Cairo Burning
Storming 15th of May Bridge – Jan 28, Cairo, Egypt.
As I type this, a curfew is underway in Cairo. Protesters continue in the streets, undeterred, shouting “Al-shaab yureed asqat al-nizaam” (The people want the government toppled). The internet is completely cut off all over Egypt, as well as mobile phone networks, making it nearly impossible to communicate. The situation over the last days was precipitated by the Muslim Brotherhood’s declaration of support for the protests and Mohamed El-Baradei’s return to Egypt (he is now under house arrest). I took an early morning trip to Midan Tahrir at 8:45 am, the site of Tuesday’s protest and the symbol of this uprising. The square was more or less empty until 9:15am, when 16 Central Security Forces Trucks pulled in, along with 3 armored cars with water cannons, and another armored car with gun slots. I returned to Agouza without incident, speaking to my taxi driver about recent events. I asked him whether he supported the protests, and whether he thought today would be big. “Yes, it will be huge! People will come out all over Egypt. I will go to protest too, in Zeitouna.” Crossing the street to go home, I saw another 10 security trucks and a few more tanks roll past. The local bakery boys also said they were heading to Tahrir, and the man in the barbershop informed me that Futuh Mosque, Al-Azhar Mosque, a mosque in Dokki and another large local mosque were sending groups to the protests. “I would have joined them if they invited me, but it’s mostly young people who are going.” Commentators and news channels call this a youth-led movement, which of course it is, but this designation obscures the fact that is indeed a majority movement in a country with a very young population – the median age in Egypt is 24.
At around 2 pm we headed around the corner to see if anything was happening. Everything was quiet, but the bridge we normally walk across was blocked with riot police. We walked up the ramp towards them, but as we approached, they shooed us away. It seemed strange, since the street behind us was absolutely empty. As we turned around, though, a massive, screaming crowd was approaching from Gamaat al-Dowal Street, one of the main shopping areas and transit arteries of Cairo. The flow of people continued for ten minutes. We sprinted down the bridge so as not to get caught between protesters and police. The protesters were energized, and seemed determined not to leave the streets no matter what the situation. There were women, children, and people from all classes, prepared with surgical masks, sunglasses and scarves. A little girl held up a sign saying “justice, freedom, respect, life.” As the crowd approached the bridge, the police began firing tear gas. Over the next two hours we watched from about 200 m away from the riot police as the crowd surged forward in an attempt to cross the blockade and get to Tahrir, only to be thwarted with tear gas, returned bleary eyed and unable to breathe. People were crying, coughing, collapsing on cars and on the ground, staggering about unable to see, red-eyed. Loads of them came up and talked to us, screaming “sawwar! sawwar!” – Take pictures of us and send them abroad!- some of them launching into diatribes, telling us why Mubarak was awful and they hated him. There was a great sense of solidarity with people handing out tissues, water, and vinegar to soak cloths and scarves and provide temporary protection against the gas. A few people were carried aside, injured. Some left to try to get downtown via a different bridge. As an armored truck drove by at full speed, protesters screamed and threw water bottles at it. After it left, they cheered loudly and began chanting slogans again, calling for Mubarak to get out of Egypt. After a few more attempts, tire fires were started and flaming projectiles were thrown back and forth between protesters and police, blackening the air. Moments later, security trucks arrived from Gammat al Dowal, firing tear gas. The crowd had nowhere to run from the gas and scattered to side streets in panic, which is when we returned home. Watching from our balcony, we saw locals lowering baskets with water and vinegar to help protesters. A little while later, a large crowd came down our small side street, chanting loudly, rolling tires and collecting dry paper.
At a press conference today, Hillary Clinton, called again for restraint on both sides, respect for universal human rights in Egypt, and, in a reversal from her previous statement, called upon the government, rather than Mubarak, to institute reforms for social, economic and political justice, and made no mention of Mubarak in her speech. The US is clearly positioning itself for every possible outcome, but has yet to withdraw its support from Mubarak, a key ally/puppet of the US in the Middle East.
