This series of blog posts tells the story of the Jan. 25th revolution through the eyes of two young Egyptian women who are political activists. I have changed both of their names to protect their privacy, but the stories below are from our conversations over the two weeks I spent in Egypt training local activists on political organizing.
A Fulfilling Dinner
After a week of working with dedicated political rabble-rousers and loyal party activists, I had the opportunity to have dinner with two brave women who protested in the bloody Jan. 28th Friday demonstrations. As I greeted them for dinner, both women wore veils, long sleeved shirts and blue jeans. Both were educated at university, speak English, and are dedicated to see a safe transition of power from the interim military council to the soon-to-be-elected People’s Assembly and president. Throughout our meetings Narrah and Ratima described the events leading up to the protests, the Egyptian public’s reaction, and the militant action by the Mubarak government. Over the years, politically aware youth received many calls to action against the Mubarak government by their peers, however none of these movements resulted in a change of government. In my journey to understand the differences of past political protests and the Jan. 25th revolution, both Narrah and Ratima shared the following stories to illustrate the uniquely Egyptian success of the Jan. 25th protests.
Leading up to the beginning of 2011, Facebook groups “We are all Khalid Said” and the “April 6th Movement” began to call for protests against the dictatorship regime of Hosini Mubarak. Many Egyptians, and especially older citizens, did not initially join the protests organized by the youth activists. In fact, many young people did not join the first few days for fear or retribution. Having seen others protest before and pay dearly for their actions, many non-political, middle-aged Egyptians didn’t want to engage in these protests and risk harm coming to them or their families. So what made Jan. 25th different? Why did mainstream Egyptians decided to stand up for freedom now? These questions running through my head as these two women began to explain the days leading up to Egypt’s revolution.
Jan. 25th
Thousands of Egyptians go into the streets protesting the authoritarian regime of Hosini Mubarak. The state-sponsored Egyptian press does not cover the protests, downplaying the numbers of attendees and the violent response of the government. According to Narrah and Ratima, the only two outlets to report accurate numbers and the military’s violent actions were Al Arabiya and Al Jazeera . Both women (Narrah and Ratima) praise the networks for their bravery in showing footage of protests and encouraging others to join. The women agreed that if it weren’t for Al Jazeera’s and Al Arabiya’s honest coverage of the revolution in Tunisia , the Egyptian revolution wouldn’t have happened. On Jan. 25th youth who weren’t protesting began to plan for action on Jan. 26th and most importantly Jan. 28th, the date Narrah would later call “Bloody Friday.”
As Friday approached, more and more Egyptians were horrified at the police and military’s violent response to peaceful protesting Egyptian citizens. Again, government-owned news outlets still refused to cover the protests accurately, and in many cases didn’t report on them at all. As day turned into night on Jan. 25th it was clear to the Egyptians not protesting that the government’s actions against the protesters could not be ignored. The government proved to be their own worst enemy as they provoked many Egyptians to join.
Jan. 26th
Now tens of thousands Egyptians join the protests in the streets, specifically in Mahalla (a town famous for the April 6th protests) and Cairo. As the crowds grow, the Egyptian government decides to turn off all internet and cell phone networks the evening of Jan. 27th. Before the government is able to shut down all wireless services, organizers finalized and disseminated their plan for Jan. 28th, now known as the “Friday of Anger” or “Bloody Friday,” to thousands of Egyptian youth.
A list of hundreds of mosques where protesters planned to meet was posted on internet sites, Facebook pages, and Twitter feeds. This list was the key to organizing non-politically active people in Egypt on Jan. 28th; as it is custom for all Muslims secular and devout to pray the Jumu'ah or Friday prayer. Understanding the importance of the mosque and ritual of Friday prayer, allowed organizers to mobilize millions of Egyptians. From the mosques listed, citizens would march to Tahrir Square (or their city’s main square) after the Friday prayer.
While the evolution of the protests are very complex it is important to reiterate that it was the youth who organized online: posting on forums, discussion boards, blogs, Facebook pages, and Twitter feeds, the plan to march from neighborhood mosques supportive of the cause to the city’s center.