Global Voices » Eman AbdElRahman

Egypt: Tahrir Square's Mini Utopia

Eman AbdElRahman — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 12:50:58 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage of Egypt Protests 2011.

There is another side to the ongoing revolution in Egypt, which is the daily life of those people sitting in on Tahrir Square. For the past 12 days, they have remained on the square, eating, drinking, chanting, cheering - simply living there day and night. Life here has its own rhythm now, and the spirit on diplay is of a mini Utopia.

Mornings begin with physical exercises while chanting “Down down Mubarak!”.

As the day continues, and more people pour into the square, residents welcome them with more chants as @ashoukry says:

أجمل لحظات اليوم:استقبال الثوار بالغناء و التصفيق عند دخول التحرير، لحظات لا تنسي و نسائم حرية حقيقية تتهادي و تتدفق فاذهبوا و أروا قلوبكم

The best time of the day: Welcoming the rebels into Tahrir Sq. with singing and clapping. Unforgettable moments where we breathe the air of freedom.

The million pound question on everyone's mind, was asked by @Maysaloon from Syria on Twitter:

Had a thought today, what are all those people in Tahrir Square doing for sanitation? I don't see any cubicles anywhere…

And so I replied:

Either they use nearby mosques' or underground public toilets, or nearby buildings, or shops. Some even return home & come back.

For instance @TAFATEFO tweeted while staying on Tahrir Square himself:

واحد قال في الميك انه ممثل أصحاب الـ 3 عمارات اللي في الميدان .. وانهم فاتحين الدورين السادس والسابع للي عايزين ياخدوا دش أو يناموا

Someone said on the loudspeakers that he is a representative from the 3 buildings on the square. They said they opened their 6th and 7th floors to anyone wants to take a shower or sleep.

People spend a good while of their day cleaning the square. Photo by Monasosh on Flickr (CC-BY 2.0)

Even while it rains, people keep marching covered by a plastic sheet. Photo by Nadia El Awady on Twitpic

With every that day passes, the mood on the square becomes more like a daily open carnival organised by the people and for the people. As @etharkamal tweeted:

LOVE Egyptian ingenuity: for LE1 [one Egyptian pound] a 7antoor (horse carriage) will take you across Kasr El-Nil bridge to reach #tahrir #jan25

@Tarekshalaby also added:

At Tahrir sq. you can find pop corn, couscous, sweet potatoes, sandwiches, tea & drinks! Egyptians know how to revolt! #jan25

Egyptian tea anyone? .. Photo by Gigi Ibrahim shared on Facebook

"That's how people keep going, eating dates." Photo by Gigi Ibrahim shared on Facebook

People praying, a scene repeated five time a day, by Floris Van Cauwelaert on Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

At night, its much quieter, yet the same spirit prevails. @Tarekshalaby said on Sunday night:

Cold n rainy night in Tahrir sq. Has been very festive/entertaining with songs n poetry. #jan25

@estr4ng3d said:

Loud cheerful music playing now, people dancing & clapping #tahrir

One night people combined their chants in a song entitled “Power to the people” to celebrate Egyptian youth coming together for peace, freedom and change:

Some days behold different and special events, on Sunday @Ekramibrahim tweeted:

1 - Christians and Muslims holding hands in #Tahrir and singing hymns after Coptic mass was a marvelous attitude never seen [before]. #Egypt #jan25

2 - A couple got married today at #Tahrir. God bless the couple. Very creative and warm attitude. #Jan25 #Egypt

@estr4ng3d expressed a feeling shared by many:

#Tahrir is definitely the happiest spot in #egypt right now. #jan25

"It's happening in Tahrir Sq. now.. Egypt" - Photo by Monasosh on Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

This post is part of our special coverage of Egypt Protests 2011.

Egypt: Night Falls, After Day of Rage

Eman AbdElRahman — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 03:24:08 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage of Egypt Protests 2011.

As the night sky extended over Egypt, protests in Cairo and around the country continued. News was dominated by events in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, where police dispersed a sit-in with tear gas, rubber bullets, and water canons leaving many people wounded. In Suez, three people were reported dead. In Alexandria, a sit-in of thousands began amidst arrests. In El-Mahala, a large industrial and agricultural city, there were reports on Twitter of police thugs destroying public property in El-Shoon square and of further clashes between citizens and police.