CNN and NileSat are currently showing shots from downtown. The army has arrived on the scene, but has received a warm welcome from the protesters. Tear gas fills the air everywhere – it’s even difficult to breathe on my balcony. Rubber bullets and real bullets are being fired. Protesters are all over, breaking out in symbolic areas like downtown but also in sha’abi or popular neighbourhoods. As I saw earlier, the police have cut off all bridges, forming a virtual cordon of downtown, so that protesters cannot gain a critical mass in one area. Nevertheless, I’m sure the protests will continue. They’ve reached a head in Suez already, and today the protesters set the NDP ruling party headquarters in Cairo on fire as well. Mubarak’s planned speech was meant to start an hour ago, but is still to be aired. Meanwhile, surprisingly, state sponsored Nile TV plays footage of the protests, showing extreme police brutality and huge masses of people all over Egypt in Cairo, Suez, and Alexandria. I wonder if the Suez canal trade will be affected. Just a few minutes ago, the curfew was extended from these three cities to a nationwide curfew. Let’s see what the next few days bring.
Jan 29, 2011, Agouza, Cairo
At around 4:20 am I was woken up by sound bombs and the sounds of tear gas and bullets being fired. Mubarak finally gave a speech, “as an Egyptian, not as President” and vowed to protect Egypt and guarantee the security of the country and its citizens. He asked the government to resign and pledged to appoint a new government by Saturday. Obama reaffirmed the US commitment to Egypt, noting that Mubarak should take steps to democratize his government, saying “all governments must maintain power through consent.” This utterly disregards the illegitimacy of the Mubarak regime, seeking to prolong the status quo of heavy US influence in Egyptian policymaking, and also brushes aside the fact that were there to be a measure of consent, Mubarak would never be in power. As the internet and mobile communication channels continue to be blocked, Mubarak emphasized his support for individual freedoms. Of course this is upsetting to Egyptians, whose main demand is the fall of the regime and the fall of Mubarak. Should he be pushed out of office, which now looks like a real possibility, the next ruling government will remember the US’s lack of support for their struggle and its support for Mubarak. Egyptian state news reports that “protesters attack and clash with police forces,” rather than explaining that the police instigate violence by firing tear gas and rubber bullets and charging peaceful crowds. Footage from downtown bridges now shows normal scenes, but the NDP headquarters are still burning. Troops are stationed outside the foreign ministry and state TV and radio offices. 10:30am – mobile network back but still no net. Just walked around my area, which was the site of a battle between police and protesters yesterday afternoon and night. Shop windows are smashed in – the Samsung store is missing all its electronics. The local alcohol shop is completely destroyed; tires still burning in the streets. Remnants of Molotov cocktails are scattered all over, along with empty tear gas canisters – Riot gas, made in Jamestown, PA. The streets are being cleaned fast, though, and traffic continues, while a few shops are boarding up their fronts. The statue in Midan Sphinx has been graffiti’d, and now reads: “we want Mubarak out.” Slogans painted on the side of 15th of May bridge say “Irhal, Irhal Mubarak” – “Get out, get out, Mubarak.” Two army helicopters flew by overhead.
An Egyptian political activist friend told us that machine guns fired on the crowd in Tahrir last night, killing a lot of people. News reports say 35, with 10 policemen among them, but I suspect the number is much higher. Apparently all flights in and out of Egypt have been cancelled for the last 12 hours, and this is likely to continue. A source at the US embassy says that cell phones will be down again in about an hour and a half (1:20pm now). My neighbours say: “today won’t be violent. The Army officials are good, they respect the people, not like the police.” Some think there won’t be more protests today, but a friend downtown, Samy, already reported a march from Ramsis to Tahrir at around 12pm, and some other people from my area are heading to Tahrir again today. Apparently Samy also saw banks being looted. The situation downtown is grim; the Egyptian museum is dangerously close to the burning NDP building, and military tanks are rolling around with guns at the ready. Eyewitnesses report live fire in Alexandria as well, and the military has warned that anyone violating the curfew (4pm to 7am) will face danger.
