Panda under the Tree

Artist unknown. Photo taken on Fri 26 August 2011 on Mohamed Mahmoud Street off Tahrir Square

I first discovered Panda in Tahrir on one of the walls of the Mogama3. Smitten by Panda and following a few more sightings, I decided to make it my mission to locate Panda around the city. 

If you have seen Panda, please post a comment with a location, so that I can take more pictures and document its whereabouts around Cairo. Thank you.

Happy Eid

Wishing everyone a Happy Eid!

Flagman the Superhero who loved Egypt

The Amazing Flagman by Carlos Latuff

This is the story of the Amazing Flagman. It's the story of a man called Ahmed Shehat whose action I feel came to represent more than a symbol of protest.

Flagman is a superhero who stood opposite the face of despair. He took a stand and in doing so ignited a feeling of hope again.

A young Egyptian told me: Flagman showed us if Egyptians set their mind to something they can achieve it.

Flagman's like the heroic child of Jan 25 which stood up for Egypt's dignity. 

Flagman put a smile on people's faces again.

Give peace a chance

Jan 25 gave Egyptians the right to express oppressed sentiments freely. 

The Sinai incident provoked a deserved public outcry. Unquestionably Egypt and its people deserve dignity. 

But as Egypt works to become a modern democratic state and as it takes a dignified stand in international and regional affairs, I ask of Egypt to always start with the premise of peace. 

Panda: Under the Bridge

Fri 12 August 2011, under the bridge near El Ahly Club 

Fri 12 August 2011, under the bridge near El Ahly Club

Thanks Divadalliaa for helping me find Panda. This sighting was under the bridge near El Ahly Club.

I first discovered Panda in Tahrir on one of the walls of the Mogama3. Smitten by Panda and following a few more sightings, I decided to make it my mission to locate Panda around the city. 

If you have seen Panda, please post a comment with a location, so that I can take more pictures and document its whereabouts around Cairo. Thank you.

Mubarak's Trial

Like every Egyptian, I didn't believe Mubarak's trial would actually take place.

I arrived at the Police Academy, where the trial was being held, at around 8.45 a.m. on August 3rd. I didn't have a permit to go into the court, but instead I found myself among countless other international media outlets, following proceedings on a large screen.

The question on my mind: Was Mubarak really going to be trialled?

It was only until we saw his helicopter arrive, of which I got a long shot, that it seemed I was about to witness an unforgettable moment in Egypt's post Jan 25 history.

Seeing Mubarak lying on a hospital stretcher, in a cage along with his two sons Alaa and Gamal, the former Interior Minister Habib El Adly and a few other accused, seemed surreal. The trial seemed like a play set in a Greek arena. Many Egyptians commented on the theatricality of it all. I was waiting for vegetables to be hurled at the cage.

Seeing Mubarak on a stretcher aroused my sympathy. I felt the process did't show humanity, if it required the disposed president to be wheeled in on a stretcher. I'm 100% for this trial, but I feel it needs to be handled humanely, regardless of 30 years of inhumanity under Mubarak.

Post Jan 25 should espouse universal human rights regardless who is on trial. A friend later remarked that the stretcher was probably part of an act to arouse people's sympathy. Maybe I was manipulated by the conditions surrounding the trial, but that did not change my opinion that Mubarak should be tried.

On a philosophical level, aside from all of his crimes, as I said before, Mubarak robbed millions of their right to dream.

I talked to some of the mothers' of martyrs, a heart breaking experience. At one point, I felt like I was crossing the line into a very private moment, thanks to my camera.

At another point, stones were thrown at us from somewhere. Things just blew up in an instance. People started running to the other side of the road, taking shelter until the attack had ended. Someone claimed the stones were being thrown at us from inside the Police Academy. But I wasn't sure if this was true. The commotion had started so suddenly, it was hard to trace it back to its source.

Pro Mubarak supporters were sitting in an area that was cordoned off. I managed to interview two supporters and it seemed like a psychedelic experience. An Egyptian producer later told me, they were most likely paid supporters, which judging by what they said, seemed very feasible.

I was conducting an interview with someone, when the crowd flared up again. This time it seemed more serious. Apparently Pro Mubarak supporters and Mubarak opponents were fighting. Stones flying in the air. Again I couldn't determine how it all happened, as things ignited in less than a minute.

I ran to a sheltered area filming some of what was going on and I watched, from a distance, riot police move in to disperse the fighting crowd. Things calmed down eventually.

