Yesterday was like any day for me. I did not anticipate the significance of February 11. I woke up and contemplated how I will get to Tahrir square. One of the main considerations is whether it will be safe to go or not? And, it did not seem that safe. People in Tahrir did not accept the speech by the President and wanted to march to the President's palace. At home, people were very confused and went back to the old thinking that what Mubarak said seemed good enough. I certainly sat there and wished to be among the ones that believed in the revolution and did not change their mind with speeches. For safety and considering that I am foreigner; I had to do other things.
I went to coffee beans in Zamalek to have a Chai Latte. I was among the super classy people who were confused by the revolution and just wanted life to go back to normal. One friend of a friend started a conversation with me. I checked first that they wouldnt get offended if I express my clear support of the revolution as a foreigner. They seemed fine with my opinion and choose to give me their view of the revolution. In sum, people in Tahrir need to go home, Mubarak should not resign since the country will be in chaos, and we need to remember Mubarak's accomplishment of safety and economic openess. Plus the main fear is that if Mubarak resigns the Military takes over then we are all in trouble. I argued a little but it did not exactly work so I went with "you are young, you should dream a little, and consider the revolutionary ideas that are meant to change the Arab world".
We were off to eat at an American chain resturaunt called Chilli's, and as I walked in people started clapping! I check real quick and there it was MUBARAK RESIGNS! I started up and down, and asked the people at the resturaunt "are you happy? is that why you were clapping?". They were happy! It was a bit surprising for me in light of coffee beans and the previous conversation.
I almost ran to Tahrir. We danced and sang for hours! We chanted "you can now lift your head up since you are Egyptian". Pride and dignity were restored for the Egyptian people. There it was too people remembered the rest of the Arab world and Arab unity. That is all I wanted for the evening. I wanted the sense of Arab unity to be reborn.
Today was another celebratory day. We started it by going to Tahrir but this time to clean. By the time I got there, everything was cleaned up, pavements were painted, and people were celebrating. I got handed a really great flyer "change is not just political but invovles social/moral change as well". Some of the items it called for are vowing to 1) no longer bribe the police, 2) not harras or bother girls on the street, 3) not to throw trash in the street, etc...
The conversations were celebratory and honorary of this great revolution. We all remembered the martyers. It was a bit difficult to discuss what will happen next, since it is a beggining to an end.
I went to coffee beans in Zamalek to have a Chai Latte. I was among the super classy people who were confused by the revolution and just wanted life to go back to normal. One friend of a friend started a conversation with me. I checked first that they wouldnt get offended if I express my clear support of the revolution as a foreigner. They seemed fine with my opinion and choose to give me their view of the revolution. In sum, people in Tahrir need to go home, Mubarak should not resign since the country will be in chaos, and we need to remember Mubarak's accomplishment of safety and economic openess. Plus the main fear is that if Mubarak resigns the Military takes over then we are all in trouble. I argued a little but it did not exactly work so I went with "you are young, you should dream a little, and consider the revolutionary ideas that are meant to change the Arab world".
We were off to eat at an American chain resturaunt called Chilli's, and as I walked in people started clapping! I check real quick and there it was MUBARAK RESIGNS! I started up and down, and asked the people at the resturaunt "are you happy? is that why you were clapping?". They were happy! It was a bit surprising for me in light of coffee beans and the previous conversation.
I almost ran to Tahrir. We danced and sang for hours! We chanted "you can now lift your head up since you are Egyptian". Pride and dignity were restored for the Egyptian people. There it was too people remembered the rest of the Arab world and Arab unity. That is all I wanted for the evening. I wanted the sense of Arab unity to be reborn.
Today was another celebratory day. We started it by going to Tahrir but this time to clean. By the time I got there, everything was cleaned up, pavements were painted, and people were celebrating. I got handed a really great flyer "change is not just political but invovles social/moral change as well". Some of the items it called for are vowing to 1) no longer bribe the police, 2) not harras or bother girls on the street, 3) not to throw trash in the street, etc...
The conversations were celebratory and honorary of this great revolution. We all remembered the martyers. It was a bit difficult to discuss what will happen next, since it is a beggining to an end.
No comments:
Post a Comment