This will be the first in the series of the last updates I'll put here.
The first I wrote the evening the first day the internet was cut off and the first day the protests got violent:
Against the will of my program supervisors, a classmate and I went out into the streets. We had to change cabs twice to get around road blocks to get anywhere near the protests. Police had set up, seemingly randomly, lines of riot officers with arms linked and armored trucks forming blockades. This didn’t seem to affect anyone’s progress as they simply went around them or through them. We got out of the second cab when it was clear we couldn’t go any further. Immediately we could smell the smoke and feel the sting of the tear gas. Tear gas sucks. Don’t let anyone tell you anything different. Your eyes, skin, mouth and throat burn. Breathing becomes labored and you have to fight to not slip into panic. We followed the smoke and when we rounded a corner, a mob had surrounded a police truck, flipped it, and was now burning it. The black smoke was everywhere, and could be seen for miles. Soon there were several smoke sites and over a dozen by the time we left. We listened for the crowd and followed the noise. We stood in store well behind the march. Not all demonstrators were violent. The mobs were separate from the demonstrators, who were set up at churches, banks and government buildings. The demonstrators chanted “We are here against Mubarak”.
More walking and we saw a kid, maybe 14, carried away from the mob with blood pouring from his forehead. Men walked around with strips of cloth and t-shirts wrapped around head wounds. People carried riot shields, batons, and wore helmets the had stolen from the riot police. I wondered what happened to the cop I saw dragged away. Everyone we walked past told us to be careful and to get out of there, in Arabic or whatever English they could attempt. Eventually we climbed a hill to see what the source of a huge column of smoke, much bigger than the ones before. Rioters had overwhelmed and burned down an entire police station. We were about 100 yards away from it, with the crowd between us and it. We heard the ammunition crack, and cans of gasoline explode when they were thrown into the blaze. A man in front of us stared at the two Americans with the group of Egyptian men, turned, faced the fire, pulled a handgun from his waist and brandished it towards the police station. No one seemed surprised he was armed and I wondered how many protesters had weapons. A man in religious dress spoke to us, telling us he hated Mubarak because of his ties to Israel, and because he was corrupt and stealing from the people. He said he hated the American government for constantly supporting Israel, but that he understood that the American people were different than the government, just like the Egyptian people were different from their government. He told us the people were now fighting to take their freedom.
On the tram back we were told exactly what I had suspected. A young male protestor explained that everyone was in the streets today and fed up. The first protest was set up on Facebook, and was attended by only the most diehard. The brutal response drew more riots until Facebook, then all internet access was blocked. Riots continued and cell phone service was cut. The last straw seemed to be that government forces prevented people from gathering for Friday prayers. I knew that at a large mosque near the dorm people turned out for prayers by the thousands and afterward simply walked en masse past the police to the protest sites miles away. Those who had wanted to stay home were soon drawn out. TV played the same, two day old footage and young people had no way of keeping abreast of the situation from their homes, so they left. Once out, many joined their friends in protest and the crowds got bigger and bigger.
Back at the dorm, all reports from everyone who was out today agree that the police as of nightfall were in retreat. People were saying the Alexandrian municipal government had left, and police were under attack city wide. Some suggested the army were moving into the city. As I’m writing this we just heard gunfire not far away. All information we have is from word of mouth and no one knows whats happening in Cairo. I understand now that its hard to be in favor of what you don’t know. Fighting the police is simple, where that leads isn’t. The collapse of the Egyptian government would have huge ripple effects worldwide. Peace with Israel would be over. No one has an idea what a new government would look like or of the violence between now and that point. As much as my heart lies with the furious youth demanding their freedom, my passion is matched by anxious concern.
The coverage I have been reading before yesterday now seems laughable. Western media proclaiming the success of social media and the new digital revolutions there would cause. Suggesting that somehow, a young people with Twitter and Facebook accounts could face entrenched governments. An angry youth armed with a laptop was invincible a few days ago. No one seemed to predict that with a flick of a switch the oppressors could send everyone back twenty years. Your Twitter account does you no good when you can’t access it and when no one who matters here can read it. Mubarak has responded to the mighty digital revolution by simply plunging his country into darkness. The air is heavy in Alexandria tonight and across Egypt we feel the darkness.