@Alaa tweeted that doctors were badly needed in Tahrir Square:

Try to move ppl to hospitals instead, doctors need medicine & equipment ♻ @husseinelsaid: @alaa doctors needed at Tahrir DESPERATELY pls RT

Earlier today, the Egyptian government blocked Twitter, and also cut mobile phone coverage around Tahrir Square, leaving protesters with no means to communicate with the outside world. This led to a spontaneous act by residents in the neighborhood to remove the passwords from their wireless routers so protesters could go online:

@Mohrad

المواطنين والمحلات لغوا باسوردات شبكات الوايرلس والمعتصمين في التحرير يستطيعون الآن التواصل مع الناس#Jan25 #fb

Citizens and shops canceled the passwords of their wireless routers. Protesters in Tahrir square can reach people now.

Also, nearby shops began offering protesters food and water.

@Mohrad

من التحرير: هارديز طلع ساندوتشات صغيرة للمعتصمين والأمن منعهم وطلب منهم يقفلوا ويمشوا ورفضوا يقفلوا ومشاركين الشباب

From Tahrir: Hardees gave out free sandwiches to protesters, but the police stopped them and asked them to leave. Shops refused, and joined the people.

A few celebrities joined the protests, and were updating their Twitter accounts. Actors Amr Waked and Khaled Aboul Naga, a female television presenter Bouthayna Kamel, director Amr Salama, and politician Ayman Nour.

Amr Salama and Khaled Aboul Naga, wrote wrote an update from the protesters to all Egyptians:

رسالة من المعتصمين: كلنا موجودين في ميدان التحرير مش هنتحرك، و هنبات و هنكمل مظاهرتنا بكره الصبح رغم كل اللي بيعمله الأمن، اللي يقدر منا ينزل للناس دي ينزل، و اللي يقدر يجيبلهم مية أو أكل يجيب، و اللي مايقدرش ينشر الخبر دا و مايصدقش اللي بيتقال عن إنهم هيمشوا أو هيتحركوا من مكانهم… قوم يا مصري

From protesters: We will stay in Tahrir Sq. We will not move. We will stay and continue our demonstration tomorrow morning despite police brutality. Whoever can join us, please do. Whoever can bring us water or food, please do. We will get them out of the country. Believe it. Get involved Egyptians!

It was around 10:00PM local Cairo time when Farouk tweeted from Tahrir Square.

@farokadel:

من التحرير المعنويات مرتفعة بس الامن بيجهز هجوم تقريبا

There are high hopes. But the police look like they are preparing something.

@Sandmonkey noted:

Fun fact of the day: not a single girl was sexually harassed today. Everyone acted with utter respect. #jan25

However, the mood changed abruptly around midnight when police began dispersing protesters in Tahrir Square by force.

@Mohamed_A_Ali tweeted from the location of the sit in:

الضرب اشتغل الحقونا

They started beating. Help us.

According to well-known female politician, Gameela Ismail, at least 40 people were arrested by the police and taken to an unknown place, including her son Noor, Dr. Mostafa El Nagar, the general coordinator for the Campaign for Change, journalist Mohamed Abdelfattah, and AbdelRahman Ayyash, an engineering student who was scheduled to take an exam tomorrow in his faculty.

There are calls for more protests in different public squares of Egypt tomorrow, but whether demonstrations will actually continue or not in the morning still remains to be seen.

This post is part of our special coverage of Egypt Protests 2011.

Egypt: Vodafone Egypt Advertisement Stirs Controversy

Eman AbdElRahman — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 18:18:13 +0000

A new advertisement for Vodafone Egypt has stirred controversy on the Egyptian blogosphere. The advert for a new internet USB bundle, is thought to be mocking a Muslim scientist who attempted to fly using a set of wings - Abbas Ibn Firnas (810–887 AD).

In the advert, Ibn Firnas is portrayed as a crazy man who insists on flying, and three men - who are famous for acting in the Egyptian version of “Back to the Future” film - trying to convince him to browse the internet first to see how his trial was going to fail, but he refused to listen to them.

