In progress...

I started writing this post on Jan 31st 2011
Everything was happening too quickly for me to grasp it, and I was attempting to pause it for seconds & take in what I was experiencing.

I never got the chance to finish this post, and I don't think I will anytime soon.

I suddenly remembered! I never got a chance to finish it cause we got suddely cut off from the last means of connecting to the internet. I even sent out 2 "speak to tweet" s one in English & one in Arabic  (with a small message to my brother & his wife :) )



Anyway, I thought I'd publish it just as it is, unfnished just like our revolution: A story that is still in progress, still unfolding & still wonderfully dazzling me with surprises.

*********

When I wrote here a week ago asking people to be part of January 25th protest the reason I gave was that each one of us deserves to live this special moment where you chant in unity with strangers as you are walking down the streets feeling that you own these streets. Never had I expected this moment I was urging everyone to seek to extend for 7 continuous days, and certainly I wouldn't have predicted to be that overwhelmingly powerful and warm.

I love this country.
When I was young I formed several images of it, and over the years my main concern was to keep those images as pure and unspoilt as possible.
It was hard. It was so damn hard.
I had dreams for me here that were repeatedly smashed and I was afraid of the day I'd be too exhausted to collect the pieces. That I will just give up, pack and leave.

I wanted to work in a country where i don't have to wait several moths, going through a rediculous amount of bureaucratic paperwork just to get my salary which is little anyway.
I wanted to give birth to kids in a country without fearing I would lose them like Khaled said's mom lost her precious son.
I wanted to live in a country where if i got harassed in the street I wouldn't refrain from complaining to the police for fear of more harassment.

My brother once told me I have romanticized  my perception of Egypt, I realise in so many situation I did that. It was my only way of surviving, living Egypt blind to the cruel side of it. But this time, these days, I am really living Egypt and Egypt is really beautiful. The people are great, and every day they present me with new surprise.

Jan25th

I was amazed


Away from the spotlight: The true revolutionaries



Photo by Neil Pollick

 " Revolution is no fun" I screamed out in frustration.

My mother looked at me quizzically, I elaborated " I thought after Tahrir it will be gone, it will be one glorious continuous burst of colors, but they couldn't, the army just couldn't let us enjoy our victory"
She hugged me smiling as she said " When your working on human rights violations it can never be over"

When Mobarak left.
No, Let me rephrase that: When we forced Mubarak to step down.

On that beautiful day I found myself crying among thousands of strangers, Zagharit filling the air, shaking hands and taking photographs with crazy smiling screaming strangers, I thought there will be no more heart ache, there will only be time for us to get over the ordeals of the past.

Then came the day I got a reality slap: Februery 26th
It was awful. It was awful because we weren't prepared and they cheated us. It was awful because minutes before the army beat the crap out of us, there was a young man spreading a blanket to sleep on and his friend asked him if he isn't worried atall and his answer was " The army is here, Nothing could worry me"

Minutes later the army was dispersing the crowd with electric probes, running after them , dragging them while kicking and cursing.
I can still remember the scary sound of electric shocks. I can still remember Amr El Beheiry's helpess look as he was dragged behind the army line, to be handed back to us minutes later all bruised and with a bleeding nose.

Minutes later Amr got arrested again, tortured,and beaten up.
Over the following 3 days he would face military trial over forged charges, in absence of his family and lawyer as they were misinformed of the date of his trial, and in minutes he'd get sentenced 5 years.
Amr was arrested on Saturday the 26th of February, He was sentenced Monday the 28th.

But Amr was just the begining.
Amr was our peek into the backstage of the revolution: While thousands of Egyptians were celebrating our patriotic army, chanting " The army and the people are one hand", thousands others were getting silently crushed by the army.
Families were losing their kids for years of imprisonment over made up accusations, wives were losing their husbands just because they happened to be on the street at a time when the army were totally clueless as to how to deal with this alien situation so they thought " Lock them up, we'll sort it out later"

To some families this is their only share of the revolution: Endless trips to distant prisons where their men were sent off, tens of letters pleading to the mercy of Chief Tantawi to review their sons' cases, numerous trips from one prison to the other trying to findout the whereabouts of their husbands, sneaky phonecalls from their sons in prison assuring them they are fine.