State TV continues its broadcast of “unifying advertisements” (Be in Peace, Egypt) and propaganda. An NDP member, Professor Maged Boutrous on BBC speaks about “mob violence, terrorism, and looting” and calls this destabilizing of Egypt “unacceptable” and that “we have the highest freedom of expression in the Middle East.” This government reaction, shifting blame to the protesters and depicting them as a chaotic, destructive mob that is terrorizing society, is entirely untrue. Though looting is indeed taking place in sporadic instances, most of the protests are focused and peaceful. Boutrous continues, “who says that the president imposes himself on the people?” And that Mubarak is a legitimate leader elected by the people. Meanwhile, approximately 50,000 protesters have gathered in Tahrir, despite the curfew. State media only shows the looting, but streets are filled with protesters, all ignoring the curfew. A BBC reporter in Tahrir square notes that the army and protesters are chatting, getting along; people are organizing into groups to clean the area and make sure buildings are not damaged. Simultaneously, there are firefights at the ministry of interior since protesters have been trying to charge it all day.
We are mostly cut off from information – though we have BBC and CNN, whose cameras have been attacked and confiscated, and have limited footage, and Nile sat, the state propaganda channel, with more footage. The situation is slightly better since we have mobile networks now; still, it’s almost impossible to tell what’s going on. My roommate, who just returned from Tahrir, told us that people were carrying an army general, that the mood downtown was friendly and kind, extremely peaceful and that people had formed a human chain around the Egyptian museum to protect it. The army stated that they would not fire on the Egyptian public under any circumstances, no matter what Mubarak’s orders were. The NDP headquarters are still on fire, and it is highly unlikely that they will. People are giving army personnel flowers, making signs on top of burned out cars and trucks, and peacefully standing in the square. Trouble usually starts after dark, though, and I expect the mood to change after the sun goes down. I can still hear tear gas being fired, but I don’t know where it is.
5:21pm – The curfew has been in place for over an hour. I just looked out the window to see a huge group of men running with large sticks. Pete thinks they are looting but they say they’re here for “aman” (security). I can even see a guy holding a sword. People are standing outside their buildings with sticks, protecting them. Our neighbours have armed themselves with knives to protect themselves from “harameyyas.” We’ve been told to close our shutters and windows, barricade them, and arm ourselves. Tahrir may be peaceful but I just spoke to another friend of mine in Bab-al Louq, who told me that live ammunition and rubber bullets were being fired in Midan Falaki, and that the rest of downtown was “crazy,” with continued tear gassing and clashes with police. People are arming themselves with whatever they can get their hands on and going towards the interior ministry.
5:59pm – Just read that the cabinet has formally resigned and Omar Suleiman (chief of intelligence) has been appointed VP – the first time there has been a vice president in 30 years. Official death toll at 38.
6:09 pm – Just ran to the window after I heard screaming. Our local “security patrol” has a gun and several large sticks. Our building has just been chained up.
8 pm – I hear gunshots outside. Our local protection now has nunchucks and Molotov cocktails. Widespread reports of looting and muggings are on tv. My Egyptian friend Samy called again to warn me not to go outside, because of “baltaggeyaa” (thugs) robbing people at knife and gunpoint. The men downstairs just fired a warning gunshot into the air.
8:40 pm – Watching reports of Egyptian Museum lootings. Still hearing sporadic gunshots, probably from Gamaat Al-Dowal Street, where I’ve been informed clashes are underway in Midan Mustafa Mahmoud. Incidentally, this was also the site of a police massacre of Sudanese refugees in 2005. After the UNHCR stopped providing services to Sudanese refugees post-peace agreement, they camped out in Midan Mustafa Mahmoud for a few days. The police showed up to disperse the crowd, who refused to leave, and over 30 Sudanese refugees were gunned down. An Egyptian friend who is a political activist reports that Mubarak has killed all political prisoners and freed petty thieves, with orders to wreak havoc; we don’t know if this is conjecture or truth.
