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On January 25, 1952, the Egyptian police force located in the city of Ismailiya resisted British calls to evacuate the Suez Canal Zone. As a result, 41 officers were killed, and the next day, to honor the courage of these officers, Egyptians took to the streets in Cairo, protesting their monarchy. Later that year, Egypt toppled the king and became a democracy.
Since that day, January 25th has been a national holiday in Egypt called "Police Day," honoring the sacrifice of police officers in the protection of their freedom and country.
However, in the past 59 years, the Egyptian police force has come to symbolize the deterioration of the rule of law in Egypt. A police force that used to represent the people's interests began to honor only the will of the tyrant. And during the 30 year rule of President Hosni Mubarek, the police force has ruthlessly arrested opposition members, beaten and killed activists, and disregarded basic human rights.
So on January 25, 2011, the Egyptian people decided that they had enough. On a holiday meant to honor the police, 80,000 plus Egyptians stood in the face of police and authoritarian tyranny, endured rubber bullets, water hoses, tear gas, and beatings and demanded what is rightfully theirs.
عيش! حرية! كرامة انسانية!
Bread! Freedom! Human Dignity!
Following the Tunisian Revolution, social networks and twitter buzzed with news of a planned revolution on January 25. A facebook group called, "يوم ثورة على التعذيب والفقر والفساد والبطالة" (yom thoura ala al taatheeb wa alfakr wa alfisad wa al bitala- A day of revolution against torture, poverty, corruption, and unemployment) boasted 97,621 members, saying "no to violence, yes to peaceful protest and demanding our rights."
"If you are scared for Egypt, if you want your rights, join us."
The day started eerily quiet. On my drive to school, the streets and university were completely empty. The day continued like this and even by 4 oclock, I had not heard of anything happening in Alexandria, only about protests in Cairo.
However, by 5:30, I got a phone call from Katelyn. "Monica- there are protests coming down Port Said (a street that I live off of that runs throughout the city). Should I go down? Should I check it out?"
5:45 pm
Mae and I go down to Port Said to meet Katelyn. My street had been cordoned off by a police barricade, so Mae and I stood back behind them and watch as hundreds and hundreds of people marched down Port Said. They were carrying Egyptian flags, chanting "حرية! حرية! حرية!" Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!
"ya Mubarek ya Gaban!" "Hey Mubarek, hey you coward!" "inzel! inzel! inzel!" "Step down! Step down!" Men, women, children, old people, young people, Christians, Muslims, veiled women, unveiled women. It was a march of the Egyptian people. A march of a people who were finally saying no to tyranny and demanding the right to live.
So we locked arms and started walking along the sidewalk, following them and eagerly trying to hear their chants. We started to walk up a hill and began to see the crowd that had amassed behind us. Hundreds of people, it seemed never ending. A man in front of us turned around and smiled at us and offered us a potato chip. People were hanging out of their balconies, taking pictures, video taping something that they had never seen before- Egyptians organizing and finally saying no!
After about 10 minutes of walking, we saw a group of people in front of us turn around suddenly and start running. "The police are beating them!" So in a flash, the 3 of us were out of there, running at first but then walking back to my apartment. As we walked down the street, we saw the aman (security) come charging down the street to try and meet up with the protesters. Following them were 15 police vehicles, ready for arrests.
When we got back to my street, the crowd and police were gone. Just a few stragglers discussing what had happened. So we went up to our roof to see if we could see any more, but all we could hear were a few chants. "واحد، اثنين، الشعب المصري فين؟" (wahed, ithnayn, al sh3ab al masri feyn) "One, two, where are the Egyptian people?" (The rhyming is much better in Arabic).
As the night went on, we heard more and more reports of protests throughout the country. One teacher who had been participating in protests all day said that the police started beating them pretty badly and spraying them with tear gas, but the men around her protected her. We heard of one man being beaten to death in Sidi Gaber. 2 friends of mine had been at another protest in Kofr Abdu and reported thousands there as well. In Cairo, we saw pictures Midan Tahrir in the center of town- a reported 50,000 showing up to protest and threatening to stay the night and well into the morning. Mohatet al Raml, Alexandria's down town, had also been flooded with thousands of protesters, tearing down posters of Gamal and Hosni Mubarek.
Their official demands: departure of Hosni Mubarek from office, fixing the deteriorating economic situation that results in poverty, high rates of unemployment, and rising prices, elimination of corruption, political reform, modifying the constitution, and fixing the parliament. In short, they want Mubarek gone, an end to the emergency law, and a serious addressing of the economic crisis.
This morning, rumors are spreading that Gamal and Susan Mubarek had fled the country to London, although the American embassy has denied these claims. The front page of Al Masri Al Yom just reads "انذار" "warning." Underneath is a picture of protesters in Cairo. More rumors that twitter, internet, and facebook have been shut off in certain parts of the country (although not where I am). But as I went to Mohatet al Raml to buy my bus ticket to Israel, it looked as if nothing had happened there the night before. People were going to work, unloading fruit for their fruit stands, getting haircuts, driving taxis. The only remains of the night before were a few ripped posters of Gamal Mubarek.
My friend, Matt, ended his blog post with an appropriate quote.
