DAY 6 - TAHRIR JUBILANT
SYNOPSIS: A jubilant day at Tahrir Square with thousands of peaceful demonstrators. Disturbing stories about the treatment of journalists and evidence of government infiltration on the Square.
CRESCENT AND CROSS MADE OF STONES
I almost went to the pyramids today – word was out that they were open again. But then, the pyramids will be here in a hundred or a thousand years and I will just have to come back. Revolutions only happen once. The anarchist had calmed down. I guess, she had heard it enough times that she could not run around telling everyone she was a quasi communist, here to help create chaos. This morning she told us that she works as a dominatrix to earn money for college… I have to hand it to her. She is a colorful woman and quite interesting as long as she keeps her anarchistic claims to herself.
The four of us went to the square but quickly lost sight of each other. Today, many more people were here than yesterday; many more families, women, clergy. The atmosphere was festive and cheerful. There was music, there were chants at the different corners, there was prayer, and relaxation, there were discussions and interviews. Just like yesterday, just more of it.
It was crowded in the late morning, but by late afternoon, the square was packed. Near the stages which lead the main chants, people were squeezed together and moving as a single block, pushed this way or that – not my kind of thing. I got out of that fast and over to the quieter parts of Tahrir. No pro-Mubarak people were in sight today. The square was accessible from all sides for the protesters without having to fear any clashes. Today, an ecumenical prayer was expected between the clergy of the Coptic church and Muslim leaders. None of us found it, but Temaris and Michalis found one of the Coptic clergy men to verify that the prayer had taken place. A reminder was left in stone. It was touching to see all the stone piles from days before were transformed today into writing. There were political slogans, hearts, and the sign of the Islamic crescent moon and the Christian cross.
What plagues the people here more than anything is that there are divisions that prevent them from acting as one people as the people of Tunisia were able to do. Today’s prayer was a symbolic way to bridge the actual or perceived gap between Church and Mosque. The greater divide is between the contra and pro-Mubarak groups. That divide is most significant and might ultimately lead to the failure of this revolution.
But worst of all is the increased activity of what I would have called the Stasi, or the secret police. It was apparent already yesterday, that there are men walking around who don’t seem to photograph any demonstrators, or signs, or friends, but who whip up their camera shooting every foreigner in sight and any Egyptian activist talking to foreigners. One confirmed tactic is to involve foreigners in conversations and make them say things on camera that can be edited, turned around, and used against them. Who knows where these photos and videos will show up some day…
SHEMA
Shema, the young activist, whom we met yesterday exhausted but in relatively good spirits, was a wreck today. She is fully aware of the fact that her face is associated in a leading role with this movement. She knows that the Egyptian press has deserted them. In fact, we were told that the government channel comes to the square in the early morning hours, when there are only a few people left. They film the square and present this picture all day as current news across the country. They spread rumors about foreign spies and about payments by the west to bribe people in the square. We saw on TV yesterday, that “dozens” of protesters were still there where in reality there were likely a couple of thousand. Today, a couple thousands of people were acknowledged where the reality was that there was standing room only… But let’s face it: Who really is in a position to accurately count? Each side will either up- or down-play the numbers according to their agenda; nothing new about that. I really have no idea how many people were there yesterday or at any time.
Shema also realizes how little the western world cares about Egyptians like her. In a statement yesterday and on her sign today, she categorically said: Europeans and Americans have lost every bit of credibility in the Egyptian street! I can’t blame her. She is echoing the sentiment of thousands. I am not able to follow foreign news enough, but what filters through is that Obama and Clinton are taking sides with the current prime minister. That is a direct blow into the face of the demonstrators. I know the west is concerned about the Suez Canal and the stability with Israel. But this would only be in danger if the Egyptians are taken over by Islamists such as the Muslim Brotherhood. You may differ with me on this, but the declaration of the Brotherhood not to be interested in exercising political power is meaningless and to belittle the Brotherhood as an insignificant religious force is naïve. The Egyptians in the square fully realize this. And from what I can tell, none of the protesters would choose the Brotherhood as a political partner. You should have seen the vehemence in which some of them addressed this issue; one woman in particular.
Why is there not more support for an Egypt without Mubarak and without the Brotherhood? That Egypt likely would honor all the contracts it made with the west and be by far more democratic than the current regime. Egyptians are a lot more liberal already than some of the other Middle Eastern countries from what I can tell. There is no comparison to Saudi Arabi or Iran. But if this movement loses momentum and is silenced, then there might be that famously feared vacuum into which the Brotherhood might step. I am not a political analyst and I really should shut up about this. But what I am conveying here is how the Egyptian people feel and how you begin to feel with them, right here, when you are in the middle of it: Utterly abandoned and betrayed. That is not a good start for any new direction. Where are the people who supposedly care so much about democracy when you need them?!
But worst of all: If this movement fails there will be bloodshed and the Shemas of Egypt will die without anyone blinking an eye in the West. After all, Mubarak has killed more than a few protesters before. I am sorry, if this sounds frustrated. To see these brave, young and old, rich and poor people risk their lives and to know how vulnerable they are is heartbreaking!
You may hear more on the news than I do, but I talked to various foreign reporters on the square today. Their first-hand accounts are hair-raising and for their protection I will not mention specifics; but we are talking about huge networks here! One news crew came in and had to bribe the border police with $1600 to keep their gear! A reporter from a different network slipped in with the first crew and got lucky. Other reporters are roaming the square with less of a camera than I have because they lost everything and had to buy a camera at the next best store! Two European reporters were framed by the Secret Police in making joke statements – the joke however was edited out and what remained led to deportation. Two American reporters were jailed overnight at an institution that obviously exercised torture. Even though they were released unharmed the next morning they had to listen to screams all night. How does this government get away with this? The list goes on. I am very lucky that I am not associated with the media but then I might have been lucky just because? I hope my luck is not running out!
All of these incidents do not indicate that Mubarak is giving up power or is changing any of his tactics; quite the contrary. But at least today and for one more day on the square, people were out, some of them for the first time, singing and chanting, smiling and flashing victory signs. Perhaps, there will be many more of these days; but perhaps, not. I could not help by think of the uprisings of 1953 in East Germany, 1956 in Hungary, or 1968 in Czechoslovakia which all ended in blood-shed. It brought me to tears to think that all of this might be in vain.
P.S. I had no internet for 12 hours - I am sorry for the delay. ET