Zeinobia explains in her post “Learn From Google Egypt, Vodafone Egypt !!”:

Vodafone Egypt has aired its a new ad for its new internet bundle whatever it is using both humor and celebrity […]
Now that supposedly “funny'” is making fun about the failed attempt of Abbas Ibn Firnas to fly !! The ad is making fun of a scientist who got great contributions in the history of science instead of reminding the public with him and his other great achievements !!

The ad, which was uploaded on to YouTube, has since been removed.

Immediately after airing the advert, many angry messages spread like fire on Twitter, Facebook and other social networking platforms. One of these messages sent by @MostafaMourad, he for instance asks people to change their mobile operator if Vodafone did not stop airing its advertisement:

Call 888 to complain and give them one week. Ad not removed. convert ur number to another operator

In her blog post Think twice before going public, Amira Salah, a 25-year-old female, asks:

What are we trying to tell the new generations?!!
What are we trying to shout out to the whole world about how we respect our great pioneers?!!
How do we ask others to respect us while we don't know how to respect our culture?!!
How come we don't know what we can/can't make fun of?!!

Amira adds that companies should think twice before releasing public campaigns.

In the social media world, you have to revisit your choices many times before going public. People are now more active and positive, thanks to the social media channels who made expressing your opinions so easy. Vodafone Egypt has fallen into the trap of social media when they broadcasted their Abbas Ebn Fernas Ad.

On the other hand, she says people can use the same social media to launch an anti-campaign:

What messages were they trying to deliver by such a shallow ad?!! No one knows till now because they ignored the mass comments who complained and were against the ad. Moreover, instead of responding, they deleted some comments and only then people shouted out loud with the hashtag, #VodaFly

After word spread that comments on the advertisement on YouTube were deleted, @aymanrb said:

Glad @vodafoneEgypt with their smart team won't b able to delete all those tweets about the #vodaFly Ad like they did on fb & youtube #fail

Some people clarified they are particularly angry because of being a Muslim scientist, like @anas3qeel

جدير بالذكر إن ابن فرناس مش عربي وإنما هو بربري، لكن الي يستفز الاستهزاء بعالم مسلم وكأن جهوده كلها ولا حاجة وكأنه كان مجنون #VodaFly

It's worth mentioning that Ibn Firnas is not an Arab, but a Berber. But what's irritating is mocking an Islamic scientist, as if all his efforts are in vain, or he was insane. #VodaFly

But that was followed by a question from @ShadySamir asking:

Why is support to Abbas Ebn Firnas going back and forth between him being Muslim or Arab? #VodaFly

Many people, including Zeinobia, thought that Vodafone is wrong, and that an apology is required:

Now I think Vodafone Egypt owes us an apology to the educated who knew that that man was truly a scientist and the uneducated viewers who need to know who that man was.

The barrage of blog posts and tweets made in response to the advertisement meanwhile continued on social networks.

Some Twitter users were angry:

@aymanfarrouh: @VodafoneEgypt You better take this advertisement down! People are so mad about it and gonna hate you. #VodaFly

@MAswad: I have been a loyal client to @VodafoneEgypt for 8 years now and never thought I'd change.I can never tolerate #Ignorance & #Racism. #VodaFly

On the other hand, other netizens maintained their cool. Gemyhood [Ar], for instance, had a different point of view, which was seconded by a handful of other Twitter users. Gemyhood suggested that the whole issue did not deserve the buzz it created, and was most likely part of the campaign, quoting an article that was published in a European newspaper, at the time of the Danish cartoons:

الأمر إما موجه ( من منافسين أو من الشركة نفسها ) أو نحن أمام حالة رائعة وعصر جديد لإستخدام الشبكات الإجتماعية فى دعم الأفكار والإنطباعات الشعبوية عبر الشبكة التى من الواضح إنها دخلت مرحلة النضج التكنولوجى […]
بصراحة لا أريد الخوض فى قضية إن كانت فودافون مخطئة فى حق عباس إبن فرناس، ومشروعية وحلال و قدسية و إحترامية - إن صح قولها- إستخدام الإيقونات التاريخية والعلمية العربية فى إعلانات كوميدية وهل تناولهم بهذا الشكل يقلل مما قدموه من تاثير تاريخى أو إختراعات و إكتشافات علمية جليلة يحترمها ويقدرها العالم؟؟؟ بالقضية على بعضها تافهه