But in all of these bleak moments you would see the real revolution that is taking place, you would see it in:
*Om Sameer, bravely defying an army officer telling him " You told us our sons were heroes, you pretended to support them in their revolution but now you imprison & torture them, if you had told us from the begining they were criminals, we would have locked them up at home & forbid them to go to Tahrir"

Om Ahmed , taking a weekly trip El Wadi El Gedid prison, a trip that takes 2 days, and collecting all info of prisoners inside & their stories and bringing it to us so we can work on their cases.

Om Hassan bravely telling Chief Tantawi " Even if he did something wrong, he should be tried in a civil court"

Dina , deciding to get married to her fiancee the moment she knew his 5 year imprisonment sentence got ratified.

As international media obsesses about " twitter revolution", "role of social media", " Role of women" &   " Fear of MB"
As our media obsesses about " Lack of security", " The Israeli Spy" & " lack of stability"
As we obsess about " Consitution 1st", " elections 1st", " National coalition" & "National dialogue"

Away from all this media frenzy, a battle is taking place and it is lead by the true revolutionaries.


* "Om" means "mother of"

Another testimony of military brutality on protesters

This is a translation of the testimony written by Muhammad Mosa originally published here 

The person in this picture - that is myself – is the same person in this video, at 1:25 minutes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5GSfSRY2PQ

Due thanks..

I will start with reference to the kind treatment we received from the unit 28 military prosecution, as well as the respect and grace with which we were treated on the morning of the 26^th of February when we were transferred to the military police administration. To be honest the Major General running the military police administration, and fellow officers and individuals were all very generous, and treated us like guests and not criminals.

And an extra thanks to the Major General for paying special attention to our cases – those who were beaten and assaulted the dawn of that very day – and taking me and a friend to Kobry El Qubba hospital in the company of an Officer to help with the ex-rays and check-ups and ensure our safety himself.  They sent the rest back to Tahrir in a microbus at the same time.

Right before the Sit-in was dispersed…

We were a little less than 150 people that night. At around 11:30 in the evening of the 25^th of February, army soldiers formed a cordon around us without violations; one of my friends thinks this might have been their way of kettling us and making sure our numbers don’t grow around the ministerial cabinet.  They dismantled their human cordon at 15 minutes past midnight of the 26^th of February. At around that time we started hearing news of the sit-in in Tahrir being violently dispersed. And at around 1:30 am that very night, the army started using electric batons to disperse the sit-in and of-course we ran. They continued to push, beat and kick at us, until they managed to disperse us.

And then I was arrested…

As I ran, I came across a fallen protestor, and stopped to check on him. An officer grabbed me and started to push and beat at me and I said to him “Don’t hit! Just arrest me!” And he replied “Come here ya ruh ummak”[1] , and they pulled me into a garage in the ministerial cabinet; and this is where the physical and moral torture began.

In the ministerial cabinet’s garage…

I was shocked at the numbers of army personnel beating up protestors in the garage. At first I thought these must have been thugs, but before I had a chance to finish the thought, I was pulled very roughly and ordered to squat on the ground. With that they started to kick at every part of my body; I tried to cover my face to protect it, but one of the officers pulled my arm away and stepped on my face pushing it to the ground, while they tied my hands behind my back. They – Lieutenants, First Lieutenants and a row of officers and soldiers -  then proceeded to kick at my face as if my head were a soccer-ball.

Others around me were much worse off. One was stripped bare in the cold and sprayed with water and beaten, while another was beaten until his shoulder was dislocated, while others were electrocuted with the electric batons. One protestor called out to declare he had a heart condition; and they shouted back at him to ask what he was doing in a protest if he had such a condition, as they proceeded to pull his hand away from his heart, and kick him where it was.

