This week, in a sequence reminiscent of the first revolutionary wave of January 2011, Egypt’s military took the side of the people and deposed an elected president. Is this an end to Egyptian democracy? Not at all. This is the second wave of our revolution.

上周，在一系列令人想起2011年1月第一次革命浪潮的事件中，埃及军方站在人民一边、罢免了一位民选总统。这是埃及民主的终结么？完全不是。这是我们的第二次革命浪潮。

Egypt’s new generation, which forms a majority in this country, has shed the garb of authoritarianism and its anachronisms. It is determined to transform Egypt into a modern democracy. It is disorganised and chaotic, but strong. Two and a half years ago, this generation claimed its rights.

构成埃及人口主体的埃及新一代人，已经剥掉了当局的伪装，让大家看清了它的威权主义实质以及这种意识形态的落伍。这一代人决心要把埃及改造为一个现代民主国家。他们虽然缺乏组织、混乱不堪，却是一支强大的力量。两年半前，这一代人为争取自己的权利进行了努力。

The dignity, peacefulness, creativity and tolerance of the uprising created a moment of greatness that surprised everyone. We were fully aware of the risks. We were fighting two better-organised forces: the Muslim Brotherhood and the entrenched authoritarianism of state institutions. Still, we chose to build a democratic alliance with the Brotherhood. They pledged to set up a modern and democratic regime.

那场起义所展现出的尊严、平和、创造力和宽容，造就了一个令世人感到惊讶的伟大瞬间。我们当时完全明白相关的风险。我们是在与两支更有组织的力量作斗争，那就是穆斯林兄弟会(Muslim Brotherhood)以及国家机构根深蒂固的威权主义。不过，我们选择与穆兄会建立民主同盟。他们承诺会建立一个现代而民主的政权。

However, our coalition went adrift. As Hosni Mubarak was evicted from the presidency, the Brotherhood forced on us a transitional process putting elections ahead of drafting a constitution or a basic bill of rights. We objected. Democracy is built on a set of rules that protect rights and freedoms, not on ballot boxes that would hand unqualified power to a majority. But our attempts to negotiate such rules were vetoed by the Brotherhood.

然而，我们与穆兄会的联盟出现了问题。就在胡斯尼•穆巴拉克(Hosni Mubarak)被赶下总统宝座的同时，穆兄会把一个过渡程序强加给我们，这个过渡程序把选举置于起草宪法或基本权利法案之前。我们对此予以了反对。民主是建立在一套保护权利和自由的规则之上，而不是建立在会将不受约束的权力赋予多数派的票箱之上。但我们就这些规则展开协商的努力被穆兄会否决了。

Mohamed Morsi, who could not win presidential elections without our support, stepped into the shoes of his predecessor. He addressed the people as his “sons and daughters” and told us that the government knew our interests best. He and his supporters told us he was chosen by God; that our revolution was a divine intervention to implement an Islamist interpretation of sharia. Soon Christians were persecuted, and thousands left the country.

原本离开我们的支持就无法赢得总统选举的穆罕默德•穆尔西(Mohamed Morsi)却步其前任后尘。穆尔西把埃及人民称为他的“儿女”，还说政府最了解我们的利益所在。他和他的支持者告诉我们：他是真主选中的人；我们的革命是上天的眷顾，其目的是贯彻对伊斯兰教法的伊斯兰主义解读。很快，基督教徒就受到迫害，成千上万的基督教徒离开了埃及。

When we objected, we were accused of being “infidels and crusaders”, part of a “rotten elite”, disconnected from the “true character of Egyptians” and “working against the will of people”. The Brotherhood’s jihadi allies, who returned from abroad, threatened us: if Mr Morsi was voted out, they would return to violence.

当我们表示反对时，他们指责我们是“异教徒和十字军”，说我们属于“腐化的精英阶层”、丢掉了“埃及人的本色”并“与人民意志为敌”。穆兄会的圣战主义盟友（这些人是从海外回来的）威胁我们说：如果穆尔西被选下台，他们会回归暴力。

Mr Morsi maintained reconciliatory rhetoric. But state repression continued unabated – directed only against those who struggled for democracy. Torture and abuse worsened. Trials of previous violations came to nothing, while new laws were drafted to curtail freedom of expression and assembly. The media and opposition were harassed and demonised.

