Egypt Protests - VICTORY!

Mark my words readers; on February 11^th 2011, Egypt changed the world. Through persistent peaceful demonstrations filled with love and respect for eachother and spiced with a good amount of humour, the brave Egyptians managed to throw the president Hosni Mubarak out. The joy I feel for the people of Egypt and for every other person living under an oppressive regime is impossible to describe. The first minutes after VP Suleiman made the announcement that Mubarak is stepping down I was in chock and had to ask Khalid some 10-20 times if it's really true. I though that maybe it was another lie to calm the people down. I though that maybe they heard wrong. But no. As from today, the 30+ year long dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak has come to an end and it wasn't through violence or assassination (even though the people surely could have taken that path too) but through non-violence and love for eachother. I'm amazed.

It makes me incredibly proud of having witnessed this fantastic transformation of Egypt. Thank you Egyptians, for giving the world hope and trust that the people will always be the ones in power if they choose to. Miracles can be made by human hands and one individual truly can make a huge difference.

I'm pretty speachless, so I'll leave you to follow the celebrations on TV and will write some more when the emotions have started to settle. Many books will be written about this people and these two and a half weeks of protests is certainly the biggest historical moment in modern Arab history. Alf mabroook ya Masr! May fate continue to smile upon you!

Cairo Protests - Part VII

January 27th, 2011: The streets in this part of downtown have been calm today, but there have been reports of protests around the city all day. The people of Cairo are preparing for the largest demonstration so far which is supposed to take place tomorrow after the Friday prayers. The government's response seems to be that all major mosques in central Cairo will be closed, which of course will make people even more upset and draw more people to the protests that up until now haven't cared much for attending.

Facebook and Twitter, as well as mobile nets, are currently shut down which is meant to make it more difficult for people to communicate and spread information about the ongoing situation in the country and tomorrow's demonstrations. I will keep on posting videos and photos here as long as it's possible and as long as I can get close enough without being in the middle of it.

Please spread these videos on Facebook, Twitter and other social medias as it's important that the world gets to see what's going on in the country now that we're being censored. Please make sure to link to my blog if you intend to use the videos and photos.

SvD, DN, SR, Reuters, The Guardian,

Cairo Protests - Part V

January 26th, 2011: Second day of demonstrations in Cairo. Up until now the masses and police have stayed away from "my" place of downtown, but as we exited our building in the early evening of Wednesday, a couple of hundered demonstrators made their way towards Tahrir Square through our street. The group was chanting protest verses and was peaceful but angry. Police were present, but as far as I could see they mostly kept their distance from the demonstrators.

Rumours say that military are moving in in Suez, and the Egyptians have today suffered from shut down mobile nets and landlines as well as social networks like Facebook and Twitter along with some newspaper sites. In addition to at least four people that got killed during the clashes today, it is said that two more (a police and a protestor) died today but it's unsure if it was a car accident or something more directly associated with the demonstrations.

The atmosphere among the people in Cairo is tense; most people I've spoken to say that this is a very bad situation, although some of them aren't even sure what this is all about. The Guardian is continuosly, minute by minute, reporting about the situation in Egypt. Rumours say that reporters and other people who document the demonstrations by photo or camera have been rounded up by the police. Some have been driven out in the desert and many have been beaten. The police presence have been high during the whole day and it seems like they're taking no chances after Tuesday's events. All kinds of demonstrations have been prohibited, but many brave souls have defied it all over the country.

Will post a video or two later during the day.

Cairo Protests - Part VI

January 26th, 2011: Day two. Protestors make their way to Tahrir Square via side streets as the major streets are heavely blocked by riot police. This video was shot just outside our apartment yesterday early evening.

Cairo Protests - Part IV

January 25th, 2011: Protesters break through one of the barrikades in a side street and are approaching Tahrir Square (Midan Tahrir) in central Cairo while chanting of the will to bring president Mubarak down.

Cairo Protests - Part III

January 25th, 2011: As police forces block the main streets leading to Tahrir Square (Midan Tahrir), demonstrators move to side streets where they're also met with force. In this video a group breaks through the barricade.

Cairo Protests - Part II

January 25th, 2011: Egged police forces and protesters clash in Tahrir Square (Midan Tahrir) in central Cairo on Tuesday.

Cairo Protests - Part I

January 25th, 2011: The first demonstrations begun. We live in central Cairo and it's been hard to avoid the riots. It feels surreal. We're in the middle of something huge; I'm actually witnessing a revolution that will be read of in the history books in the future.

Massive police forces gathered in Tahrir Square (Midan Tahrir) in central Cairo in the early afternoon on Tuesday and was egged into confrontation of thousands of Cairo demonstrators on the other side of the square. As I film the event, armoured trucks started to shoot with waterguns at the protesters.