UPDATE: 8:45 pm - New pictures of the army in Cairo. We’ve been prohibited from leaving the dorms at least for tonight. Not clear if a curfew is in place nationwide or a street clearing order has been made. The army is being kindly met by the protesters, because the protesters want the army to support them. As of the moment, the army supports the government, but unclear if it will remain so. I can hear gunshots and mobs screaming and chanting outside my window.
10:50 p.m. Just saw Robert Gibbs call for a stop to violence temporarily to allow for some sort of peace talks. The Egyptian guys really don’t want to watch the news so it was hard to understand exactly what the news was saying.
4pm 1/29/11:
6:30pm: We’re being evacuated in 24-48 hours. Shots fired very very nearby. We're planning on taking shifts on guard downstairs.
6:00 am: The night (and our plans) have steadily gotten worse. We went from needing to go to the apt. Because of the possibility of armed gangs to knowing there are gangs and having shots on both sides of the block every hour or so. The plan went from maybe evacuation to definitely evacuation to somewhere sometime, to evacuation at 10am on a flight to Greece. The morning plan went from waking up, strolling to the dorms and coming back ready to go to needing to get out at daybreak, run to the dorms, and get back as soon as possible because it still might not be safe to now not even knowing if we’ll be able to go. Through it all I have remained extremely impressed with the Egyptian army and people. Normal, middle class people are outside their homes with bricks and broomsticks defending their families and property from armed gangs. I feel a bond and affection with everyone on the street, defending each other. The army makes a showing around the blocks as often as possible and encourages the people.
The first I wrote the evening the first day the internet was cut off and the first day the protests got violent:
Stretch out your hand toward the heaven that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.
The protests in Egypt are far from over as I write this, and I don’t know when I’ll be able to send this out. Egypt has had violent, nationwide protests the past three days. The government has cut internet access and cell phone coverage across the country. Also, as far as I know now, eliminated all TV coverage of the protests by allowing no new footage. The outcome of these protests is far from clear at this point and I don’t want to pretend to know more than I do. I truly know little.
Against the will of my program supervisors, a classmate and I went out into the streets. We had to change cabs twice to get around road blocks to get anywhere near the protests. Police had set up, seemingly randomly, lines of riot officers with arms linked and armored trucks forming blockades. This didn’t seem to affect anyone’s progress as they simply went around them or through them. We got out of the second cab when it was clear we couldn’t go any further. Immediately we could smell the smoke and feel the sting of the tear gas. Tear gas sucks. Don’t let anyone tell you anything different. Your eyes, skin, mouth and throat burn. Breathing becomes labored and you have to fight to not slip into panic. We followed the smoke and when we rounded a corner, a mob had surrounded a police truck, flipped it, and was now burning it. The black smoke was everywhere, and could be seen for miles. Soon there were several smoke sites and over a dozen by the time we left. We listened for the crowd and followed the noise. We stood in store well behind the march. Not all demonstrators were violent. The mobs were separate from the demonstrators, who were set up at churches, banks and government buildings. The demonstrators chanted “We are here against Mubarak”.
Across the street, we saw six or seven men carrying away a policeman. He was struggling but was just overwhelmed by the numbers, much like the police as a whole today. They disappeared with him around a corner. Within ten minutes of being there, the crowd ahead of us turned and stamped in our direction, apparently running away. We bolted down some side streets and got away. It was real, we were afraid, and we ran from the crowd clueless of what we were running from. I finally appreciated how real this was. I couldn’t just blandly be for the democratic will of people or against a corrupt dictator. Running for your life tends to complicate your view of politics.
More walking and we saw a kid, maybe 14, carried away from the mob with blood pouring from his forehead. Men walked around with strips of cloth and t-shirts wrapped around head wounds. People carried riot shields, batons, and wore helmets the had stolen from the riot police. I wondered what happened to the cop I saw dragged away. Everyone we walked past told us to be careful and to get out of there, in Arabic or whatever English they could attempt. Eventually we climbed a hill to see what the source of a huge column of smoke, much bigger than the ones before. Rioters had overwhelmed and burned down an entire police station. We were about 100 yards away from it, with the crowd between us and it. We heard the ammunition crack, and cans of gasoline explode when they were thrown into the blaze. A man in front of us stared at the two Americans with the group of Egyptian men, turned, faced the fire, pulled a handgun from his waist and brandished it towards the police station. No one seemed surprised he was armed and I wondered how many protesters had weapons. A man in religious dress spoke to us, telling us he hated Mubarak because of his ties to Israel, and because he was corrupt and stealing from the people. He said he hated the American government for constantly supporting Israel, but that he understood that the American people were different than the government, just like the Egyptian people were different from their government. He told us the people were now fighting to take their freedom.