I decided to go home at that point. Job done. Another eventful day on this journey.

Next act: August 15th.

Twitter, Islamists and Stereotypes

The Islamists Cometh was the original headline to this blog entry, as my first draft was set against a backdrop of rage. 


Before going to Tahrir's last Millionia (a million protest) on Jul 29, I did a quick hashtag search of the word Tahrir on Twitter, to get the latest updates from activists and journalists on the ground. 

As I read some of the #Tahrir messages, I came across a specific tweet, that prompted this blog entry. It was by a (female) journalist who tweeted: 

"Interesting that salafis apparently wanted their voice heard today, yet many of those I approached refused to talk to me." 

After reading this tweet, I went to the square expecting to encounter the same type of brush off, but my experience of Tahrir was very different to that of the journalist in question. Every Islamist I approached, spoke to me. 

I was angry that a single tweet had sent out to the world, a presumptuous message that reconfirmed one of many negative stereotypes associated with Islam these days. In defence of the journalist, I have no idea of the surrounding circumstances that led to her opinion. 


But the point I'm trying to make is about Twitter and its power to exaggerate the truth. One tweet can be equaled to one pixel. One tweet can impossibly tell a complete story, just as one pixel can impossibly provide a full image. 

As I arrived in Tahrir, I watched Islamist groups flex their muscles in a show of strength, vis-à-vis the secular political groups, who suddenly seemed to disappear like a speck of sand in a large arena. I was angry at that.

Although I arrived in the early evening when the Millionia was no longer in full throttle, I saw a Tahrir I no longer recognised. It conjured an image of an Islamic fundamentalist state that I didn't identify with. 


The representation of Islam as an absolutist political ideology had successfully added to the pool of negative imagery surrounding Islam in the media. I was angry at that.

Tension was in the air and it felt like a classic "us" versus "them."

After overcoming my rage, I acknowledged that I didn't want to fall into the trappings of Islamist typecasting; Islamic fundamentalist groups like the Salafis of Egypt are portrayed as evil. 


I also dislike the term Islamist, as it is dangerously generalist.


As I began approaching salafis, I realised the action of talking to each woman and man individually helped breakdown a wall, brick by brick. I also recognised this process would require more than a single afternoon in Tahrir.

My final encounter was with a young Salafi doctor in his 20s/30s, who left an impression on me. He was mild spoken and eloquent. He belonged to the Salafyo Costa movement, a group of young Salafis keen on breaking down some of the prejudices against them. Salafis drink cappuccinos too.

If I had the right to stand in Tahrir, so did they. If I had the right to express my opinion, so did they. But the question left on my mind was, if Islamic fundamentalists were in power, would they tolerate my right to stand there too?

Where is Panda?

Panda on El Horreya Cafe

My second sighting of Panda was on one of the outside walls of El Horreya (Freedom) Café in downtown Cairo, on the 22nd of July 2011. 


I first discovered Panda in Tahrir on one of the walls of the Mogama3. Smitten by Panda and following this second sighting, I decided to make it my mission to locate Panda around the city. 


If you have seen Panda, please post a comment with a location, so that I can take more pictures and document its whereabouts around Cairo. Thank you.

I love Panda

Panda on Mogama3, Tahrir 

This is Panda, discovered in Tahrir on one of the walls of the Mogama3, on the 22nd of July 2011. Smitten by Panda and following a further sighting, I decided to make it my mission to locate  Panda around the city.

Translation of line next to Panda: "El Mushir is making me very sad." El Mushir is Field Marshall Tantawi who now heads up Egypt's ruling military council.

If you have seen Panda, please post a comment with a location, so that I can take more pictures and document its whereabouts around Cairo. Thank you.

Who are you?

Fangari's Famous Finger on El Mogama3

Fangari's Famous Finger, became a showpiece after one of his announcements on behalf of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, in which he raised his finger in warning against disobedience, not realising that the new generation of internet savvy youths, no longer tolerate authoritarian language.

"Who are you?" refers to the notion that the revolutionaries are funded from abroad with subversive plans to destabilise the country.

Translation: Who are you?
Mogama3, Tahrir on 22nd July 2011

Vodafone and the Revolution

Vodafone was forced to shut down its services as well as send out pro government messages at one point during the revolution. Pressure groups are asking why Vodafone caved in? I was in Tahrir on July 22nd, when I discovered Vodafone promoting its services with revolutionary messages like: "power in your hands" and "choose your system:"

Slogan: Power is in your hands

Message: With Vodafone USB stay on the net in your own comfort. Choose the system that suits you, a line or a card.

