The Challenge of Ten Years. How did politicians participate in a different way?

The 10-year or 10yearchallenge challenge is still very popular on social networking sites, a challenge for a user to post a recent photograph of him or somewhere, compared to what he was 10 years ago.

But politicians and activists reacted to the challenge in a different way that carried a political, economic or even environmental dimension by comparing their countries 10 years ago to what they have now.

Activists compared pictures of several Arab capitals ten years ago, now that war has destroyed several cities in Libya, Syria, Yemen, Iraq and elsewhere.

A Sudanese activist published his country's map in 2009 and the current map after the secession of South Sudan in 2011.

For his part, an Egyptian activist published a photo of Tahrir Square during the revolution of 25 January 2011 and was filled with hundreds of thousands of Egyptian revolutionaries, in exchange for a picture of the trial of many of those who participated in the revolution.

The 10-year challenge was not limited to the participation of activists. The ICRC participated on its Twitter page on two photographs of the Syrian child Bassel, who showed his suffering during ten years of crisis. "This is what wars challenge us to do in 10 years," she wrote.

The cartoonist Alaa Al-Kulaat drew a picture of a tightly closed vase, while the revolution in its second image increased ten years later. Attached are two copies of the poems by Iraqi poet Ahmed Matar.

In Libya, the activist published a photograph of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in 2009 wearing a military uniform, in exchange for a picture of retired brigade Khalifa Haftar wearing the same outfit, in reference to the latter's desire to occupy Gaddafi's place despite the 2011 revolution that toppled Gaddafi.

Political participation
Politicians, for their part, did not miss the 10-year challenge. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has used the challenge to ridicule US President Donald Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, comparing his 10-year-old statements about striking Iran to his recent comments on the same.

"The same nonsense, the same bullying, the same illusions," said Zarif.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also took part in the 10-year challenge. The official account of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) on Anstagram published a picture of President Erdogan in 2009 carrying a baby girl in his arms after a speech in front of his party's parliamentary bloc, and another in the same place in 2019, next to a girl in primary school.

The account commented on the picture as "President Erdogan from yesterday until today."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also participated in the 10-year challenge. Two pictures were published on Twitter, the first one was taken in 2009 and the second was taken in 2019, and was written on them "fence (border) between Egypt and Israel."

But a Palestinian individual responded in a way that includes maps of Palestine since 1947 before the declaration of the establishment of the State of Israel, which was expanding at the expense of Palestine, to the map of the day where the Palestinians are almost no longer in place.

The economy is present
The economy was not far from the "ten-year" challenge. A Sudanese blogger published a picture of 100 US dollars and the equivalent of 2009 in Sudanese pounds, compared to the equivalent now.

For his part, an Egyptian activist published a picture of a coin of 200 pounds in 2009, in exchange for a picture of the currency of 20 pounds this year, in reference to the deterioration of the value of the pound.

Environment at risk
Climate change has also had a share in the "ten-year" challenge. The SGJ Educational Account was published in a gazette accompanied by two photographs of the Swiss Alps, one for 2008 and the other for 2018. "Do you know what the real 10-year challenge is?

"Coral reefs are dying at a worrying rate around the world, they need our help," he wrote.

A Qatari account on Facebook also published a picture of what was the Corniche of the capital Doha ten years ago and what has become the day of development and the rise of high construction.