Twice we heard what sounded like a high-ranking officer giving an order to end the beating “No one hit any of them anymore!”. But as soon as he would leave, the beating would start again; it was difficult to tell if they really weren’t following orders, or if the whole thing was just theatrical. For the beating never ceased.

What was said in the Garage…

What was worse than the beating and the insults, were the accusations that the officers and military personnel were throwing at us while we were in there. When I first got in they played the old reel of accusations related to treachery and our being spies; I could even hear an officer shout as he beat a protestor “And you’re getting 50 Euros to insult president Mubarak ya ruh ummak?!”.  And while we were all hearing variations of this, each of us was specifically asked to say “Long live Hosni Mubarak”, and those who refused got a fresh course of beating.  It was clear to us that they didn’t think they were dealing with thugs, but believed they were dealing with paid security threats.

  And one of the personal violations that I could note is their occasional calling out that “We’re in Abu Ghareeb here” , as they piled protestors un-top of each other and beat them.

There was one Officer amongst the lot however that was kind to me, and often rough to my perpetrators; all thanks to my mothers’ prayers! He answered my phone when it rang (though never gave any useful information) and ensured that I got all my things back as I was leaving – thankfully I didn’t loose anything.

Who was in the Ministerial Cabinet’s Garage..

We were a little more than ten people beaten and tortured in the garage. There was one person I was sure was a thug, but he was being treated like a spy. And one seemed to be someone who ran away from the army, but he was only insulted. The rest were all, truly protestors (revolutionaries).

There was another group of around (or a little less than) 17 people arrested from the sit-in in Tahrir square; and I can say that 5 of them were really thugs. This group didn’t seem to have been beaten or tortured (not even the thugs) but they had been electrocuted with the electric batons.

Questions that continue to haunt me…

Was what happened truly on account of ‘irresponsible elements’ in the army as it claimed in the official apology? Or was it intended to get a message across? Or are they the infiltrated minority in the army?

Was this on account of orders from higher army ranks? If so, will they be held accountable?

Breaking the curfew shouldn’t warrant any torture of beating; which there is never any justification for anyway… then why did this happen?

Does what happened mean there’s some sort of split within the army ranks? That there are some that have stakes in the old regime and want it to survive through Mubarak or someone else?

Why is the army so keen on the 6-month transitional period; when there is a call for the development of a presidential council with civilian representatives to lead the state through a year-long transitional period?

Testimony on the arrest of Amr Abdallah Al-Bihary Early Saturday morning of the 26th of February 2011

A testimony from Dr. Laila Soueif, an eye-witness of the arrest and mistreatment of Amr Abdallah, the protester who is currently facing military trial after the army made up an arms possession case against him.. (Read it in Arabic too)