8:55 pm - We hear screaming outside and run to the window. Molotov cocktail guy has his lighter at the ready. Another man has emerged with a shotgun. The noise dies down, but the guys seem tense and ready to fight if need be.
1 am – Have watched a few charges downstairs and a few false starts. The guys are taking a tea break but still ready. We barricade our doors with a sofa and head to bed. We are not too worried about people breaking in to our apartment, but prepare ourselves for the worst. Pete has a knife, mace and a torch, and I have mace and a glass bottle.
January 30, 2011
Woke up to the sound of army helicopters overhead. Our roommate slept at the Marriot overlooking downtown and said that things looked much quieter last night. The reports of prisoners out and about were confirmed on the news. Brilliant tactical move from Mubarak, fomenting violence and instilling fear so that he can provide security and stability and may be welcomed back again. Our network of friends and acquaintances has confirmed violence in Maadi, Mohandiseen, and Heliopolis, meaning clashes between police and protesters continue. My friend in Bab al-Louq was woken up by machine gun fire. The state media offices are heavily guarded by armed forces – the last bastion of the production of hegemony. This won’t end until Mubarak steps down.
11:25 am – Just returned from a trip to the grocery store to buy supplies. Prices in convenience stores have already gone up. People are leaving with suitcases. The streets are eerily empty. C-Mart has whitewashed its glass windows; loads of people were inside buying in large quantities. My makwagi lady told me to go home, lock the doors, and not open them for anyone. Around the corner on Gamaat al-dowal, two army tanks were set up in the middle of the road and soldiers were standing around with guns. I sneakily took a picture from afar.
1 pm – Received a call from a friend notifying us that the US embassy is evacuating non-essential personnel and urges all US citizens to leave Egypt. The embassy is arranging for flights for US citizens to leave the country. Bab-al-Louq friends tell me they are hanging out in Tahrir where protests continue but things are peaceful. The military is still all over the streets there, which is probably guaranteeing safety, at least before curfew is on.
3pm – The water supply in Zamalek was just cut off. Luckily we filled all empty bottles in the house. Just to be on the safe side we fill up all our dishes and a large bucket.
3:49 pm – I hear deafening noise outside – 2 F16 army jets are flying over the city. A CNN headline says: “Israel concerned about 1979 treaty.” I was talking to my roommate about this last night, because I knew that Israel would be very worried about the Rafah border/Gaza and of course generally about instability here. I would really not be surprised if they tried to get involved in the mix in some way or seized the opportunity to meddle.
4:45pm – The curfew has been on for 45 minutes now but people are still out and about. Apparently soldiers are firing on some streets.
5:09 pm – The local defense group has blockaded our street with garbage cans and steel rods. A helicopter is circling above.
7:11pm – ElBaradei is in Tahrir Square amongst the protesters and will address them soon. The Muslim Brotherhood has backed him to negotiate with the current government. Earlier, in conversation with CNN, he said about Mubarak: “If he has an iota of patriotism in him, I advise him to leave today and save the country.” State TV showed Mubarak and the new VP at a military conference.
8:48 pm – CNN loops images of Mubarak in a huddle with the army. He looks young for an 82 year old. I can’t help but think about whether he’s had botox. Sure looks like it. CNN’s social media analyst, Mohammed Jamjoom, shows a tweet with dates of revolts planned in Sudan, Jordan, Yemen and Syria. Protesters have already gathered outside the University in Khartoum. Things are already a hot mess in Sudan. I hope nothing gets ugly with Omar Bashir. I just peeked outside the window and there are far fewer men defending out neighbourhood than last night, but I still see a few guys sharpening sticks with knives. A friend reports that the 15th of May bridge is blockaded, which is maybe why I can’t see anyone – perhaps they decided to focus on strategic checkpoints.