The people versus the people

Religious sectarianism and the threat posed by the Muslim Brotherhood or Salafists, are no longer the headlining issues. The new headline is: the people versus the people.

Now more than ever, Egyptians are divided by the protest in Tahrir.

The latest sit-in of Tahrir, which started on July 8, labelled as the beginning of the second wave of the Revolution, may have pushed people too far. Mainstream Egypt is exceedingly growing impatient with protesters.

One group supports protesting in Tahrir. I call that group Camp Tahrir. The second no longer supports action in the street. I call that group Camp Stability.

Camp Tahrir feels the Jan 25 demands have not been fully met, but pressure in Tahrir has led to some of the demands being met, even if partially. It seems to work.

On the other side of the fence, Camp Stability feels Camp Tahrir doesn't reflect the opinion of the majority and it's not an elected body. They feel Camp Tahrir is increasingly a detrimental force to Egypt's overall economic well-being and stability. 

Both camps wish to see a prosperous democratic Egypt. Both camps are entitled to an opinion on the matter. Both opinions are no less valid.

One of the achievements of Jan 25 was freedom of speech, a fundamental right that the revolution fought for, yet worryingly I notice how people are exceedingly less tolerant of each other's opinions. Absolutist opinions make way for stereotypes. 

If you support Tahrir, you're one or more of the following: you're a traitor funded from abroad, you're possibly a spy or a saboteur, you're unemployed or a thug and you're probably someone who's politically ignorant. 

If you're against Tahrir, you're one or more of the following: you're a member of hizb el kanaba (the couch party), you're possibly someone from fulul el nizam (remnants of the system), or you're one of the Roxy crowd and you're probably someone who's politically ignorant too.

In place of state sponsored censorship, we get people sponsored absolutism. You're either with us or with them. History has shown where absolutism leads to. 

Divided opinions have led to the creation of a state within a state, metaphorically speaking. 

Recent allegations by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces that the April 6th movement is funded from abroad, with an agenda to create a wedge between the people and the Army, has divided people further. The incidents of Abbassiya pushed opinions even further apart.

There are probably one or more forces with agendas, trying to manipulate people into one camp or the other, but looking at it from the outside in and from the inside out, for I have spoken with both camps, it seems to me the threat is not presented by an ominous force trying to sabotage the revolution or the country. 

The threat is right here represented by the people, unable to find consensus and unable to move forward together on agreed principles. 

Absolutism can ironically sabotage the revolution and what it stands for. Therefore it seems to me that now more than ever a bridge needs to be built to connect the two camps.

No Trust

I think the issue right now is the lack of trust towards the government, by the revolutionaries, speaking in general terms.

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.

Proud Mom in Tahrir on July 8

This is an unedited clip of an interview with a mom I met in Tahrir, in a women's tent.

Translation:

Mom: I'm a mom here, not one of these young women. I'm from the former generation. I'm very proud. It's not a matter of girl or boy now. A girl now is better than a boy or equal to a boy, in her thinking, her mind, her freedom. We didn't succeed in the past, yes, to change the system or to bring freedom to the country, but we were able to bring up an alert and strong generation. A generation that knows its demands, knows its freedom. They defended us and they got us our rights. So there's no difference between a girl or a boy.

I: It's great to see a girls' tent and girls taking part in the revolution.

Mom: Girls and women. Like I told you, I'm a mom here. I'm a girl's mom here.

I: Are you not worried? Are you not scared?

Mom: I was scared, and she showed me how not to be scared. I didn't teach her not to be scared. She taught me how to break the barrier of fear. Thanks to her I realise, time and life passed, and I regret I did not turn out like my daughter. I thank God that my daughter did not turn out like me. She turned out stronger than me and better than me. And she will obtain Egypt's rights. Her and all the youths like her.

The right to dream #Jul8

The right to dream الحق في الحلم #Jul8

Hope أمل #Jul8

Transparency شفافية #Jul8

Freedom to demonstrate peacefully حرية التظاهر سلميا #Jul8

Freedom of speech حرية الكلام #Jul8

Equal Rights for all Egyptians حقوق متساوية لجميع المصريين #Jul8
Respect, Dignity, Social Justice الاحترام والكرامة والعدالة الاجتماعية #Jul8

In less than 140 characters

Today I was trying to formulate the idea of the documentary in less than 140 characters. The discipline of tweeting will force me to convey my message in a sentence. I salute Twitter!