Eyewitness account on the arrest of Amr Abdallah Al-Bihary

Early Saturday morning of the 26^th of February 2011

Dr. Laila Soueif

Professor at Cairo University, Faculty of Sciences

ID Number: 25605018800105

At around 2am Saturday the 26^th of February 2011 in Al-Qasr Al-Ainy St. the army and military police forcefully dispersed the sit in that was staged in front of the People’s Assembly that I was participating in. Soon after, as we were all leaving, some members of the army kidnapped Amr Abdallah Al-Bihary (32 years old- from Kafr Al-Zayat) and started viciously beating him, causing him facial injuries, for no obvious reason. When we announced that we would not be leaving without him, a high ranking military officer started talking to us and ordered other officers to release Amr Abdallah Al-Bihary- he had bad injuries on his face. As we were walking through Al-Qasr Al-Ainy st. Mr. Amr Abdallah Al-Bihary, Dr. Shady Al-Ghazaly Harb, Dr. Takadom Al-Khateeb (Assistant Lecturer at the Faculty of Arts of Mansoura University and a member of the 9^th of March Movement for Universities' independence), my Daughter Mona Ahmed Seif Abdel Fatah, my son Alaa Ahmed Seif Abdel Fatah, my daughter in-law Manal Bahy El-Din Hassan, Mr. Ahmed Abdallah (Mr. Amr’s relative) and myself were stopped by two young men in a car (I unfortunately don’t know their names) who offered to help us. We asked them to take Mr. Amr Abdallah as he was injured and his cousin, Then Dr. Shady and Dr. Takadom left us to take Dr. Shady's car. As they left, my family and I started walking through Garden City. A few minutes later Dr. Takadom Al-Khateeb called me to tell me that the army had stopped them again. I went back to Al-Qasr Al-Ainy st. to find Mr. Amr Abdallah Al-Bihary, Dr. Shady Al-Ghazaly Harb, Dr. Takadom Al-Khateeb, and the two men who stopped to help us earlier all detained by a large number of military officers.

At around 4:30am Dr. Takadom Al-Khateeb called to inform me that he and Dr. Shady Al-Ghazaly Harb had been released but the other four were still detained. He also informed me that the officer who detained them claimed he found a weapon (Sound Gun) on Mr. Amr Abdallah.

At 2pm Saturday the 26^th of February 2011, after reading the 23^rd statement of the Supreme Military Council (which stated that all those detained Saturday morning would be released) I called Mr. Ahmed Abdallah to make sure he was alright. He informed me that he himself had been released and that the other two men who had stopped to help us were also released earlier but that he did not know anything of Mr. Amr Abdallah. I would like to state here the Mr. Amr Abdallah was not carrying anything that could possibly hold a gun. Furthermore, he had been detained by the military earlier that day and then released to leave with us: if he was indeed bearing a gun they would have never let him leave with us. The likelihood is that they wanted an excuse for the injures they caused him as my daughter Mona, Dr. Shady, and Dr. Takadom took pictures of him that showed the extent of these injuries after the military initially released him, and it was obvious that we intended to report the incident. Further to this, everyone I spoke to who had also been detained that morning said that they had been viciously beaten and some said that they had even been tortured by the use of electric shocks.

Dr. Laila Soueif

Professor at Cairo University, Faculty of Sciences

26 February 2011

قافلة طبية لليبيا...Medical Convoy to Libya

تحديث هام: نظرا لتوافد اعداد كبيرة على الحدود في احتياج لمساعدات طبية تقرر رحيل القافلة اليوم الاربعاء 23 فيراير مساءا. برجاء سرعة الاتصال بالنمر المعلنة للمساهمة في القافلة

Due to increasing number of people on boarders needing medical help, Convoy will leave Tonight Wednesday 23rd Feb. Plz contact the enlisted numbers rapidly for your contribution

ساعدونا في النشر

عن صديقي مالك عزام:

سلام عليكم يا شباب

طبعا كلنا عارفين الوضع في ليبيا اليومين دول، وازاي الحالة بايظة هناك..علشان كده انا ومجموعة من اصحابي هانروح انشاء الله يوم الخميس علي الحدود..هانشتري كمية دوا كبيرة انشاء الله وهانحاول نوصل الدوا ده لليبيا باي حال من الاحوال..

لو ماقدرناش ندخل الدوا هانحاول نكون هناك علشان نساعد علي قد مانقدر..

تخيلوا ان فيه مليون ونص مصري هايكونوا راجعين من هناك..فاكيد المستشفيتين بتوع الجيش مش هايكفوا..واي مساعده ممكنة هاتكون مطلوبة انشاء الله..

احنا محتاجين ايه:

1- اطباء من مختلف التخصصات يكونوا مستعدين يكونوا معانا لمدة علي الاقل يومين.

2- ممرضين علي استعداد للمشاركة لمدة يومين 

3- كميات مختلفة من الادوية (مرفق انواع الادوية المطلوبة)

4- مساعدات مادية لشراء الادوية والمستلزمات خاصة وسائل الاتصال لطمئنة اسر العائدين او الليبين الموجودين علي الحدود.

