The focus of this piece is Tahrir, but I wish to acknowledge the efforts of protesters across the nation, in places from as far as Suez to Alexandria. Places I have not been able to document, because of a lack of resources.
I spoke to a protester yesterday, who's participating in the current sit-in. He told me he's planning to stay in Tahrir until demands are met, which include no military trials for civilians, a change of current ministers, and transparent and fast trials against the corrupted and those responsible for the deaths of martyrs.
He summarised it, as wanting to give Egypt its rights back. It's an admirable quality of resilience and persistence.
Speaking to him and others, I feel there is a frustration at the lack of concrete action by the current government. It seems a segment of people have lost their faith in the ruling government, a result of its inaction at fulfilling some of the pressing demands.
The people of Tahrir, might feel legitimacy is in Tahrir, where people's power counts. It's turned into a utopian republic of Tahrir.
Looking at it as an outsider and as an insider (I feel I'm wearing two hats in this process, as I was not part of the Jan 25 revolution), the problem lies in the lack of communication from the government to the people.
I wonder why a roadmap has not been put in place to alleviate some of the immediate concerns? A lack of transparency has created a lack of trust. Goodwill replaced by disbelief, as I witnessed in the Tahrir sit-in that started on Jul 8.
On paper transparency and openness about the future seems like a simple solution, but in life and politics things are sadly far more complex.
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