It's either an organized campaign (from Vodafone itself, or its competitors) or we are suddenly in front of a magnificent case of randomly making use of new technology by normal people, which apparently has entered a new mature phase […]
Frankly, I don't want to discuss whether Vodafone is guilty to mock Ibn Firnase, or using a holy figure in a comedy advertisement would belittle him or his historical achievement and scientific breakthroughs or not??
The whole case is trivial.

Echoing Gemyhood, @Moftasa tweeted:

I hope people taking vodafone's ad seriously aren't serious.

And @Bluefish80 adds:

انا عاجبنى اعلان
عباس ابن فرناس … استرجل وخليك فودافون

@Bluefish80: I like that Abbas Ibn Firnas advertisement … be man enough and stick to Vodafone.

You can follow the rest of the on going conversation through the hashtag #VodaFly on Twitter.

Tarek Amr contributed to this post.

Egypt: From Dakar … with love

Eman AbdElRahman — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 22:21:16 +0000

Fatma Emam, an Egyptian female blogger, wrote about her experience in searching for her real identity during her visit to Dakar.

Egypt: Unauthorized Hebrew translation of a novel

Eman AbdElRahman — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 22:20:16 +0000

M. Lynx Qualey, commented on the latest news that Egyptian author Alaa Al Aswany has lashed out at an unauthorized Hebrew translation of his most popular novel “The Yacoubian building“.

Egypt: The Story of Totalitarianism

Eman AbdElRahman — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 22:19:31 +0000

Egyptian-in-USA wrote interesting reflections from George Orwell's novel 1984, projecting them to the current political situation in Egyptian today.

MENA: Women Writing; Women Reading

Eman AbdElRahman — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 22:03:42 +0000

Canadian expat, Maryanne Gabbani, recommended a few of her favorite female writers from the Arab world. In a way, she is trying to prove her experience that while life for women in the Middle East is all sunshine and lollipops, women are not the doormats that they are imagined to be either.

Does Egypt love Egyptians?

Eman AbdElRahman — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:12:33 +0000

Throughout my daily blog reads, I've noticed an obvious tone between young Egyptians, many of whom are questioning whether or not they love Egypt, and whether or not Egypt loves them back.

As an Egyptian young woman myself, I like to say that this may be understandable after the daily series of crises we hear of one day after the other, however, throughout history - I don't think the feeling of frustration, disappointment and suffocation has ever stuck youth as much as it does during this particular era. And sadly, the gap between dreams and reality is widening, and consequently deepening the feeling of loss, and hate for the country.

Tigress, an Egyptian female blogger, wrote a post entitled “I no longer love Egypt” [Ar]:

اصبح لى سنوات الآن ادافع عندما يهاجم احد مصر.. اقول بحرارة ؟؟ ..ليس العيب فى البلد ، انما هى ضحية ساكنيها..[…]
ولكننى مؤخرا استسلمت للارهاق…انا مرهقة من هذه البلد.. ثم ادركت ان الوطن هو الارض وماعليها.

For years I have been strongly defending Egypt and saying the problem is not in Egypt, but in its residents […] But recently I've become tired. I am tired from this country, and I realized that a home is the land and who lives in it.

She continued her post going to the extreme claiming that the only solution is a bigger disaster to happen:

احيانا افكر انه ربما من الافضل ان يبتلينا الله بغزو يحررنا وينظف البلد..ثم انفض رأسى من بأس الفكرة .ثم اقرر اننى سأنسحب واتقوقع واصبح وحدة منفصلة ناجحة..ثم ادرك اننى احلم …لا يمكن الانفصال عن الوطن

I sometimes think that an invasion may help clean the country. But quickly I shake this idea off my mind, and decide to care only about myself. Then I realize I am dreaming.. I can not be separated from home.