5- ناس تساعدنا في جمع الاموال خلال المظاهرة المليونية غدا انشاء الله...

اللي يقدر يساعد ياريت يتصل باي من الارقام التالية:

محمود ابوالفتوح 0165539014 

مالك عزام 0174057333

محمد مأمون 0106719997

تيمور انور 0168786885

شكرا

Greetings friends,

We are all aware of the situation in Libya and how difficult it is right now. So a group of friends and I are heading to the border this Thursday night. We will purchase a large amount of medical supplies and hopefully be able to send it to Libya. In any case, if we are unable to do so we will remain at the border to try and help as much as we can.

1.5 million Egyptians will be making their way to the border, so I am sure you can appreciate that the two field hospitals set up by the army will not be enough to treat the injured. Any help you can offer will be greatly appreciated. We will be needing the following:

1- Doctors of different specialities willing to stay with us for at least 2 days;

2- Nurses prepared to participate for 2 days; 3- Different types of medicine (list attached);

4- Financial assistance to buy medicine, basic food and water, supplies and communication devices to communicate with the families of Egyptians returnees or Libyans at the border;

5- Volunteers to help with collecting donations during tomorrows march in Tahrir.

If you can help with any of the above please call:

Mahmoud Aboulfotoh 0165539014

Malek Azzam 0174057333

Mohamed Mamoun 0106719997

Teymour Anwar 0168786885

Thank you

Salut tout le monde,

Bien-sur on connait tous la situation en Libye et c'est pour cela que je vais aller avec un groupe d' amis jeudi a la frontière. On va acheter une grande quantité de médicament et on va essayer par tout moyen de les faire passer au Libye.

Au cas ou on ne pourra pas faire passer les médicaments, on va essayer d’être présent pour aider le mieux possible.

Imaginer qu'il y aurait 1.5 milions d’égyptiens qui rentrent a travers la frontière, et certainement les 2 hôpitaux de l’armée ne seront pas suffisants, donc n'importe quelle aide est demandée.

Ce que dont on a besoin:

1- Des docteurs dans toutes les spécialités qui seront prêts a être présents pour au moins deux jours.

2- Des infirmiers prêts a participer pour au moins deux jours.

3- Des différents types de médicaments (une liste des types de médicaments demandés est attachée).

4- Des aides financières afin d'acheter les médicaments et les outils nécessaire, surtout des moyens de communication pour rassurer les familles des égyptiens qui retournent ou des libyens présents sur la frontière. 

5- Des gens pour nous aider a collecter de l'argent durant la manifestation de demain (mardi)

Ceux qui peuvent aider, veuillez contacter les numéros suivants:

Mahmoud Abou El Fotouh: 0165539014

Malek Azzam: 0174057333

Mohamed Maamoun: 0106719997

Taymour Anwar: 0168786885

Support revolutions of the people!

When we were in Tahrir square our hearts were warmed by the flood of news of global demonstrations in solidarity with our revolution.

I remember how I would hug my phone whenever I receive a photo showing people from other countries holding a banner with " Down with Mubarak" or when some stranger sending me " We are with you".

It was a bliss, to feel that all over the word people are praying for our victory & safety, and when Mubarak finally stepped down, they were as excited as we were and celebrated for us & with us.

Now IT IS OUR TURN. The revolution wave we welcomed from #Tunisia , has now passed on and sparked revolutions in many other countries and THEY NEED OUR SUPPORT.

Join us Monday 21st Feb in a solidarity march with nations fighting to win back their freedom. 

We'll start at 3 pm infront of Bahrain embassy & Algeria embassy as well (they are facing one another) in Brazil st. in Zamalek, then we'll move to Libya embassy, pass by Tunisia embassy to chant our thanks. All of these are in Zamalek. we'll then move to Dokki where embassies of Jordan, Syria, Yemen & Iran are located. 

