When we can watch a revolution live on Al Jazeera and follow its minute-by-minute progress through Twitter and Facebook, it’s easy to overlook the degree to which a people’s uprising hinges on simply that: people rising up and taking to the streets. In the video below we witness the simple and visceral demand that came from the streets as marchers called out to their neighbors to join the demonstration.
Electronic Intifada: Philip Rizk (@tabulagaza on Twitter) took this remarkable video of huge popular protests in Cairo on 28 January. The crowds can be heard chanting “inzel! inzel!” — meaning “come down! come down!” — a call to neighbors to join the march, and “The people demand the fall of the regime.”
يوم الغضب- ٢٨ يناير ٢٠١١ Days of Anger- Arabic version from tabulagaza on Vimeo.
Philip Rizk writes:
Following Friday prayers on January 28 we joined protesters marching through the streets of Imbaba in Cairo, Egypt. The crowd of 100 that we joined kept increasing and continuously joined with other marches in the same quarter North West of downtown Cairo. By about 1pm the protesters numbered around 15,000 marching towards Galaa Square and attempting to get across the Nile to Tahrir Square, downtown Cairo. In Galaa square we met two other large marches from Giza and Mohandiseen that had already tried to cross to Tahrir and had come under heavy tear gas fire. Shortly thereafter the converged protesters stormed past the security forces and streamed into Tahrir Square. Soon thereafter the security forces that had used brutal force to stop the protests disappeared and the central square of downtown filled with demonstrators sharing one united call: “down with Hosni Mubarak.” In the early evening protesters burnt down the regime’s National Democratic Party headquarters. The streets were filled with tear gas, burning police vehicles and chants of celebration.
Protesters in Tahir Square — just posted on YouTube (don’t know when it was recorded):
“Leave, leave, Mubarak! Tel Aviv is waiting for you!” Protesters at Tahrir Square, January 30 2011:
I agree, there’s no turning back. How could there be? So far, what we have seen, are smiles on the faces of the people, even though the Police & thugs are doing their what ever. As each day passes, it seems that the Egyptian Peoples are in this for the long haul. Hope they succeed. Perhaps the U.S./ Israeli’s won’t like the outcome, but it should be a wakeup call to them.
Today I joined hundreds of other supporters expressing our solidarity with Egypt in your courageous struggle and defiance of the dictator mubarik in the streets of San Francisco, California. We heard that there were many more demonstrations in US cities raising our voices in support. American people are with you, maybe not our government, but we the people are. We wish you good fortune with your struggle and our hearts and prayers are with you.