Uprising Gives Egyptian Youth Dignity and Hope

Young Egyptians have been speaking about how the revolution has changed not only how their country is perceived around the world, but also how they view their own identity.

“Our voice has reached the whole world loud and clear,” said Sahar Abd-Allah, a journalist. “In my personal experience, Egypt meant no more than the pyramids and the Sphinx to many westerners, but this revolution revealed what Egypt really is.”

The uprising, broadcast around the world, also provided the international community with a better understanding of Egyptian society.

“Now the world knows that the Egyptians stood unified in the face of a corrupt regime and that they are strong people, who guarded their communities after the withdrawal of police forces,” Abd-Allah continued.

“The world witnessed the Egyptians’ organisation of protests in Tahrir Square and how people volunteered to help one another, no matter how limited their resources were. Some world leaders advised their peoples to learn from the Egyptians and acknowledged we are great people, which made me feel very proud.”

“Our voice has reached the developed world, which used to know nothing about us, thinking that we live in tents and used camels for transport,” Lotfy Ibrahim, a kiosk owner, said. “Other countries that have been suffering from corruption and totalitarian regimes like us have been influenced by our revolution and started to follow in our footsteps. The wind of freedom is reaching everywhere in the world.”

Before the uprising, the regime’s control over society meant that many Egyptians were little interested in the political system or the constitution. The revolution has reawakened the public engagement in politics and now there’s widespread debate about the way forward. Political discussion is now commonplace.

Even children have been affected; they watched the unfolding events on TV. When these kids are older they will have a political consciousness because they saw their parents demonstrating and even accompanied them.

“I think that each one of us who has a dream [about our future] now feels it is possible to come true,” law student Mostafa El-Sayed said. “We dream of victory over all sorts of injustice and corruption across the Arab world. We dream of unity; to be one people, one army. I think this revolution is the beginning of a new age, and our children will reap the benefits in the near future.”

Rushdy Said, a security guard, said Egyptians have rarely experienced such national euphoria and optimism – and when they did it was confined to sporting success and invariably short-lived.

“The sense of belonging to your homeland goes through ups and downs,” he said. “We used to feel it soaring when the Egyptian football team played its way to victory against a foreign opponent; we would rush to celebrate on the streets cheering ‘Long live Egypt! Long live Egypt!’ all night long. Yet, the following morning, you would go to finish some paperwork in a government office and you would leave cursing the day you were born Egyptian.”

The fall of the regime, he said, had given his generation new hope.

“So many young people dreamed of the day they would leave Egypt to work in any foreign country, get citizenship and settle there for good,” he said. “This wish stemmed from the continuous oppression, but now that we have freedom we will stand by one another to rebuild our country and protect it, filled with pride to belong to it, because we will rebuild it with our own hands.”

During the heated days of the protest, Tahrir Square seemed like a miniature utopian republic, where justice, mutual respect and cooperation prevailed. Everyone helped one another because they all had one goal. Young people formed public watchdog committees, and young doctors set up medical teams to provide prompt care to the wounded.

On January 28, a Friday which became known as the Day of Rage, Egyptians left mosques all over the country and staged peaceful demonstrations, but the police used live and rubber bullets as well tear gas to disperse them.

“When the police used excessive force, many fell dead and injured, which enraged the people,” Ibrahim Dessouki, who witnessed the demonstrations, recalled. “Is it reasonable to disperse unarmed demonstrators using real bullets and shoot to kill? This is a crime. Everyone who took part in it should be prosecuted and we demand maximum penalty.”

After the police withdrew on the evening of January 28 and armed thugs roamed the streets, people’s fear turned to terror, Mona Ahmed, a university student said.

“But the good that came out of this, however, was the overwhelming spirit of public and communal solidarity,” she said. “Egyptians of all walks of life, of diverse background, age and social strata stood together to guard their homes, public and personal property and to secure the streets.

“Despite the trauma, people got to know their neighbours and made friends. This would not have happened but for this emergency circumstance when they would stay up late all night guarding, sharing dinner or playing a football game to alleviate the anxiety.”

The protesters still have unfulfilled demands: the prosecution of corrupt officials and figures in the former regime, the repatriation of money smuggled abroad by senior officials and the restoration of citizens’ rights.

Egypt’s attorney-general has already started investigations into cases of corruption, with a number of former ministers being questioned.

With the start of this process, the public have been given new faith that this period of transition will deliver democracy.

“Now anyone who wants to speak out and complain of injustice knows that he will not stand alone but will be joined by everyone who has a similar complaint,” Mohammed Ahmed, a banker, said. “Now it is unacceptable to overlook any case of injustice or corruption.”  

Adham Khorshed is an Egyptian photojournalist.