The Egyptian Revolution of 2011, Part 2 (Jan. 29th)

Note: I am still unable to load the videos, but spent the better part of today trying. Again, this was drafted while I was still in Eypt, I apologize for the delay.

Update: The videos are loaded!

Friday night was restless. Gunshots rang out throughout the night and screaming usually followed. I finally got some sleep once the sun started to rise, its rays driving the looters and criminals into the shadows. I woke up at around noon and decided to go explore. I had no set idea of where I was going, only that I would follow the action for as long as I felt safe. With a fully charged camera I set off toward Tehrir street. The street was quieter than it had been the night before and no one was gathered at the traffic circle. I crossed the bridge into Zamalek and started wandering off the main street. Almost as soon as I deviated, I heard chanting and clapping from behind me. I turned around to see a huge crowd of people marching down the street in the direction of downtown. I abandoned my off-the-beaten-path approach and returned to join the masses. Despite being surrounded by hundred of protesters, I never once felt unsafe. I saw many other foreigners who were clearly doing the same as me, hoping to catch a glimpse of some of the action. As I approached the bridge that would take me into the heart of downtown Cairo, the charred, smoldering remains of the NDP building came into view. Smoke was still rising from its roof and windows, filling the sky above it with a thick, black cloud. I paused for a moment, wondering if this blackened building should be taken as a warning. 

However, as I slowly made my way across the crowded bridge it became more and more evident that no one meant me any harm. I saw far more peace signs being raised in the air than fists or weapons. People wanted freedom; they were fighting against more than 30 years of oppression and violence. Brutality was not on their agenda. In fact, as uprising go, the Egyptians have been extraordinarily restrained and organized. With a measure of self-control rarely seen in revolutions, the Egyptians have managed to channel their anger into constructive and effective protests. If fighting begins now, I can guarantee it will be put into motion by the regime, not by the people in the streets.

As I reached the end of the bridge, I saw burned cars and trucks along the side of the road. Gutted and abandoned, they stood testament to the unrest that was sweeping the country. 

Abandoned trucks which had delivered police could also be seen burned and often tagged with graffiti, all along the lines of “Get out, Mubarak!” 

Translation: Leave Mubarak, you traitor

Sirens and the occasional shot rang out, but mostly the air was filled with the chanting of the thousands who had gathered downtown to protest the dictatorship. Every five minutes a new wave of people would join the already swollen crowd in the square.

 I climbed up to a bridge in order to see the action better, but I was by no means the first with this idea. 

Almost as soon as I arrived, the afternoon prayer began. Men kneeled in the street, surrounded by their fellow protestors, all of whom mostly stopped what they were doing during the prayers. In the middle of a protest demanding basic human rights, the people were performing one of the few they have been allowed; freedom of religion. Hundreds praying together is a sight that moves me even without this historic backdrop. Under the circumstances, the beauty was overwhelming.

Almost as soon as the prayers ended, I saw something else that moved me almost to tears. Under the bridge, just below where I was standing, a young woman wearing a bright hijab was leading a call-and-answer chant among a group of youth. Beside her stood her companions, another young woman and a young boy. Together, they were rallying the crowd. 

This scene illustrates one of the most important things about what is happening in Egypt. Egypt is a highly divided country; gaping schisms separate the rich from the poor, women from men, young from old, and Muslims from Christians. But right now, during what might be the most difficult time in Egypt’s history, unity prevails. There is no one kind of person in Tehrir Square. Stories have been flooding the media about poor and rich, men and women, young and old all working together for freedom. Even more astonishing, countless tales of Muslims and Christians not only working together, but protecting one another, are being told. Less than a month ago, many people would have cited religious tensions as one of the greatest issues in Egyptian society. Now we are now seeing photos of Christians linking arms to protect praying Muslims and Muslims guarding Coptic churches. These uprisings have united Egyptians in a way no other force in history has been capable of.

Just as I began thinking it was time to start making my way back home, I heard cheering coming from down the street. Following the sound, I ended up in front of the Ramses Hilton, the hotel that my family stayed in when they came to visit me in the end of December. In front of this towering building rolled dozens of Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs), topped with soldiers in fatigues and strapped with automatic weapons. 

The jubilation at the arrival of the army still seems strange to me, as no one is sure which side they fall on. Will they protect the people from the oppression of the government, as they did in Tunisia, or will they turn out to be pawns of the regime, stifling the uprising with overwhelming force? The people seemed convinced of the former, but I’m not so sure. I guess only time will tell.

Next up, the epic saga of my evacuation from Egypt and what’s next for me. Stay tuned!