It's the moment of truth and the moment to lie
The moment to live and the moment to die
The moment to fight, the moment to fight, to fight, to fight, to fight
It's a Brave New World.
Since that day, January 25th has been a national holiday in Egypt called "Police Day," honoring the sacrifice of police officers in the protection of their freedom and country.
However, in the past 59 years, the Egyptian police force has come to symbolize the deterioration of the rule of law in Egypt. A police force that used to represent the people's interests began to honor only the will of the tyrant. And during the 30 year rule of President Hosni Mubarek, the police force has ruthlessly arrested opposition members, beaten and killed activists, and disregarded basic human rights.
So on January 25, 2011, the Egyptian people decided that they had enough. On a holiday meant to honor the police, 80,000 plus Egyptians stood in the face of police and authoritarian tyranny, endured rubber bullets, water hoses, tear gas, and beatings and demanded what is rightfully theirs.
عيش! حرية! كرامة انسانية!
Bread! Freedom! Human Dignity!
Following the Tunisian Revolution, social networks and twitter buzzed with news of a planned revolution on January 25. A facebook group called, "يوم ثورة على التعذيب والفقر والفساد والبطالة" (yom thoura ala al taatheeb wa alfakr wa alfisad wa al bitala- A day of revolution against torture, poverty, corruption, and unemployment) boasted 97,621 members, saying "no to violence, yes to peaceful protest and demanding our rights."
"If you are scared for Egypt, if you want your rights, join us."
The day started eerily quiet. On my drive to school, the streets and university were completely empty. The day continued like this and even by 4 oclock, I had not heard of anything happening in Alexandria, only about protests in Cairo.
However, by 5:30, I got a phone call from Katelyn. "Monica- there are protests coming down Port Said (a street that I live off of that runs throughout the city). Should I go down? Should I check it out?"
5:45 pm
Mae and I go down to Port Said to meet Katelyn. My street had been cordoned off by a police barricade, so Mae and I stood back behind them and watch as hundreds and hundreds of people marched down Port Said. They were carrying Egyptian flags, chanting "حرية! حرية! حرية!" Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!
"ya Mubarek ya Gaban!" "Hey Mubarek, hey you coward!" "inzel! inzel! inzel!" "Step down! Step down!" Men, women, children, old people, young people, Christians, Muslims, veiled women, unveiled women. It was a march of the Egyptian people. A march of a people who were finally saying no to tyranny and demanding the right to live.
So we locked arms and started walking along the sidewalk, following them and eagerly trying to hear their chants. We started to walk up a hill and began to see the crowd that had amassed behind us. Hundreds of people, it seemed never ending. A man in front of us turned around and smiled at us and offered us a potato chip. People were hanging out of their balconies, taking pictures, video taping something that they had never seen before- Egyptians organizing and finally saying no!
After about 10 minutes of walking, we saw a group of people in front of us turn around suddenly and start running. "The police are beating them!" So in a flash, the 3 of us were out of there, running at first but then walking back to my apartment. As we walked down the street, we saw the aman (security) come charging down the street to try and meet up with the protesters. Following them were 15 police vehicles, ready for arrests.
When we got back to my street, the crowd and police were gone. Just a few stragglers discussing what had happened. So we went up to our roof to see if we could see any more, but all we could hear were a few chants. "واحد، اثنين، الشعب المصري فين؟" (wahed, ithnayn, al sh3ab al masri feyn) "One, two, where are the Egyptian people?" (The rhyming is much better in Arabic).
As the night went on, we heard more and more reports of protests throughout the country. One teacher who had been participating in protests all day said that the police started beating them pretty badly and spraying them with tear gas, but the men around her protected her. We heard of one man being beaten to death in Sidi Gaber. 2 friends of mine had been at another protest in Kofr Abdu and reported thousands there as well. In Cairo, we saw pictures Midan Tahrir in the center of town- a reported 50,000 showing up to protest and threatening to stay the night and well into the morning. Mohatet al Raml, Alexandria's down town, had also been flooded with thousands of protesters, tearing down posters of Gamal and Hosni Mubarek.
Their official demands: departure of Hosni Mubarek from office, fixing the deteriorating economic situation that results in poverty, high rates of unemployment, and rising prices, elimination of corruption, political reform, modifying the constitution, and fixing the parliament. In short, they want Mubarek gone, an end to the emergency law, and a serious addressing of the economic crisis.
This morning, rumors are spreading that Gamal and Susan Mubarek had fled the country to London, although the American embassy has denied these claims. The front page of Al Masri Al Yom just reads "انذار" "warning." Underneath is a picture of protesters in Cairo. More rumors that twitter, internet, and facebook have been shut off in certain parts of the country (although not where I am). But as I went to Mohatet al Raml to buy my bus ticket to Israel, it looked as if nothing had happened there the night before. People were going to work, unloading fruit for their fruit stands, getting haircuts, driving taxis. The only remains of the night before were a few ripped posters of Gamal Mubarek.
My friend, Matt, ended his blog post with an appropriate quote.
It's the moment of truth and the moment to lie
The moment to live and the moment to die
The moment to fight, the moment to fight, to fight, to fight, to fight
It's a Brave New World.
Incredible.
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