight for what’s right。 We don’t have to be winning while we fight for what’s right， we don’t have to be strong while we fight for what’s right， we don’t have to be prepared while we fight for what’s right， or to have a good plan， or be well organized。 All that’s asked of us is that we don’t stop fighting for what’s right” 。。。more
Brendan Monroe
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Living in the affluent West， it's easy to take the most basic of human rights for granted。 The right to protest， say， the right to freely express yourself， the right to elect your own leaders。 By taking these things as a given， for having the luxury to not even think about them， we often fail to realize when these rights come under threat。 I imagine it'd be different if you'd emigrated from a place like Egypt， where such rights are anything but the norm。 For the Egyptian， Belarusian， or Syrian é Living in the affluent West， it's easy to take the most basic of human rights for granted。 The right to protest， say， the right to freely express yourself， the right to elect your own leaders。 By taking these things as a given， for having the luxury to not even think about them， we often fail to realize when these rights come under threat。 I imagine it'd be different if you'd emigrated from a place like Egypt， where such rights are anything but the norm。 For the Egyptian， Belarusian， or Syrian émigré， an assault on these rights in a place like the US or the UK is likely to raise eyebrows that may remain prone over eyes that have seen less and known such violations only from unsteady images on an iPhone。 Most problematic of all， those of us who are aware， who take the time to read the riveting accounts of individuals like Egyptian blogger and activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah， are left frozen with fear — shocked not into action when rights like free and fair elections are called into question， but into something closer to inaction。 It may be a symptom of these dark times， or perhaps just the consumption of too many news stories， but what amazes me isn't that the countries of the Arab Spring have nearly all， one after another， fallen once more into states of inequity equal to if not worse than that experienced in decades prior to the revolution that shook Tahrir Square， but that individuals in these places have continued to stand up to protest what， in hindsight， seems to have been democracy's inevitable descent in these countries。 Were these individuals brave， or simply foolish？ In choosing to fight against forces that often had the backing of a majority of the people — which the Egyptian military in the early days under Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi touted as justification for massacres against the country's Islamists and a corrupt Muslim Brotherhood regime under former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi — weren't men like Alaa really just sealing their fates， giving up time that could have been spent with their families for years behind bars and brutal beatings at the hands of prison guards？ When reading "You Have Not Yet Been Defeated，" Alaa's breathtaking account of his struggle against three successive authoritarian regimes in Egypt， it's hard not to feel like the author isn't asking himself these same questions。 Citizens of authoritarian countries don't have the luxury of complacency， of letting their guard down。 A world where words are policed and the smallest of actions can lead to an interminable prison sentence invites a fight or flight response。 Do you stay and fight， when doing so is the harder thing， doomed to almost certain failure？ Or do you pick up and get out while you can？ What would any of us do in the same position？Those are the thoughts I was left with after finishing this extraordinary collection of essays， most of which Alaa wrote while in prison and smuggled out using ingenious methods worthy of the Marquis de Sade， though the only sadists in this story are Alaa's jailers and the corrupt Egyptian state。While these essays all have a revolutionary theme， the topics range from Uber and the IT world to prisoners' rights and Palestine。 They're all brilliant， of the very highest quality， and I'm most grateful to Fitzcarraldo Editions for publishing this and sharing Alaa's story。A just world would be one in which men like Alaa are celebrated， not jailed， where Western society didn't hail banal superhero franchises and vapid celebrities but real-life heroes。 A world where children and adults don't speak about the Kardashians， but about activists like Alaa？ I've clearly been reading too much fantasy。 。。。more
Bassel Katamish
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Essential reading for anyone who considers themselves an Egyptian， an Arab， or even a leftist。 Alaa writes poetically but also cleary， cutting through the bullshit that so often accompanies discussions on Egyptian politics。 He is equally convincing writing about concrete political solutions as he is writing about technology and capitalism or his own personal psychological struggles in the wake of his defeat and imprisonment。Perhaps my favourite paragraph comes on the penultimate page:“There are Essential reading for anyone who considers themselves an Egyptian， an Arab， or even a leftist。 Alaa writes poetically but also cleary， cutting through the bullshit that so often accompanies discussions on Egyptian politics。 He is equally convincing writing about concrete political solutions as he is writing about technology and capitalism or his own personal psychological struggles in the wake of his defeat and imprisonment。Perhaps my favourite paragraph comes on the penultimate page:“There are cities that inspire poets and musicians and so become immortalised in depictions that might not reflect their reality。 Free Jerusalem; tranquil Alexandria， Bride of the Sea; Beirut， the Sheltering Tent—the symbols seem more real than the cities。 But Gaza and Cairo are both cities that resist romanticisation and so elude song。 No one sings to Cairo， but it is the capital of the Arabs。 No one sings to Gaza either， but it remains the indisputable capital of Palestine。 Both are always present in a crisis。” 。。。more
Gautam Bhatia
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