The documentary is starting to take shape. Today on my 6th version of my proposal, I realised writing about it here in Cairo is a very different experience to writing about it in London. No matter how well informed you are about a situation when afar, being there on the ground, experiencing it and then writing about it as it happens, can't be underestimated.

My reality of events in Cairo is very different to what it was in London.

I feel I'm here with my feet on the ground. I'm interacting with people, watching local television, discussing politics and the news, drinking Sahlab in a street café in downtown Cairo, laughing at how ridiculous things were, how tragic they were, before Mubarak's departure. My perspective seems to be more solid. The longer I'm here, the more natural it seems.

End Sexual Harassment #EndSH

Nazra for Feminist Studies' session last Tuesday in collaboration with HarassMap on sexual harassment and gender violence, which had started off as a blogger and tweeting event the day before encouraging people to post their thoughts and experiences, underlined one of the issues facing women in Egypt today,  the fear of harassment. 


A woman from the working class segment once told me, veiling invites respect and is likely to ward off transgression. She put the onus of responsibility against harassment on women. 


But I think the onus for change, should be put on society as a whole. Women should feel free to walk the streets.


During Tuesday's session some women talked about the need for women to act less passively. There was talk of the need to respond back verbally or physically. One woman felt violence leading to violence was not a solution.


It's a complex matter, but a first step is an acknowledgement of the issue through discussions like the one hosted by Nazra.


Some people feel the blogosphere has narrow reach. According to a stat that I found on the internet, 21% of Egypt's population is on the internet. This might seem like limited reach, but it's a start and I observed that a number of TV channels were at Tuesday's event, therefore helping raise awareness. 


Blogging in English might seem limited, but I think collectively these individual conversations can lead to a raising of consciousness.


Some people claim now is not the time to raise this issue as the country faces more pertinent challenges. But as one woman said, we didn't change society in 18 days and now is the time to rebuild Egyptian society with better values. She said, the personal is politics and society doesn't improve through laws and political parties alone.


A blogger wrote: "Blogging and tweeting about it is a start but more importantly it should be discussed offline too. With the neighbours, shop-owners, taxi-drivers and the random person you chat with in the street.  Convincing 1 person every day and things will change. Start today." 


I'd also hope to see the day where schools, places of work and worship would embrace the concept of no harassment to help raise awareness on a wider scale.


If this becomes part of the national dialogue, it will help build a society where harassment is no longer accepted as a normalised part of life.

The Gates to the Lion's Den

So here I am in Cairo, a few months after Mubarak's demise realising that I haven't got the "no fear" fortification that many Egyptians have built in recent months.

It's led to self-censorship. Hearing of journalists' arrests hasn't helped.

In a way, I've parachuted myself into a situation without the required antibodies. I might feel a heightened sense of fear, in some situations.

The first test was presented to me a few days ago. I found out on Twitter about a protest that was being organised in solidarity with journalist Rasha Azab on Monday 20th of June. Rasha Azab had been summoned for questioning by the Military Prosecutor, accused of publishing false information. A group of activists decided to stand with her in solidarity. I wasn't sure if I'd go.

After much indecision, I decided to go. I felt like I was planning to go towards the gates to the lion's den.

I arrived at around midday to find a small protest of less than 50 or so people gathered outside the Military Court of the 10th District of Nasr City, a suburb in Cairo. Activists, journalists, television crew, pedestrians and a man with a cart selling termis (lupins), were gathered outside the gates to the Court. Another small detail I noticed, a man drinking water from an ulla (clay vessel) from the cart. Things looked fine.

I recognised some of the faces. People I didn't know personally, but who I'd seen on the international news or on the blog circuit. I felt less on my own.

As I started filming, I was approached by a man who had an army like shirt on. He advised me not to point the camera in the direction of the court. Apparently an officer had come out earlier to the gathered group and advised them of this protocol. Something I had missed. The man's attire led me to believe he was an officer reprimanding me. My fear had blinded me. He was in fact a journalist. In my eagerness to film an "establishing shot," I realised how clumsy I'd been.

I stayed on for a couple of hours, interviewed a couple of people and left home pleased that I hadn't missed this event and I felt like I'd built a bit of strength.

Meanwhile the journalist in question was released. For further detail, see Al-Masry Al-Youm article.

Post Revolution Hangover

Since last visiting Egypt in February shortly after Mubarak's resignation, I have noticed a shift in people's attitudes. This is by no means supposed to be a generalisation. Just an attempt to document some of my  conversations.

