“This post was scheduled yesterday May 8th but due to the circumstances we have been through in Egypt and the fact I remembered that I have still got video clips from that day needed to be uploaded , I had to postponed it to May 9th”
Today is the 100th day after January 28th ,2011 , today we should have celebrated how Egypt really revolted against old decaying dictatorship in Egypt. I believe January 28th was the true revolution day , January 25th was an uprising that evolved in two days thanks to Suez and the stupidity of the regime in to a whole revolution.
I shot that video below on January 28th after the Friday prayer , it was a protest through the Nile street in Agouza where the protesters from Mohendessin and Giza tried to get in Cairo , specifically to Tahrir square but the security forces blocked all the bridges at first. That specific protest could not get in to May 15th bridge and was trying to get in to Galaa bridge , which is closer to Tahrir. We could not go there that time because of tear gas grenades the CSF shot at us.
Of course we could not move forward and people had to split ,some say we would go and try other ways , other said that we should return back to Mohendessin to encourage more people to come etc. Of course I apologize for my bad filming but this was my first video recording experience while inhaling tear gas grenades.
I took that other video on January 28th late afternoon in front of the Cairo opera house. There were no internet nor mobile phone to know what was going in Tahrir square except that the security forces were blocking all ways there and there were terrible clashes. I was in front of the opera house when I found people despite what we all seen in the morning heading to Kasr Al Nil bridge to get in to Tahrir square.
These people as you see from all background , from all ages , from all religions and from all classes heading to Tahrir for one reason : They want to restore back their Egypt from that ugly corrupted regime. These Egyptians were on their way to Tahrir despite it was getting late and cold
I saw on this great day total strangers helping each other , standing with each other and comforting each other in a scene you would have never imagined to see in Egypt in this way after 30 years of Mubarak rule. Total strangers helped each other with water bottles and soda cans to get rid from the tear gas grenades effects , total strangers shared cars to transfer the injured in to the nearest hospitals. Needless to say that some of the injured died because of their fatal injuries in these total strangers’ cars before reaching to hospitals , they died between total strangers in the streets.
In one day we forgot all our differences and for the rest 17 days we felt for the first time since very long time that we are truly Egyptians.
For 18 days despite the total absence of security forces not single house of God was attacked or stolen. for 18 days we felt that even our behavior changed for the better and we began to listen to the word “sorry” again
We did a lot in these 100 days that makes me optimistic for the future :
- We forced a dictator to step down.
- We forced a cabinet to resign.
- We brought down the state security.
- We brought down the NDP
- We brought the icons of Mubarak to Tora prisons. Mubarak himself is under house arrest and his bank accounts along his family are frozen.
- We brought back Egypt to the Arab world.
- We brought back Egypt to Africa.
- We returned back the rights of the people of Sinai to own their land.
- We killed an ugly constitution
- We showed the whole world we are ready for democracy in the referendum.
- We made the Palestinians reconcile and we are lifting the siege from our side on Gaza.
- We have the right to form independent unions.
We still have to a lot and a lot to do to say that our revolution has succeeded. We should not stop working for the sake of those 864 who were killed , for those thousands who were injured. please let’s return back to our main focus and do not give anyone the chance to divert our attention.
Many people from inside and outside want this revolution that was like an earthquake for the whole region to fail , many people from inside and outside do not want us to make it. No one said it will be an easy ride on the contrary it will be hard way , this is why we should not lose hope or freak out. We can’t lose hope or freak out now for the sake of all those who were killed and injured , it is a like a battle that we can’t lose in a serious of wars.
Mubarak made it clear when he said that it was either him or chaos , now I will say that it was either the revolution or chaos. If we give up now , then we will head to chaos directly. It is our choice now.
January 28th in Egyptian chronicles’ archives :
- The chronicles of the longest Friday in Egypt.
- #Jan28 in photos
- A video for a small protest in Agouza tried to head in to Al Galaa bridge but was blocked by the police at the police hospital violently again
I still have got other video clips for these wonderful days
Unfortunately, I have another take on this:
ReplyDeleteWe helped the military get rid of Mubarak, and they've been wanting to do that because of the whole Gamal Mubarak issue.
Yes, we forced a cabinet to resign.
We forced the RENAMING of state security - so that now it's called National Security, an idea initially suggested by Shafeeq! The Prime Minister of that 'cabinet' that we forced to resign!
We dispersed the NDP and have yet to figure out what to do with their thugs since they're out on the streets, causing trouble - which helps the SCAF build the impression that we need as Amr Moussa just implied - to be ruled with 'an iron hand'.
We collected all the icons of Mubarak together in one forced vacation in Tora where they can plot together.
We helped the SCAF get rid of Mubarak and move a few steps closer to claiming his accounts.
We are TRYING to bring back Egypt to the Arab world, but apart from successes with Africa & Palestine, it's shameful that we have not distanced ourselves publicly from regimes that are killing revolutionaries; Bahrain, Syria, Yemen, etc.
We have, yes - taken steps towards bringing Egypt back to Africa.
We returned back the rights of the people of Sinai to own their land.
We killed an ugly constitution and replaced it with a Constitutional Declaration that is just as ugly, and in fact more dangerous since it now gives ULTIMATE POWER to the SCAF - which, under the old hateful 71 constitution had NO 'presidential' powers of any sort, nor any authority to make or revoke laws. We also did so in a process (the referendum) which made a mockery of the principles of democracy.
We showed the whole world that we WANT democracy by our turnout for the referendum, but that we are idiots for allowing the referendum to take place in the first place since it was misguided, unnecessary, oblique, and absolutely useless. Also - in the process we shamed ourselves since the SCAF completely ignored the referendum by releasing the Constitutional Declaration containing 62 articles which NOBODY agreed to, since the referendum was only about 8 or 9 articles.
Yes, we helped the Palestinians reconcile and we are lifting the siege from our side on Gaza.
And yes - we now have the right to form independent unions.
Thank you Z for a wonderful report. I am sad and anger at the same time but my prayers are for the Egyptian and Egypt. May Allah swt bless and help Egypt and Egyptian to get a better country and not to forget those martyrs during the Revolution.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this succinct account, especially the videos.
ReplyDeleteI am particularly touched by your remark, 'Of course I apologize for my bad filming but this was my first video recording experience while inhaling tear gas grenades.'
I mean, amazing that you could do it at all!
Yeah we got rid of an "ugly" constitution and replaced it with a Nazi-like declaration... purity of nationality and such.
ReplyDeleteYou know Hitler was elected democratically and that's what's gone happen in Egypt, same ideals different facial hair.
Self-proclaimed 'guardians of Islam" have already stolen and hijacked this revolution while we stand idly by.