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PLEASE READ AND FORWARD!
February 1, 2011
Hello all.
I just received the email below which contains a first-hand report on the uprising in Egypt. The email and the report come to me through a close friend of mine, so you can trust the account. Please read and forward. I find it really inspiring.
What is happening in Egypt is, of course, very, very exiting and an incredible example of what is possible. Democracy Now! this morning had an excellent presentation on many aspects of what is going on. You can watch/listen through this link:
http://www.democracynow.org/shows/2011/2
La lutte continue!
XX
---- Date: Sat, Jan 29, 2011 Subject: From XX in Cairo To: XX
Hello All,
I just now spoke with Felice, in Cairo. 1-sentence recap: When she arrived, she could not get to her hotel and had to stay in the outskirts with others in XX, with only land line telephones in use -- no cells and no internet.
She's now (10:30am NY time) in central Cairo in a demonstration of "a hundred" thousand happy people. The army has refused to obey Mubarak's orders and is protecting the demonstration from the police. He apparantly tried to name Suliman as the new president but people were not taking that as a good sign. The demonstrators are chanting (of course) and everyone is acting as comrades, helping each other, picking up trash, and smiling. Felice said that she often has tears in her eyes. Wow.
She did not say anything about trying to get into Gaza, which was the intent of the trip, but that was to happen today which is now probably put off.
This email goes bcc to several folks, but if you have others who're interested then feel free to forward.
-XX
Here is what XX [has so far] sent from Cairo
>From Egypt to the Promised Land
We arrived in Egypt about 5 pm, went thru immigration and customs with no signs of abnormality, got our bags and came out to look for our pick up from the Lotus Hotel. No sign of anyone. We tried to get a cab to take us to downtown Cairo, but rejected the outrageious (it seemed to us at the time) offer of a ride for E 250. It still didn’t dawn on us what was happening. We tried calling the Lotus, but couldn’t get thru. Only after noticing that, in the huge crowd of people that was building at the terminal, no one was using a cellphone did we realize that the government had shut down the cellphone networks and the internet as well. The cabdrivers told us it was impossible to get to downtown Cairo. The entire area is cordoned off. We settled for an offer of a cab and a hotel room in Heliopolis for $90. It seemed like a bargain given the circumstances.
The road out of the airport was eerie. Almost no cars when normally it would be choked with traffic. The same on the main boulevard thru Heliopolis. As we neared Mubarak’s palace, we were stopped by a roadblock. Our ingenious driver turned around and found a way to our hotel thru the side streets.
It’s a very strange feeling to be cut off from communication with anyone while watching an uprising taking place on television. Athough I imagine Mubarak’s aim is to prevent the organization of demonstrations, the feeling induced is not one of passivity. Rather, I think, it makes you feel like it is worth taking risks. You have to go out and join up to find out what’s going on.
Everyone we talked to at the hotel – the desk manager, the bell boy, the waiter, and the guests who understood what was going on – were quietly or loudly supportive of the demonstrations – albeit with not much political sophistication. “35 years of Mubarak – he has to go” would be representative of the general feeling.
The next morning we talked to Tighe and learned that it was possible to get to downtown Cairo. We got a driver, for a fairly exhorbitant price, and took off. Again, almost no traffic on the road at all. We arrived on Talat Harb St., which had been the center of demonstrations and police action the prior day, and went into our hotel. Tahrir Square, just a few blocks away, was already starting to fill with demonstrators. We went out to join the crowd. The army had blocked most of the main streets leading into the square to separate the police from the demonstrators. The police, other than some undercover plainclothesmen, were nowhere in sight. The demonstration was almost like a be-in from the 1960s. People of all ages were out on the street. Old people, young people, parents with small children, men in suits, men in workclothes, and a surprising large number of women – maybe 10%. Contrary to what we heard the US media was saying, this was no Islamist exercise. When the hour of prayer came, you could make the count. No more than 15% percent of the demonstrators were praying. We saw several signs with both the Christian Cross and the Muslim crescent on them. (We learned later that this was the symbol of the Revolution of 1919 against British rule). Some people were sweeping the streets to pick up litter. Some others were bringing drinks to the soldiers.