If you can't join us at 3 pm, make sure you join us around 5 pm infront of the embassy of Iran, in Refa'a st. off Mesaha square  in Dokki .

I was not brave, I was protected!

Whatever memories #Jan25 leaves me with, Wednesday night will be deeply carved in my memory.
When Al-Jazeera called, they couldn't pick a more intense, more dramatic moment to do so. Ambulance running in and out, people screaming and shouting, young men triumphantly facing their death, me crying helplessly and the sound of gun shots echoing in the background of all this.

The next day I found out that this call spread globally and won me many solidarity emails, tweets and calls. I wanted to respond to them all, I wanted to clarify alot of things but I was so angry. So angry at a world that stands by watching brave kids and men face death for the follies of a -should be dying- old man. So angry at people sitting warm & comfortable at home, condemning those in Tahrir, while they are sacrificing their lives for each and everyone of us.

I got many comments on how brave people like me are what makes revolutions happen. I have to clarify this: I was not brave, I was protected. 
The battle extended over the night. It started with rocks & glass, moved onto Molotof cocktails , then there was gun fire. The army was there motionless, and at one point they even all went down and hid in their trucks.

I could never find the words to describe the bravery I witnessed that night. Hundreds of young & old men rushing unarmed to face the cowards hired by Mubarak's bastards, responding to gunshot with rocks, grabbing anything from the ground that could be used as a shield.  You hear the gun shots, you see some of them falling, others rushing to carry them, Ambulance rushing in to take the wounded and the dead, as more rush in to the front line to face the same fate. If you hear loud prayers as they are carrying their comrades know that we've lost another one of us. All this as the army is watching, Mubarak is watching, the world is watching, and no one is stopping this.

The center of Tahrir square was safe. I could have stayed there to eat, sleep or even listen to music. I could have done all this and not even a flying rock could have harmed me, only because there were hundreds risking their lives out there for our safety.

When you are away from Tahrir square, listening to the stories about it makes it seem much more scary and terrifying than it really is. But when you are among bandaged people who wake up singing and chanting, kids running & playing, strangers offering you food and insisting you take it , strangers smiling at you as you greet them with "good morning", you would feel warm, hopeful, optimistic but definitely no fear.

That night made me fully realize, the Egypt I really want is that of Tahrir square. The people there are what Egypt is all about, and I am with them in whatever fate awaits us.

I am exhausted!

I can't sleep. My head won't stop and give me a moment to rest. Too many precious moments need to be etched in my memory and I have no time to linger on them.
I feel Like crying, laughing and screaming.
Images are racing by, I need to capture them. Just spit any vague words to remind me of them later. When Mobarak leaves I'll have the time to stop at every image and savor it, for now this has to be enough:

They hit us bad. They shot tear gas at us, I saw ppl running and screaming, and all i can remember is the tweeted instructions " Do not rub ur eyes" I tried, I really tried, but my eyes were on fire, I didn't rub them though but ended up walking blindly into a wall. Then someone carried me up onto a small garden in the middle of Tahrir square, helped me and stayed there to make sure I am ok while bombs were still falling around us. This was 1 of many strangers I would momentarily bond with over the next dew days.

Then they beat everyone up. Total chaos. Rocks, Batoons, Water from fre trucks, I saw many wounded, minor wounds but they shocked me, I didn't know yet that this was nothing compared to what awaits us in the next few days. Amidst all this my dear JarelKamar came running at me, shielded my back with his body and ran with me away from the flying rocks.

A while later I felt more at ease wt all these gases and flying rocks. I came prepared for minor injuries, so I walked around to check if anyone needs help. I tended to a few wounded then came 4 guys running at me, they looked like the kind of guys I would normally avoid in the street for fear of sexual harassment, but they were running for my help, one of them was injured from a rock thrown at him by the police, I helped them with it which was followed by a moment of them cheering me and my gad3ana . This was just so wonderful.
Ofcourse it helped that I had a recent scar on my chin with stitches which they asked me about and to which I laughingly said " I fell at work yesterday, I came to the demo fully prepared wt my own scar" and we laughed together before running again

I walked the streets with men and women, of all sorts of backgrounds. Never have I felt a sense of belonging like then, like now. I was happy just to be in the streets sitting in close proximity with thousands of strangers, snuggled in a warm cocoon, liberating Tahrir square, marking it as ours.

