#Jan25 Personal Reflections from Tahrir Tuesday Feb 1st

These are unedited, unorganized and kinda emotional notes written on my mobile phone during my stay at the night of Tuesday Feb 1st @ Tahrir Square in Cairo among more than 2 million Egyptians demanding freedom and dignity by the removal of Mubarak and his regime. Followed by some videos I recorded using my phone as well.

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6:06 PM I’m at tahrir square finished the prayers and moved to the stage where this section is being led after they called for volunteers, couldn’t reach them so just sat down here thinking and reflecting

Had a few dates and some water, not used to loud chanting; I got a headache. decided to take some rest. Om Kolthom’s voice is louder than any other here. Singing “I love it from all my soul and blood” makes me remember from a few hours when a man listened to it, he got into a hysterical crying and bowing of excitment, people hugged him and calmed him down.

Tahrir square is booming not with expired gas bombs this time and not with loud voices only, but with patriotic emotions, a few public figures spoke a long the same line Mubarak leaving before any further step to be taken

As I always do, calling myself a “strategist” I try to find out if there is any better way I can serve. Tahrir square is safter than it ever had been in the last 30 years, it’s quite hard to describe how understanding, forgiving and open-minded these people are. They used to be the extreme opposite from a few days

Anyone spoke about sexual harrasement in Egypt should come today amonst more than two million individuals, girls here are safe enough to move wherever they want among their brothers

For the first time waiting in front of Koshary El-Tahrir the guy to my back is probably a secret police, had been going all the way ..

7:58 PM I’m back after ordering couple of Koshary and had to wait about 40 minutes in a long line. But got ’em and ate one already, I also took a piss, it was a deep human experience, I can write a separate note about it

Well, it’s the first time for me to eat Koshary outside home, which is kinda weird. I was brought up to think that eating outside home is a sin exposing myself to diseases .etc when it was a necessity to eat outside I was choosing take away that’s easier to eat on the fly

I think my people are kinda cute, all girls I came across today were very beautiful and the guys surrounding me are handsome in someway or the other, maybe it’s common purpose that unite us and make us blend.

I’m in love with about 3 million people I’m surrounded with now, more than 8 millions who got out from their homes for a shared purpose with shared chants. Also, I’m in love with 83 million people that makes up the population of my country after substituting the police and controlling regime

I love this country so much that I’ll probably be biased. Now, I gotta move .. it’s my turn to chant 8:15 PM.
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Morning of Tuesday. Chants in a part of Tahrir “we demand a revolutionary government .. to build social justice” I was trying to zoom in to a bearded man – who are usually labelled as Islamists – participating in the chants after being noticeably demanding a “civil government” not an Islamic state as the current regime is trying to reflect to westerners to scare them and accordingly get their support and stay in power.

Mixed chants with active presence of Egyptian women; chants are “down down with Mubarak .. tell me who voted for you” and “keep strong o my country .. a new Egypt is being born”

A funny Egyptian man giving Mubarak the red card, football is the most popular sport in Egypt

Creativity and sense of humor are very noticeable there, it was even noticeable by non Arabic speakers. Ben from CNN wrote on Twitter

These guys are extremely hilarious and creative, was the funniest thing in the whole night, they’re altering popular Egyptian songs to anti-Mubarak songs in a wicked way

Ramy a young singer collected all our chants in a single song that was amazing! he’s singing “We’re all .. one hand .. we asked .. for one thing .. go away .. go away”, “down .. down with Mubarak” and “the people .. demand .. removal of the regime” – not my footage here

Early morning of Wednesday Feb 2nd. That was the early morning practice of the guys @ Tahrir while chanting anti-Mubarak and for Egypt. Chants include: “leave .. leave”, “We’ll not go away untill he goes away” and the revolution demand “The people .. demand .. the removal of the regime”.

I left Tahrir square 7:30 in the morning of Wednesday Feb 2nd. A few hours, the regime-hired thugs attacked peaceful protesters at Tahrir killing 5 and injuring about 1000.

Governmental and western media called them “Pro-Mubarak Protesters” which is so far from the truth! We’re used to the government and its police hiring thugs or pushing them to achieve their purposes and some of those detained explicitly stated who hired them and what they had been told to do.

And the struggle of the Egyptian people for their freedom continues …

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