The overall feeling was one of peace, joy, and excitement. People were jumping up on tanks to shake hands with the soldiers. Many people said to us, “This is the real Egypt.”
We were constantly asked where we were from. When we said the US, people welcomed us to Egypt and asked us to spread the word at home that this is a peaceful revolution, and that all the Egyptian people want is the right to choose their government.
There were at least 100,000 people in Tahrir Square, with more people joining in the demonstration all the time until close to 5 o’clock. There were other areas where demonstrators gathered as well. They hoped to takeover the state run media and gathered in front to of that building which is on the Corniche. The army clearly wasn’t ready or willing for that to happen and had stationed soldiers with machine guns and automatic weapons on the balconies of the building, ready to shoot down into the crowd if necessary. The soldiers were backed up by tanks and APCs. Again, the spirit of the crowd was one of friendly determination and there were no efforts to break into the building.
The only building in Cairo that was burned was the headquarters of the National Democratic Party – Mubarak’s party. That large, high rise building was set on fire yesterday and was still burning today. Firefighters made no attempt to put out the flames, which also incinerated the cars parked in the lot in front of the building.
Just as we were about to return to the hotel, the crowd learned that Mubarak had chosen Omar Suleiman as president (turned out he was appointed vice-president). They were not happy. Immediately the chant began “Out with Mubarak, Out with Suleiman.” It is clear people are looking for a regime change, not just a different face. I think the appointment of Suleiman, rather than seeking a compromise, is a major challenge to the people. Suleiman is the head of the secret police and has played a kind of DarthVader role in Egyptian politics.
We went back out to Tahrir Sq. about 8 pm. The crowd was significantly diminished but there were still thousands of people. We walked up towards the area where the police had made their last stand two days ago, before going into hiding in the Interior Ministry complex. The army was barricading the streets that ran into the Interior Ministry in what looked to us like an effort to protect the police from the demonstrators. However, people were gathering on a side street that lead to the entrance to the Interior Ministry complex and no soldiers were there. We walked on to take a look. Some students from the American University of Cairo told us the police were shooting into the crowd with live ammunition and that some people had been killed. As we walked a little closer, a fusillade of shots was fired into the crowd we were approaching, followed by tear gas. We ducked down a side street to get out of the way. We continued hearing gunfire for several minutes. Later we heard a report, which we couldn’t confirm, that 10 people had been killed.
Some very interesting things are happening here. Most impressive is the self-organization which has taken place. We saw people cleaning up, directing traffic, and everywhere neighborhood watches were formed – almost on every block – to guard against looting and thievery. And all of this is happening with the greatest good humor and respect. The only violent action we saw was a crowd of about 20 demonstrators caught an undercover policeman, and dragged him into a building – presumably to beat him up.
There is good reason for neighborhood watches. Not only are the police not on the streets, but the police opened the prisons and let criminals out to help them with their attacks on demonstrators. Nada Khassass, one of the organizers of the actions, told us that a group of young people, including her, were chased into the Press Syndicate building by police and criminals, some of whom had not even changed out of their prison uniforms. When they got inside the building, thugs and plainclothes police demanded the security guards open the doors. They refused. The thugs tried to force the doors but weren’t able to. She also told us that some looters entered the Egyptian Museum – the home of priceless treasures and the demonstrators barricaded the building to keep them from escaping with stolen goods. When the Army came to search the building, the thieves they found were two police officers, three soldiers, and some employees of the Museum. She also told us that, in Alexandria, two police officers were caught robbing a bank.
The role of the Army, she says, is a bit ambiguous. They have clearly refused Mubarak’s orders to disperse the demonstrators, but it is not clear what the next step will be. The danger is a military coup. She felt that a military government would only be acceptable to a small portion of the demonstrators. Although the formal political process has been gutted over 35 years by Mubarak, there is an informal political structure which could play a role in forming a new government. The two trusted groups she cited are The Popular Committee for Change, and the Popular Parliament. The Popular Parliament came out of the last fraudulent parliamentary elections, where many candidates were prevented from running at all, and others had their votes stolen. It is 91 people who, had there been an honest election, would have been chosen for Parliament.
However, Egypt is a client state of the US, and certainly the US will try to control the outcome of a regime change. The US government is much more likely to favor a military government than a popular government.