Events in Egypt have been unfolding too quickly for me to both follow the news and blog about it (while also doing other things like work, eat and sleep...no surprise, that last one is the first to go). So although my last post was only three days ago, several important things have happened that need discussing.
On Tuesday there was a call for a "March of Millions," and the Egyptian people responded. Somewhere between six and eight million people protested across the country--not just in Cairo but in Alexandria, Suez, and smaller cities like the industrial center of Mahalla, the scene of militant strikes in the past few years. Somewhere around a million people poured into Tahrir Square. The atmosphere was festive, elated, and completely peaceful. All day people rallied in the square, doing things that would have been unthinkable a week before: chanting, singing, reading poetry over the rave-worthy speaker systems that have been set up, hurling insults at the dictator and talking, talking, talking--thirty years' worth of banned political discussion bursting forth in an exhilarated flood. When it was time for observant Muslims to pray, hundreds of people prayed in the street, and Christians formed a human chain around them to keep them safe.
The announcement that Mubarak was going to speak "shortly" came on state TV around eight p.m. Nearly four hours later, Mubarak turned up. He announced he wouldn't run for a new term as president in September (something he also said when he was first sworn into office...30 years ago) and offered some other token concessions that may or may not ever be delivered. No mention of lifting the emergency law, which gives police sweeping powers. No mention of changes to the constitution that would allow freerer elections. No hint of remorse for those killed and wounded by police and paid thugs in the past week--but rather aggressive rhetoric blaming the demonstrators for "chaos" and "violence."
Shortly after Mubarak's speech ended, two things happened in quick succession. First, the streets erupted. People were furious. It was clear the speech didn't placate anyone.
Very shortly after that, crowds of armed pro-government thugs began converging on the protests in both Cairo and Alexandria. The army checkpoints that had searched every protester for weapons--sometimes several times--mysteriously melted away in the presence of a mix of plainclothes police and paid thugs. They were armed, organized, and attacked the protesters almost simultaneously in Cairo and Alexandria. Clearly this had been planned in advance. In retrospect, Mubarak's message was perfectly clear. "This is all you're going to get. Now get off the streets--and if you don't, we'll make you."
All night and into the next day, wave after wave of government-backed goons attacked the protesters, trying to drive them out of Tahrir Square. But the protesters resisted--courageously, brilliantly, over and over again.
Western media had tended to report these events using phrases like "descended into chaos and violence." That is not what happened on Wednesday. It was not chaos or aimless rioting. It was a pitched street battle, and an extremely well-organized one at that. Protesters fought back with any weapon they could improvise. Paving stones were torn up for ammunition, delivered to the front lines in bags and buckets and rugs. Barricades bloomed out of scrap metal, Dumpster lids, furniture, even massive streets signs of the size that hang off overpasses. People assembled shields and helmets out of anything they could find. A makeshift hospital went into operation in a storefront mosque, the cubbies where people normally leave their shoes filled with medical supplies smuggled in through army checkpoints. Hour after hour, men and women, young and old, fought back with incredible bravery and resourcefulness against stones dropped off rooftops, an "endless supply" of Molotov cocktails, and snipers shooting live ammunition. And they won. They held their position, refused to be driven out of the square, and by the end of the day had recaptured territory from the pro-Mubarak forces.
Those who lament the "descent" (really, escalation) into violence should consider the alternative. The thugs were going to attack no matter what the protesters did. There were only two choices--retreat or fight back. Retreat and protesters would have been chased like animals through the streets, scattered, isolated, beaten and possibly killed in dark alleys, or arrested and dragged off to be tortured by a regime that has shown no mercy against far less threatening political movements. The loss of control of Tahrir Square, so soon after the huge protest on Wednesday, would have been a huge psychological blow to the movement and might have demoralized people who came out to their first protest on that day. The inexperienced and those with something to lose would have retreated in fear. The militants would have been isolated and savagely repressed. The only reason that didn't happen was that people decided to fight back.
The current reports are of between four and twelve people killed, all on the side of the demonstrators. There are hundreds of wounded. But if people had not fought back it would have been far bloodier, a massacre that could have broken the movement. A young female protester, calling in to Al Jazeera English in the middle of the night, articulated the stakes very plainly. "If we give up now, they will hunt us down," she said. Her voice was shaking with fear. But she wasn't planning on leaving the square.
All day today, protesters reinforced barricades, treated the wounded and fought off further attempts by thugs to penetrate the square. They developed communication systems--banging on the iron railings all around Tahrir to signal when danger was approaching. Someone jerry-rigged a street light so people could charge their cell phones. By evening Tahrir was again home to several hundred thousand people.
Now dawn is breaking in Egypt on the day people have declared the "Day of Departure" for Mubarak. In the past ten days the Egyptian people have demonstrated the full measure of intelligence, creativity, solidarity, courage and determination that human beings are capable of. Regardless of whether Mubarak leaves today, they can win.
