Well folks - it's been about a week...not a whole lot has changed. My plans for a trip to Alexandria got ruined a third time - but it turned out ok. The day I found out I couldn't go because I had to start RA training the next day - was the day my roommate surprised me by coming back 2 weeks early. So it was a nice surprise and was all good.
Today has been CRAZY. The protests have begun in Egypt. The people are protesting in Cairo (multiple places - at least 5- Tahrir, Mohandaseen, Dokki, Shoubra and a couple others I can't remember). They are also protesting in Aswan, Alexandria, Tanta, Suez, Ismailia, Marsa Matrouh and many other cities today.
In Cairo - official numbers have been very hard to come by. I've heard Tahrir Square (The center of downtown Cairo) had anywhere between 20-50 thousand people today.... from the pictures I can't tell - but it is thousands and thousands of people...and they're shouting and chanting and yelling all day and it's 11pm and the live video feeds I'm seeing they are NOT stopping.
They are yelling "Down Down Hosni Mubarak" and "Like a volcano we'll burn you Mubarak you coward" and "Saudi awaits you too Mubarak". The latter is a reference to the Tunisian president who fled the country to take refuge in Saudi. The protests which started as early as 11am today have been peaceful. There was a video I saw of one Egyptian youth going toe-to-toe with a GIANT police tank armed with a powerful water hose... He stood in front of it and grabbed the hose and pointed it in the air as the truck moved slowly forward pushing him with it.
I saw pictures of women handing flowers to the police (Something that reminded me a lot of the Tienanmen Square protests in China years back.)
2 youth are now dead in the Egyptian city of Suez in the north. Reports are still hard to decipher I've heard live ammunition was used and I've heard rubber bullets to the head were the cause - but either way - 2 protesters have lost their lives. Allah yer7amha.
And one policeman has died too in a rare event in Tahrir when one protester threw a rock that hit him in the head. Allah yer7hamha.
The Egyptian government has tried to block cell service in Tahrir and they've managed to block Twitter and rumors are flying that they are trying to block facebook - but so far it's still working.... we shall see.
It is sad to see people losing their lives. But the people are putting their lives at risk to protest what they see as unfair and unjust and they want change. 140 people (or maybe more) died in Tunisia to see the ousting of their government and the people of Egypt are ready to do the same. Many of the protesters were heard chanting "Tunisian, Tunisia" today as well.
I did not leave my dorms all day - and the protesters are camping out in Tahrir and other cities tonight so we will see if I leave my dorms tomorrow or not.
Hassan is in Alexandria and will be traveling by train tomorrow - so keep my little brother in your prayers that he makes it safely back home as well.
This is some information if you want to follow the protests:
Reuters:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE70O3UW20110125?pageNumber=3
Protest Organizers facebook pages:
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/elshaheeed.co.uk
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/event.php?eid=115372325200575&index=1
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