IN THE SQUARE:New media has galvanised the pro-democracy protesters, but it has also been used by the regime against them, writes MICHAEL JANSEN
THROUGHOUT YESTERDAY democracy activists added to the numbers in Tahrir Square (Liberation Square) even though it was declared an off-day ahead of the expected “demonstration of millions” due today.
Veterans who have spent many days in Tahrir and newcomers walked together into the square. Across Qasr al-Nil bridge the bronze statue of Khedive Ismail, the 19th century ruler who built bridge and square, stood with arm extended, hand open, blessing the men, women and bright-eyed children waving Egyptian flags as they strode toward Tahrir.
My colleague and I were greeted just inside the razor wire and tank barrier by two lines of men brandishing drums and tambourines and a cheerleader who asked us to pause.
“Out, out, out, Omar!” they chanted, calling for the resignation of vice-president Omar Suleiman who had warned of a coup if the protesters stayed on in the square and continued to demand the instant removal of their president, Hosni Mubarak.
Architect Ibrahim Hussein said that the people in Tahrir would leave only when President Mubarak stood down. His friend, Ahmad, a young man who took leave from his job, said: “I am here to smell the breeze of freedom.”
He displayed his two late model mobile phones, having used them to photograph events to post on YouTube.
Asked if they had Facebook pages, he replied: “Oh, yes. But Facebook was only the first phase of the revolution. When they closed down the internet and mobile phones we made the transition from Facebook to people’s book . . . Here we meet all kinds of people we did not know before. We discuss and learn everybody’s opinions . . .We will be sorry to leave. It’s hard to say goodbye to Tahrir Square. We love our unity.”
The regime has been waging a “war of media . . . using Facebook against us . . . to tell lies”, said Ahmad. The media is confusing people outside the square. But more and more people have been coming to see what we are doing . . . We will win freedom for us and for the people who have not come here.”
Amal and Marwa, two young women on their second visit, said they had been following events on Facebook. “We need to have freedom, not terrorism,” said Amal, a psychologist.
Maria, a housewife, and her student daughter Marwa were also on their second visit to the square. The disputed November parliamentary election – in which the ruling party won 90 per cent of assembly seats – was “the starting point of this revolution”, said Maria. Her sister Marwa and three brothers used Facebook to keep up with events. “They urged us to come.”
In the roped-off enclosure behind the speakers’ platform we met organiser Sherif Michawi, an aircraft engineer who had switched to law.
He and his colleagues had initially thought a few hundred people would turn up for the first protest on January 25th, not tens of thousands. He said he had been seized by plainclothes police and beaten on the first night but was released after two days.
“The Egyptian media has been brainwashing the people, giving a bad picture of us . . . We have used alternative media to support our revolution because we had no other way . . . we use technology to ensure our future . . . we have come here to die for freedom. Life without freedom is nothing. We will stay here until our demand is met: all of the Mubarak regime must go.”
When he learned I was from The Irish Times, he cried: “I spent 18 months in Dublin working for Celtic Helicopter. The Irish are good people. I love Dublin.”