Anti-government protesters prepare catapult that will fire flaming debris. Image from Al Jazeera English.This ID is of an undercover security officer who tried to start a fight, he was apprehended but not hurt, however, he said he was paid to come and start trouble. (via Al Jazerra English)
Anti-government protesters, who’ve been occupying Tahrir Square for the last week, fought off pro-government protesters yesterday in a vicious turn to the insurrection in Egypt. The army stood out of the way, and the police were no where to be found, except for reports that some captured pro-government rioters had police identification cards on them.
Although there was some shooting, the battle was mostly fought with impromptu weapons: rocks, Molotov cocktails, knives, and swords. Then there were the horses, camels and catapults.
Pro-government camel-man charges photographer and anti-government protesters. (via the Daily Dish)
A number of horsemen were pulled off by the anti-government portesters and beaten (WARNING: the video below is quite vicious).
A main street leading into Tahrir Square by the Egyptian Museum was completely covered in broken rocks, which had been used as weapons. (via Al Jazeera English).
Progressive approaches to education focus on students taking ownership of their education. It works in education, it works in economics, and it works in politics too.
Protesters are also working with students and the army to protect the priceless antiquities at the Egyptian Museum and the books at Bibliotecha Alexindrina.
(via TotallyCoolPix) 08. An Egyptian Army soldier greets protesters as he stands atop an armoured vehicle in Cairo January 29, 2011. Egypt's president gave the first indication on Saturday he was preparing an eventual handover of power by naming a vice-president for the first time in 30 years after protests that have rocked the foundations of the state. REUTERS/ Goran Tomasevic
One of the more interesting observations from today’s reenactment of the ongoing protests in Egypt, was the almost instinctive eagerness of, at least some of the simulated protesters, to want to confront the simulated army.
70. A demonstrator (L) argues with police during a protest in Cairo January 28, 2011. Police and demonstrators fought running battles on the streets of Cairo on Friday in a fourth day of unprecedented protests by tens of thousands of Egyptians demanding an end to President Hosni Mubarak's three-decade rule. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis (via TotallyCoolPix)
One protester, who’d been given the role of “angry student demonstrator” was extremely eager to get in the face of the army.
We were, after all, playing a simulation game, and that particular student had been told that he was angry, frustrated with the lack of opportunities, and all riled up. However, the way the actual Egyptian protesters are dealing with the army is really important to observe. They’re treating them like the friends and brothers they actually are: taking them in, rather than fighting against them.
I did have one of the protesters offer to hug the “army”, so, in the end, I hope the message that co-option can be much better than confrontation.
We reenacted the Egyptian protests today. Each student in the group of protesters was assigned to represent a different demographic. Their signs (adapted from The Best Egypt Protest Signs From Around The World) were created to be representative of the different sub-groups (to the best of our ability to tell):
College students and young, recently graduated people are important parts of most democratic protest movements.Probably student protesters.Middle class protester with young child.Veiled protester, representative of the strength of religion-based organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood in the protests.
Buzzfeed has an excellent collection of photos from the protests themselves. For example:
03. A protester reaches out as a soldier holds a child during a demonstration in Cairo January 29, 2011. Thousands of angry Egyptians rallied in central Cairo on Saturday to demand that Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak resign, dismissing his offer of dialogue and calling on troops to come over to their side. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih
Part of an Egyptian pamphlet created as a guide to protesters. Image links to the original, Arabic version.
This guide for the modern protester was created, in Arabic, as part of a guide for the for the protesters in Egypt. It’s amazing just how much it tells, not just about the protesters, but about the people and equipment, as well as their goals. I particularly like that, next to the scarf to protect from tear gas, and the pot lid to defend against rubber bullets and battons, there is also a rose:
A rose so we can show that we can do as we ought to and join together in the most peaceful way possible.http://montessorimuddle.org/wp-admin/media-upload.php?post_id=3932&type=image&TB_iframe=1&width=640&height=578
— Unknown author (2011). Translated from the Egyptian protest pamphlet
The Guardian also has another picture from the pamphlet in an article that really tells a lot about the authors’ objectives.
From the Guardian’s live feed of the uprising in Egypt:
A protester approaches the police to organize a cease-fire for the evening prayer. (Screengrab from Al Jezeera via The Guardian)Prayer as protest (via The Daily Dish)
And who are the police? Who’s side are they on?
An Egyptian anti-government activist kisses a riot police officer following clashes in Cairo. Photograph: Lefteris Pitarakis/AP (via The Guardian live updates)
It reminds me of this picture from the protests last November in London over university tuition increases:
Schoolgirls join hands to peacefully stop attacks on a police van during student protests in London. Photograph: Demotix/Peter Marshall (via The Guardian)
So some questions:
What would it take for you to go out and protest (have you done it before)?
What happens when you’re arrested by the state security service. (warning: contains one quote with vulgar language)
UPDATE: We just watched the video over lunch, and it actually resulted in a very good discussion. Our morning novel discussions have been useful here, in helping us see the multiple perspectives of the actors in the street protests: the protesters and the police. After all, the police have families too.
I gave a little spiel at the beginning, to set the stage and to point out the potentially historical nature of these protests. Democracy spreading through the middle east has huge implications for a country fighting two wars in the region; not to mention the blowback from these conflicts.
The truth of the anger of the protesters in the video seemed to resonate, making poignant what could have appeared farcical. The music and the Kennedy quote also helped my students identify with these events in such a far off place.
We also touched on the role of the U.S. in supporting the Mubarak government, and the potential of the uprising to lead to an anti-US, muslim fundamentalist government (via the Muslim Brotherhood). We still need to talk about what the US should and can do to support democracy in this situation, which is so full of conflicting imperatives.