There is much more to tell. Many stories that must be told. I owe it to the people who allowed me to briefly share it with them, but I am really exhausted now.

Around me, friends are sleeping on couches, on the floor, in any empty space they can find.

I call them friends eventhough half of them I've never met before this week, but so many things happened, together we shared intensely charged emotional days that we became friends rapidly.

Yesterday I was terrified, I was freaked out like never before. I was shaking in bed trying to convince myself to sleep. I actually thought of writing a note and posting it on my fridge incase I died. Now I feel elated.

I have lived to see the uprise of the Egyptian people and the downfall of Mobarak . I can dream about having kids and me telling them proudly that I was part of this extraordinary moment.

This is my place.

These are my people,

and we just seized our country back.

Long Live the Revolution of The Egyptian People

Urgent appeal نداء استغاثة

استغاثة لوزارة الصحة و الهلال الاحمر و و القوات المسلحة 

الادوية اللازمة لعلاج المصابين في المظاهرات تنفذ في المستشفيات العامة 

و الصيدليات. برجاء سرعة توفيرها لانقاذ حياة المرضى

Help needed from the Ministry of Health, the Red Crescent and Armed Forces:

Essential medicine and medical aids are needed to cure injured people from the protests. They are running out of hospitals and pharmacies. Please provide them to save lives of injured people.

National Powers coalition statement

The People Demand the Overthrow of the Regime

 for Dignity, Freedom, Social Justice Fellow Citizens,

In this critical time and to confront Mubarak's efforts to abort the revolution of the Egyptian People. We – the political Forces – call on our fellow citizens to hold on to their demands and in its forefront:

1- the resignation of the president

2- Forming a Temporary Government from forces trustworthy by the people that excludes members of NDP with all its figures and leaders, its first job being the immediate release of all political detainees.

3- Taking those responsible for the policies that impoverish and torture

4- Freedom for all sectors of the population to form their own free organizations

And until realizing these demands we call on all our fellow citizens to:

1- Announcing a general strike starting tomorrow Sunday 30 January 2011

2- Forming popular committees in all neighborhoods to protect the assets of the people against all destruction administered by the dying regime to deform and abort the revolution of the people

Long Live the Revolution of The Egyption People All the Freedom to the People .. All the Loyalty to the Nation

Home again!

For years i had one gang of friends that are like family to me.

They've been part of my life for many many years, We've lived many lives together, We were together at times of happiness, embarrassment, pain, farewells. We've seen many things together that now it seems the natural thing to do to share with them  my most treasured thoughts and events.

When I was leaving the one guy I really loved, knowing they were there gave me strength to hold on to my decision despite the pain and confusion.

We grew up together. We fought, we yelled, we laughed, we danced. We danced alot, and laughed alot.

Since 2000 we celebrated every new year's eve together. But as we grew up, it got harder for all of us to gather. Some were abroad to study, and some traveled alot with their work.

This new year's eve however was different. Amr was back from France. Emzo, Dj and Basma came from Uk. Kerstin and Nora came from Germany.

True we weren't all there, we were still missing some, but still this kind of gathering didn't happen in a long time. So this new year's eve was special, and we were all excited about it.

And it was great. One big bubble of happiness, music and childhood memories. I was lost in warmth and an enormous gratitude for life. And when this song started to play, we hugged each other, jumped together as we loudly sang: 

" Dancing in the moonlight

Singing in the rain
Oh, it's good to be back home again
Laughing in the sunlight
Running down the lane
Oh, it's good to be back home again"