She ended her post with a confession that she no longer loves Egypt:

هكذا فى لحظة نادرة من الصراحة والوضوح ..اعترفت لنفسى بأسوأ اعتراف فى حياتى
اعترفت اننى رفعت يدى…وتوقفت عن الايمان بمصر

And thereby, in a rare moment of frankness and clarity I admitted to myself the worst confession ever.. I admit that I've stopped having faith in Egypt.

Egyptoz, an Egyptian male blogger, has been working in Europe for a year and just came to Cairo for a two-day visit. He wrote another post [Ar] about his feelings upon his return, and the cultural shock he faced:

يومين فى القاهرة و مش قادر استحمل دقيقة واحده فى المدينة العشوائيه دى…و بصراحه ما كنتش حاطت امل كبير يعنى… لما ارجع اجازه اسبوعين تلاته لمصر بعد ما عيشت اكتر من سنه فى اوروبا…عاوز ارجع اقول ايه…مصر حلوه…

Two days in Cairo and I can't bear this chaotic city for one more minute. Frankly, I wasn't having high hopes, though after a year in Europe I hoped I'd return back and admire how lovely Egypt is.

Photo by Daveness_98 under CC, for traffic over bridge of 6th October in Cairo.

Aliaa, an Egyptian female doing her university studies in Beirut, questioned “Does Egypt Love ME is the question?” :

I still love Egypt but I am just angry at what it has become, you can be angry at the people you love but you can never hate them.

She quoted a line from a poem by Tamim Al Barghouti, a young Palestinian/Egyptian poet, entitled “They asked if I love Egypt”. El Barghouti wrote this poem upon his departure from Egypt for 20 days - after taking part in a demonstrations against the American invasion to Iraq saying:

قالولي بتحب مصر فقلت مش عارف
أنا لما اشوف مصر ع الصفحة بكون خايف

They asked me if I love Egypt, and I said I don't know.
When I see Egypt on the page I feel afraid.

Aliaa then clarified her feelings saying:

My country and its citizens treat themselves as second level humans […]. So do I love Egypt? I asked myself that before and now I am asking myself again, well my answer is: Does Egypt LOVE ME?

In the comments section to Alyaa's post, Hicham relates the problem to Egyptians and not Egypt:

I think about relating our problems in terms of Egyptians not Egypt. Our country in terms of many things is to be loved but what Egyptians do since many decades is what to be questioned.

Also Serag, a Libyan citizen who has lived in Egypt for a long period of time, wrote a “post” describing his feelings towards a place he once thought as his home after a short visit:

Does a place grow old ?! this is one of the questions that have kept me awake in the hot and humid nights during my last visit to Egypt. Between Alexandria and Cairo I was trying to find my own Egypt and I have failed. To be out of your place is to be in exile but is there a word of being out of your home.
[…]
I might have had a home in Egypt once but now all I have is hotel room.

On a puzzlingly unfortunate but positive note, Mermaid wrote a deep post entitled “Oh Egypt, the bitter honey” [Ar] after her day visit out of Cairo heading Alexandria. In it, she explains her different daily experience in Egypt. One of the beautiful and sincere moments she mentions happened to her last Ramadan:

في رمضان اللي فات، رحت المسجد متأخرة فا إضطريت أصلي برة قاعة السيدات مع ناس كانوا متأخريين برضه. ماكنش المكان مفروش للصلاة وللأسف ماكنش معايا مصلية. الست اللي قدامي لما شافت إني هاسجد على البلاط، رجعت المصلية بتاعتها لورا بحيث إني أقدر أسجد عليها وهي سجدت على كيس بلاستيك.

Last Ramadan I went late to the mosque for prayers, so I had to pray outside the mosque. The place there wasn't well furnished, and I didn't have my praying carpet. A lady who was standing in front of me pulled her praying carpet back towards me, when she saw I will pray on the bare floor, and she prayed on a plastic bag.

She also mentioned another nice incident for a man who helped her find her directions downtown, yet then commented on the other daily misfortunes saying:

كل يوم باسوق مسافات طويلة بحكم مكان شغلي. كل يوم أعصابي بتتحرق في السواقة من ناس بتكسر عليا أو ناس ماشية بمزاجها من غير ما تراعي قواعد المرور أو حتى قواعد الذوق. كل يوم أعصابي بتتشد وانا باسمع الدين بيتسب في الشارع… شتايم بتخليني أتمني إني أكون مابسمعش.