9 pm – Just heard a huge amount of gunfire. I can also hear planes and helicopters flying overhead.
10:30 pm – Our friend calls to say he is leaving tomorrow for Istanbul. We have a cat to consider as well, but are starting to think about leaving in case things get worse. I have a feeling that Mubarak will step down soon – I wonder: How can he not? The curfew has been extended until Monday, but no one is obeying it anyway.
10:55pm - State TV shows a lineup of “criminals” or “people doing negative things.” It seems sketchy at best. It also shows protesters who were arrested with knives or Molotov cocktails. Ridiculous.
11:15 pm – I hear screaming outside. The local vigilantes have started a fire and are sitting around warming their hands and making burnable devices of some sort. The mood is much calmer than it was yesterday. Someone downstairs has handed out white tape – people have fashioned armbands so we know who is guarding us.
31 January 2011
10 am – Nothing new is on the news. We take a walk around the neighbourhood. Army trucks still posted on Gamaat al-Dowal. Traffic is normal though. I drag Pete to Coffee Bean in Zamalek; I have to get out after being cooped up for so long. I hear a rumour that the internet will be back on today.
11 am - After talking to a friend downtown we decide to go see Tahrir and take a cab to Qasr al-Aini Bridge. Debris and litter is all over, but on the bridge, a few citizens are cleaning up and directing traffic. People stop to talk photos of them. It looks like families are going to visit Tahrir, people have kids and cameras in hand. At the Tahrir side of the bridge, an army checkpoint is checking people’s ID’s. Burned out vehicles are visible around. The Mugamma is shut. A few hundred people are still chanting in Tahrir and holding up signs and the crowd appears to be growing. The chants are all anti-Mubarak now, and no longer just focused on the regime. An injured and bandaged man holds up a sign that reads: “Mubarak – you are the cause of the deaths yesterday.” Tourists and news personnel come into the square; a helicopter circles repeatedly above.
12:15 pm - We walk towards the 6th of October bridge, which is towards the State media office, passing the burned out NDP building. More tanks are stationed under the bridge in Tahrir near the bus depot. This is the first time I’ve seen an army tank in real life. One side of the steps up to the bridge is guarded by a soldier. We get up on the bridge and see more tanks and guards around the media office, as well as a tank on the bridge next to a burned out police truck. We walk all the way back to Agouza. The police have returned to the streets, but they are mostly older and high ranking police; we can’t see any young police officers anywhere. Everyone thinks there will be more demonstrations tomorrow. The US Embassy personnel and AUC study abroad students are leaving. The curfew has been moved up to 3pm today. There is a huge line of people outside the bakery.
1:45 pm – A friend tells me that there are more people in Tahrir today than there were yesterday. The line outside the bakery has swelled and people are yelling. Roommate reports people buying huge supplies of rice and sugar at CMart.
9 pm – More and more countries are evacuating their citizens. It seems pointless to go to the airport now, though. The boys outside have started small fires but don’t seem too worried and spent most of their post-curfew time playing football. It’s a huge contrast to Saturday night, which was actually kind of scary. Tomorrow is the “million man” march. Tired of watching the news constantly and hoping that tomorrow will bring some positive changes. Oil prices are rising already. The Sudanese protests have increased in intensity.
1st February 2011
People have already gathered in Tahrir Square as of 9am. We saw some people carrying sleeping bags with them yesterday; I heard lots of people slept over. Today people are meant to storm the presidential palace.
10:50am – We leave our house and walk out across 6th of October bridge. People have set up blockades all over our area – chairs, trash cans, sticks, even an entire cut down tree.
