

Remembering the Egyptian martyrs - michaelfairley
http://1000memories.com/egypt

======
mhashim
I'm Mahmoud, the guys at 1000memories are referring to.

I think that Rudy, Jonathan, and Brett had the right intentions with this
post, but it backfired without having provided the proper context (which they
tried to add in the comments here).

I contacted the guys yesterday with an idea for a project they can help
execute with me and a group I'm working with. The idea was basically to setup
individual pages for each individual that has lost his/her life during the
Egyptian revolution. I thought having their families see the whole world's
supporting messages could give them comfort and some closure.

The one thing that was missing was a front page that would combine all their
profiles that would be a group memorial for visitors to land on first. I fired
off the email and went to bed. I woke up 5am in the morning with 3 emails from
Jonathan and an initial page already designed. I can't tell you how
appreciative I was for the quick response and immediate action on their part.
With this post specifically, the guys acted in the best interest of moving the
project forward, but they just missed providing the proper context. It
happens...so lets move on

This is an early project that needs all your help to improve it and promote it
to something that makes these families proud.

I hope I brought some clarity to the situation.

~~~
nlwhittemore
I lived in Cairo on and off for up to 6 months at a time between 2004 and
2009. The whole situation has been somewhat surreal to watch. The places are
all the same, where I lived and spent time, but the context is so radically
different that it's hard to imagine this - even watching the videos on Al
Jazeera.

But there is something about the quiet of this memorial and the simplicity of
the names and ages of these people who I was in classes with just a few years
ago, or riding the metro with, or practicing Arabic with, juxtaposed with the
brutality of the way in which they died, that really hit me.

I'm glad you took the time to email 1000memories and I'm glad that they
responded like they did.

~~~
mhashim
Thanks for your support. When I saw a picture and a name in my news feed on
facebook I had the same feeling as you describe. I believe as people we have
come desensitized to hearing massive numbers of people being killed all over
the world, but when a face is put to a name, and in this case when a whole
profile is put to the name, the world might really feel the magnitude of the
loss and its every individual.

------
bhavin
<something that catches people's attention> \+ 1000memories.

Few other examples: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1862700>

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2005187>

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1598485>

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1985340>

I used to like the idea of 1000 memories back when I heard it for first time.
But the aggressive PR posts on HN has ruined it for me. I never visited it
again since I felt 1000memories' publicity rather relied on emotional
exploitation (that is a strong word to use, but I can't think of a better
one).

~~~
daeken
You know, the concept of someone building a memorial for a loved one is a
great one. I love the idea of this service. However, creating pages like this,
for people you don't know, is scummy, IMO. I'm really quite disappointed in
the way 1000memories has done this sort of thing; they've completely and
utterly turned me off of using their service.

~~~
Bretthuneycutt
An Egyptian expat user of ours and HN asked us to build this last night, so we
did.

------
rudyadler
maybe a little context will help. from our blog...

Late last night, we received an email from Mahmoud Hashim, an Egyptian living
in Toronto. Like us, he has watched with horror as peaceful demonstrators have
been killed in the violence in Egypt. He told us about the growing movement to
help document the martyrs losing their lives in the streets and pointed us to
a collaborative Google Doc that is being circulated around the world to aid
the process. Mahmoud wrote "I realized then that the least we can do is not
forget these brave young men and women, and to honor them by letting the whole
nation know who they were" He then asked us for a favor: Could we take the
data being collected from observers in Egypt and make a more visually
compelling website. He wanted us to "create a page that will help young people
honor the memory of those heroes and for the whole world to see and then dive
deeper."

This email came at the very end of a long day, but we knew what we had to do.
We rolled up our sleeves and stayed up late into the evening creating a
special online memorial to the Egyptian martyrs. A place to remember their
sacrifices and know that these are not just numbers. We hope that this can be
a place that shows the world what is happening and helps a little to remember
each of the lives lost that they might not be wasted and that the violence may
end. You can see it at 1000Memories.com/Egypt

If you have any information about someone killed in Egypt, we have linked our
site to the Google Doc that has been used to record deaths. We are totally
committed to continually updating our memorial as the Google Doc is updated.
We currently have 32 names, but know there are hundreds more still
undocumented.

This is exactly why we started 1000Memories in the first place: to help the
living pay tribute and remember the ones we admire and love. We're glad to
have an opportunity to do our part.

------
jonathanbgood
Last night an Egyptian in Toronto, who felt powerless to help in the midst of
the bloodshed, asked if we could create a place for Egyptians and the world to
remember the lives that have been lost in the protests in Egypt.

------
adultthrowaway
There's nothing wrong with businesses making money from providing a service to
the bereaved. But I'm ill at ease with this for some reason. Are we going to
see these 1000memories tributes pop up for all large-scale losses of life?

~~~
JoshCole
Would it be wrong to create an online memorial for all large losses of life?
If there is I don't see it. This just makes it all a little bit more real to
me.

------
avner
Do you ___have_ __to plug in "1000Memories (YC S10)"?

~~~
answerly
That is really just the standard "style guide" of the site. YC companies are
always referenced that way in titles.

It seems a bit unfair to make the assumption there is something opportunistic
going on. The 1000Memories team are very thoughtful about the sensitive nature
of their business in my experience.

------
DanI-S
I feel we need to get away from the word 'martyrs'. It glorifies death in
service, and turns it into something to be expected; even welcomed.

One live freedom fighter is worth a thousand dead ones.

~~~
sp332
I was going to disagree, because I thought you were talking about the ones who
died in assaults. But I think you're right about the ones who just set
themselves on fire in protest. That seems like a bit of an empty gesture.

~~~
danielsoneg
That "empty gesture" was the spark that caught Tunisia and Egypt…

~~~
JoeAltmaier
Right, but to be pedantic it isn't martyrdom. Any more than being killed in an
accident is bravery. Media dilutes these words.

Still, they are amazing souls and I pray for success in Egypt.

------
akozak
Do you have to include the way they were killed right under their name? e.g.
"Bludgeoned to death"

Seems like there are better ways to remember someone.

------
mahmud
The Arabic text is badly translated and obscured by the social-media buttons.

"Egypt Remembers":

مصر تتذكر in standard-arabic

~~~
Bretthuneycutt
Thanks, Mahmud. We have put out a call for native Arabaic speakers to help us
translate the text to English

~~~
mahmud
I'm able to receive future translation calls :-)

------
gruseom
This is surprisingly powerful. It personalizes people who (I assume) lost
their lives asking for freedoms that we take for granted.

"Martyr" is probably the wrong word to use, given its religious connotations
and the political spin around that at the moment. But this is a minor point.

------
d3x
Dont you think this is a bit like ambulance chasing? Are we going to have to
hear about (anything that involves death) + 1000memories? I guess one mans
misery is another mans marketing opportunity.