On the tram back we were told exactly what I had suspected. A young male protestor explained that everyone was in the streets today and fed up. The first protest was set up on Facebook, and was attended by only the most diehard. The brutal response drew more riots until Facebook, then all internet access was blocked. Riots continued and cell phone service was cut. The last straw seemed to be that government forces prevented people from gathering for Friday prayers. I knew that at a large mosque near the dorm people turned out for prayers by the thousands and afterward simply walked en masse past the police to the protest sites miles away. Those who had wanted to stay home were soon drawn out. TV played the same, two day old footage and young people had no way of keeping abreast of the situation from their homes, so they left. Once out, many joined their friends in protest and the crowds got bigger and bigger.
Back at the dorm, all reports from everyone who was out today agree that the police as of nightfall were in retreat. People were saying the Alexandrian municipal government had left, and police were under attack city wide. Some suggested the army were moving into the city. As I’m writing this we just heard gunfire not far away. All information we have is from word of mouth and no one knows whats happening in Cairo. I understand now that its hard to be in favor of what you don’t know. Fighting the police is simple, where that leads isn’t. The collapse of the Egyptian government would have huge ripple effects worldwide. Peace with Israel would be over. No one has an idea what a new government would look like or of the violence between now and that point. As much as my heart lies with the furious youth demanding their freedom, my passion is matched by anxious concern.
The coverage I have been reading before yesterday now seems laughable. Western media proclaiming the success of social media and the new digital revolutions there would cause. Suggesting that somehow, a young people with Twitter and Facebook accounts could face entrenched governments. An angry youth armed with a laptop was invincible a few days ago. No one seemed to predict that with a flick of a switch the oppressors could send everyone back twenty years. Your Twitter account does you no good when you can’t access it and when no one who matters here can read it. Mubarak has responded to the mighty digital revolution by simply plunging his country into darkness. The air is heavy in Alexandria tonight and across Egypt we feel the darkness.
UPDATE: 8:45 pm - New pictures of the army in Cairo. We’ve been prohibited from leaving the dorms at least for tonight. Not clear if a curfew is in place nationwide or a street clearing order has been made. The army is being kindly met by the protesters, because the protesters want the army to support them. As of the moment, the army supports the government, but unclear if it will remain so. I can hear gunshots and mobs screaming and chanting outside my window.
10:50 p.m. Just saw Robert Gibbs call for a stop to violence temporarily to allow for some sort of peace talks. The Egyptian guys really don’t want to watch the news so it was hard to understand exactly what the news was saying.
4pm 1/29/11:
Went out and saw the demonstrators ~4 hours. Totally peaceful, lots of pictures and video. Soldiers completely peaceful, shaking hands with demonstrators. We are being moved to Charles and Teak’s apartment.
6:30pm: We’re being evacuated in 24-48 hours. Shots fired very very nearby. We're planning on taking shifts on guard downstairs.
6:00 am: The night (and our plans) have steadily gotten worse. We went from needing to go to the apt. Because of the possibility of armed gangs to knowing there are gangs and having shots on both sides of the block every hour or so. The plan went from maybe evacuation to definitely evacuation to somewhere sometime, to evacuation at 10am on a flight to Greece. The morning plan went from waking up, strolling to the dorms and coming back ready to go to needing to get out at daybreak, run to the dorms, and get back as soon as possible because it still might not be safe to now not even knowing if we’ll be able to go. Through it all I have remained extremely impressed with the Egyptian army and people. Normal, middle class people are outside their homes with bricks and broomsticks defending their families and property from armed gangs. I feel a bond and affection with everyone on the street, defending each other. The army makes a showing around the blocks as often as possible and encourages the people.
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