Everyday, I drive a long distance to work. Everyday I get stressed from people's bad driving, without caring to abide by traffic rules or simple rules of courtesy. Everyday I hear insults on the streets, insults that make me wish I were deaf.

Photo by jay galvin under CC, for workers waiting to break Ramadan fast at 6PM before they return home, under the freeway entrance ramp. Food sponsored by the local wealthy person.

She further described:

الناس ديه كلها من نفس البلد.. نفس البلد الحلوة.. القذرة. البلد اللي لسة بتدي خير… وبتاخد عمر وشباب ولادها. […] البلد الزحمة الملوثة… واللي الصبح بدري بتبقى أجمل مكان ممكن الواحد يمشي فيه. البلد الدوشة.. اللي ساعة المغرب في رمضان الأذان بيبقى مالي الشوارع الفاضية المسالمة. البلد اللي بتخلف ناس بتاكل حق ناس… وناس سايبة فطارها في رمضان ونازلة تدي بلح ومية وتمر هندي للناس اللي في الشارع اللي مالحقتش الفطار في بيتهم.

بادعي ربنا إن كرهي مايخلنيش عامية عن الحاجات الحلوة اللي فيها.

All these people are from the same beautiful and dirty country. The country that still gives “good” but takes the lives of its youth and children. […] The polluted crowded country, that can be the best place ever to walk in, in the early mornings. The noisy country, that the beautiful Maghreb Azan fills its peaceful and empty corners.. A country that gave birth to some abusing other people's rights, and other people left their Iftar in Ramadan to give strangers in streets dates, and water for their Iftar - in case they may miss it before going home.
I pray to God that my hatred won't make me blind to the beautiful things in this country.

Whether it is a general feeling or only shared by some individuals, many agree that today's Egypt is not the Egypt that Egyptians read about in their history books, or heard national songs about on the radio and television.

Egypt: My First Fast

Eman AbdElRahman — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 22:54:08 +0000

Food Jihadist, is an American expat living in Egypt. She shared her experience of fasting for the first time in Cairo this year. Muslims are marking Ramadan, a month of fasting where food and water are prohibited from dawn to dusk.

Egypt: Egyptian Woman Vs a Woman….

Eman AbdElRahman — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 22:51:49 +0000

Aliaa Elzeiny, an Egyptian studying political science at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, is reflecting on whether there is a different between “Egyptian Women” and “Women” or not.

Syria: A Muslim should be like a jar of honey

Eman AbdElRahman — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 22:49:03 +0000

Syrian blogger Maysaloon reflects on a conversation that took place following the Tarawih prayers, after meeting Sheikh Abu Salem in a mosque in London.

Saudi Arabia: Top 10 Most Beautiful Saudis

Eman AbdElRahman — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 04:36:50 +0000

Saudiwoman’s Weblog published a list of the top 10 most beautiful intellectual Saudis.

Worldwide: Demonstrations for Palestine

Eman AbdElRahman — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 04:32:58 +0000

Roba from Jordan published pictures from different demonstrations world wide against Israel's last attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, in Holland, Greece, Egypt, United Kingdom, Lebanon, Pakistan, Malaysia, Sweden, France, Turkey, India, Italy, Canada, Spain, Belgium, United States, Bulgaria and Austria.

Egypt: Fat7enha Forga Launched

Eman AbdElRahman — Mon, 24 May 2010 07:43:50 +0000

Mahmoud Saber announced the launch of Fat7enha Forga, which is a new idea to share movies and independent video projects on the Internet. The debut is a video named “ Let’s Hope”.

Lebanon: Nationality problem

Eman AbdElRahman — Mon, 24 May 2010 06:48:52 +0000

Farfahinne Kob expressed [Ar] her anger from a contradicting piece of news - where a Lebanese man married to an Israeli woman was able to transfer his nationality to his children, while Lebanese women can not do the same - no matter what the nationality of their husband.