穆尔西保持着和解的腔调。但政府的镇压却未有半点减弱——镇压只针对那些为民主而奋斗的人。酷刑和虐待日趋严重。对以往违法行为的审判不了了之，与此同时政府却起草了新的法律，限制言论自由和集会自由。媒体和反对派受到骚扰，而且被妖魔化。

Then came Mr Morsi’s coup. On November 21 he issued a “constitutional declaration” elevating himself and his decisions above legal review. In a nutshell, Egypt was not moving to democracy, but towards Islamist authoritarianism. There was no legal recourse against the neo-authoritarian president. So, we had to take our fight for democracy back to the streets.

接着，穆尔西发动了政变。去年11月21日，他发布了一份“宪法声明”，使其本人和其所做决定凌驾于法律审查之上。简而言之，埃及并未走向民主，而是在走向伊斯兰威权主义。没有什么法律手段能制约这位新威权总统了。因此，我们不得不再次走上街头争取民主。

The Brotherhood and its associates did not take us seriously. Instead of heeding calls to negotiate a “pact on transition”, they focused on extending their control over state institutions. This antagonised the judiciary, police, military and civil service. They also lost public support. Women felt threatened. Islamist television channels showered the public with fatwas that made the majority of Egyptians shiver. The Brotherhood did little to alleviate sectarianism. Brotherhood businessmen expanded, piling pressure on older businesspeople. All in all, Mr Morsi and his Brothers antagonised almost all of Egypt.

穆兄会及其同伙没把我们当回事。他们没有倾听就“过渡协议”展开协商的呼声，而是将主要精力放在扩大其对国家机构的控制上。这引发了法官、警方、军方和公务员的反抗。他们还失去了公众的支持。妇女们感受到了威胁。伊斯兰电视频道用大量让大多数埃及人不寒而栗的伊斯兰法令对公众展开“狂轰滥炸”。在削弱宗派主义方面，穆兄会几乎什么都没做。穆兄会商人势力增强，对老一辈商界人士构成巨大压力。总而言之，穆尔西及其“兄弟会”引起了几乎整个埃及的反抗。

This is how, gradually, our street politics gained greater momentum. By April most Egyptians, in towns as well as the countryside, shared our determination to push out Mr Morsi and his neo-authoritarian regime, and reset the transition towards a true democracy. We set June 30 as his deadline.

这就是我们街头政治的影响力逐渐增强的整个过程。到今年4月，大多数埃及人——不管来自城镇还是来自农村——都与我们一样下定了决心：一定要把穆尔西赶下台，推翻他的新威权主义政权，重启向真正民主的过渡。我们把6月30日定为穆尔西的最后期限。

Most of us question the intentions of both the military and the police. Most of us agonised over the idea of a de facto alliance with those who opposed the first revolutionary wave. Yet the harshness of Islamists’ neo-authoritarianism helped us decide. We participated in this second revolutionary wave knowing that overthrowing Mr Morsi would be the beginning of another round of struggle for democracy.

我们中的大多数人都对军方和警方的意图持怀疑态度，都对与那些反对第一次革命浪潮的人结成事实上同盟的想法倍感忧虑。但伊斯兰主义者新威权主义的严酷帮助我们做了决定。我们这些投身第二次革命浪潮的人，心中清楚推翻穆尔西将开启又一轮争取民主的斗争。

We know it will be a struggle to steer this second transition process towards democracy and we are still disorganised. But we have a clear goal and are determined to get there. And because we are younger, more creative, pragmatic, and because we are the majority, we know that we shall prevail. Democracy is coming.

我们明白，要引领埃及实现向民主的第二次过渡将十分艰难，而且我们仍缺乏组织。但我们拥有一个明确的目标，而且下定决心要实现这一目标。我们更年轻、更富创造力、更务实、而且还占人口多数，因此我们知道胜利将属于我们。民主正在到来。