On Tuesday there was a call for a "March of Millions," and the Egyptian people responded. Somewhere between six and eight million people protested across the country--not just in Cairo but in Alexandria, Suez, and smaller cities like the industrial center of Mahalla, the scene of militant strikes in the past few years. Somewhere around a million people poured into Tahrir Square. The atmosphere was festive, elated, and completely peaceful. All day people rallied in the square, doing things that would have been unthinkable a week before: chanting, singing, reading poetry over the rave-worthy speaker systems that have been set up, hurling insults at the dictator and talking, talking, talking--thirty years' worth of banned political discussion bursting forth in an exhilarated flood. When it was time for observant Muslims to pray, hundreds of people prayed in the street, and Christians formed a human chain around them to keep them safe.
The announcement that Mubarak was going to speak "shortly" came on state TV around eight p.m. Nearly four hours later, Mubarak turned up. He announced he wouldn't run for a new term as president in September (something he also said when he was first sworn into office...30 years ago) and offered some other token concessions that may or may not ever be delivered. No mention of lifting the emergency law, which gives police sweeping powers. No mention of changes to the constitution that would allow freerer elections. No hint of remorse for those killed and wounded by police and paid thugs in the past week--but rather aggressive rhetoric blaming the demonstrators for "chaos" and "violence."
Shortly after Mubarak's speech ended, two things happened in quick succession. First, the streets erupted. People were furious. It was clear the speech didn't placate anyone.
Very shortly after that, crowds of armed pro-government thugs began converging on the protests in both Cairo and Alexandria. The army checkpoints that had searched every protester for weapons--sometimes several times--mysteriously melted away in the presence of a mix of plainclothes police and paid thugs. They were armed, organized, and attacked the protesters almost simultaneously in Cairo and Alexandria. Clearly this had been planned in advance. In retrospect, Mubarak's message was perfectly clear. "This is all you're going to get. Now get off the streets--and if you don't, we'll make you."
All night and into the next day, wave after wave of government-backed goons attacked the protesters, trying to drive them out of Tahrir Square. But the protesters resisted--courageously, brilliantly, over and over again.
Western media had tended to report these events using phrases like "descended into chaos and violence." That is not what happened on Wednesday. It was not chaos or aimless rioting. It was a pitched street battle, and an extremely well-organized one at that. Protesters fought back with any weapon they could improvise. Paving stones were torn up for ammunition, delivered to the front lines in bags and buckets and rugs. Barricades bloomed out of scrap metal, Dumpster lids, furniture, even massive streets signs of the size that hang off overpasses. People assembled shields and helmets out of anything they could find. A makeshift hospital went into operation in a storefront mosque, the cubbies where people normally leave their shoes filled with medical supplies smuggled in through army checkpoints. Hour after hour, men and women, young and old, fought back with incredible bravery and resourcefulness against stones dropped off rooftops, an "endless supply" of Molotov cocktails, and snipers shooting live ammunition. And they won. They held their position, refused to be driven out of the square, and by the end of the day had recaptured territory from the pro-Mubarak forces.
Those who lament the "descent" (really, escalation) into violence should consider the alternative. The thugs were going to attack no matter what the protesters did. There were only two choices--retreat or fight back. Retreat and protesters would have been chased like animals through the streets, scattered, isolated, beaten and possibly killed in dark alleys, or arrested and dragged off to be tortured by a regime that has shown no mercy against far less threatening political movements. The loss of control of Tahrir Square, so soon after the huge protest on Wednesday, would have been a huge psychological blow to the movement and might have demoralized people who came out to their first protest on that day. The inexperienced and those with something to lose would have retreated in fear. The militants would have been isolated and savagely repressed. The only reason that didn't happen was that people decided to fight back.
The current reports are of between four and twelve people killed, all on the side of the demonstrators. There are hundreds of wounded. But if people had not fought back it would have been far bloodier, a massacre that could have broken the movement. A young female protester, calling in to Al Jazeera English in the middle of the night, articulated the stakes very plainly. "If we give up now, they will hunt us down," she said. Her voice was shaking with fear. But she wasn't planning on leaving the square.
All day today, protesters reinforced barricades, treated the wounded and fought off further attempts by thugs to penetrate the square. They developed communication systems--banging on the iron railings all around Tahrir to signal when danger was approaching. Someone jerry-rigged a street light so people could charge their cell phones. By evening Tahrir was again home to several hundred thousand people.
Now dawn is breaking in Egypt on the day people have declared the "Day of Departure" for Mubarak. In the past ten days the Egyptian people have demonstrated the full measure of intelligence, creativity, solidarity, courage and determination that human beings are capable of. Regardless of whether Mubarak leaves today, they can win.
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