1 pm - People are flooding into Tahrir Square. We enter through the Qasr al-Aini Bridge and pass an army checkpoint. Volunteers are checking ID’s and badges. The Ikhwan are very visible today. We spend the next 2 hours in the square, watching screaming protesters with creative slogans and posters proclaiming their demands. There were women, children, families, hijabis, niqabis, muslims, Christians – it was clear that people from every section of society had come out, even more so than before. The presence of families and children was significant, indicating that they felt safe in some measure, and also that they felt it important enough to participate. Soon, a large portion of the crowd spread out their posters as prayer mats and began to pray. For a brief moment after prayers, chants of “Allahu Akbar” and “La Allah Illa Allah” began, but were soon replaced with secular anti-Mubarak protests. As a helicopter started circling lower and lower, people turned towards it as one, screaming “Irhal, Irhal, Irhal…” (Get out). We didn’t feel unsafe; people were laughing, joking, holding up protests signs and chatting with each other. I felt incredibly touched by the solidarity in the square. As the curfew approached and the crowd grew, we began to leave. At the entrance, a volunteer was screaming “Muzahara Silmeyya!” (Peaceful protests!) On Qasr al-Nil bridge, people kept flowing in, holding posters and leading small groups of chants.
The streets in Zamalek and Agouza were almost empty. Shops in Zamalek remained closed, and we saw a few young women cleaning up the streets to help out.
A neighbor stopped us to ask “Do you still feel safe in Egypt?” and to warn us that going downtown could be dangerous. She said that she supported the protesters but that she didn’t think Mubarak was all bad or all good but that he had done some good things for this country during his 30 years in power and that she “respected him like a father.” Her mother and her invited us in for supper and gave us their phone number in case we needed anything. The local gazmagi expressed similar reservations about the security situation and hoped that things would change soon. A manager for Al-Ahram newspaper who lives downstairs seemed upset at the situation and was concerned for his wife and children. He said that people were planning to go out after prayers on Friday, get everyone from house to house, and proceed to the presidential palace. The neighbours are happy about the changes but remain worried about the availability of food and local security, and are unsure that the situation will change significantly anytime soon.
2:50 – Marouf Al-Bakhit has been appointed the new prime minister of Jordan. King Abdallah has just dissolved his parliament and appointed a new one. Discontent spreads in the Middle East.
6:08pm – The “vigilante” group downstairs is gathered around a fire. It’s just some young kids and teenagers. They’ll probably remember this as an awesome time where they sat around fires and were able to play football in the traffic-free streets. Some of my best memories in India are during the 1992 curfew after the Babri Masjid riots – no school for two weeks, plenty of freedom to play. Pete’s mom calls from Poland to say that Egyptians are no longer selling tourists food in Hurghada. Food supplies here are running out as businesses remain shut for a few days and stores have started rationing out food. The economy is obviously tanking very quickly without tourism revenue and business operations. I can still hear helicopters overhead. A BBC reporter just suggested to a protester that he could “get rid of [Mubarak] through the ballot box” in September. If that were possible with free and fair elections, Egyptians would hardly be protesting in the streets.
9 pm – The state department calls to tell me evacuation is mandatory. We arrange for a commercial flight to Poland with Glue on the 3rd. Mubarak speaks later that night and says that he will not step down until the next elections. Protesters turn violent in Alexandria. At around 11pm we hear a ton of gunfire. There is a protest at Mustafa Mahmoud Square on Gamaat al-dowal.
2 February
The deadlock continues. 11:10 am – Vodaphone sends two text messages – The first thanking every mother, father, brother, sister, and all honest citizens protecting the country. The second one says “The armed forces are protecting your safety and peace and will not resort to the use of force against this wonderful population.” As I had predicted, the Suez shipping route has been affected; the general strike continues.
11:35 am – Army general giving a speech on state TV. The headline reads: The army and the people are capable of handling the current situation. It will be interesting to watch what role the army plays. I don’t know if a coup is in the cards, but they seem to be doing everything possible to boost their credibility and popularity with the people, and in doing so distance themselves a bit from Mubarak. Pro-Mubarak rallies going. They're trying to make everything look normal but it isn't.
12:06pm – Internets back!
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