Last time I was here, people were jubilant. Intoxicated with freedom, people were excited and enthusiastic about their futures. There was optimism in the air. Mubarak had stolen their voices. The revolution had given it back to them.

It gave people back the right to dream.

Now, a few months later, I feel there has been a shift. When before people seemed to be drunk with freedom, it seems to me that they are now experiencing a hangover.

I think part of it has to with the fact that after a few months of intoxication, sobriety is now kicking in. And with that sobriety comes reality. The revolution was not a lottery ticket to instant social justice.

Yes, Mubarak's in detention. Some of his key cronies have been arrested and some are on the run. But the question on some people's mind, will that money ever come back? A cleaning lady said to me today: "Why would Switzerland want to part with this money?" Come to think of it she has a point.

If all the stolen dreams that were deposited in Swiss bank accounts by corrupt leaders around the world, were returned, Switzerland would probably go bankrupt.

A hotel owner in downtown Cairo said to me yesterday, the revolution was like a woman that you were courting when you were in love. You bought her gifts and flowers. But then you got married and the excitement waned.

Maybe the daily grind is kicking in. Maybe some people are tired. But as long the revolution's spirit continues, as I witnessed in today's performance of Tahrir Monologues, (a theatre piece showcasing a series of testimonies from the 18 day uprising), I feel optimistic.

Moderate Voices

Last Thursday I spoke to an Egyptian woman, veiled and in her 40s. She lives in Gisr El Suez and works as a beautician in Heliopolis. She's a typical working class Egyptian, who I felt could offer an interesting perspective on the September elections. Only a few days before, on the 6th of June to be exact, the following headline had grabbed my attention in an oppositional newspaper called El Fagr: 60% for the Muslim Brotherhood. 25% for the Salafists. 15% for the Infidels. A headline, that suggested the majority of Egyptians would opt for conservative Islamic governance. The paper had a sensational tone to it, raising questions around the credibility of this prognosis.

But, the threat of the Muslim Brotherhood in the next parliamentary elections is a question not only on my mind. So what do Egyptians in the street think? I decided to ask the beautician what she thought of the Muslim Brotherhood. I've probably got an in-built stereotype about the type of woman that would vote for the Muslim Brotherhood.

Unexpectedly, she told me if the Muslim Brotherhood came to power, everything would be haram (forbidden). They'd impose a strict dress code on women and men and everything would be forbidden. This would be haram and that would be haram. To my surprise, she wasn't in favour of the Muslim Brotherhood.

It turns out she represented a moderate Egyptian voice and I was rash in my assumptions. But only time will tell which direction the moderate Egyptian voices will take Egypt.

Post Revolution Street Art in El Korba, Heliopolis

Ramses Riots: True or not that is the question

Speaking to some of my friends yesterday, it turns out the bus driver was not killed in police custody. The story I wrote about a few days ago around the Ramses Riots turns out the other way around. Apparently the micro-bus driver got into an argument with a high ranking police officer who'd asked the driver for his papers. The driver didn't oblige. After being asked to come out of his bus, the driver slapped the officer. Apparently it was the crowds of people that attacked the driver enraged with his behaviour.

Every story has another side to it and while we're in between calm and chaos here, it seems wiser not to take every story at face value. This also applies to reports in the media.

A new day a new lesson.

What does the future hold for Egypt after El Makhloo3?

The discovery that Egyptians no longer refer to Mubarak by his name, was telling. He's become the unmentionable referred to as El Makhloo3 (the Ousted). A young Egyptian communist who I met at yesterday's final day of the Solidarity with Arab Revolutions leftist conference explained to me: Mubarak is more hated than Pinochet and Ceausescu. But what does the future hold for Egypt after the hated ousted one?


I learnt at the conference that the socialist movement aims to overthrow the imperialist neoliberal structures of the region to create a fairer society. Three days of conceptual discussions took place around this theme, that I found inspiring, but I would have also liked to have left the conference with a set of practical solutions. Solutions that could engage the street around the socialist aims of social justice.


It seems to me the key advantage that the Muslim Brotherhood has over the leftist movement of Egypt is  its ability to reach out to the man or woman of the street. That and of course the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood owns the emotional religious higher ground. I left the conference feeling energised on the one hand, but more pessimistic about the September elections. 


I filmed around 5 hours. I got carried away. Today's and tomorrow's task: edit a sequence that represents the conference in the best achievable way. I'll aim for a 2-3 minute sequence. What a chore. If I continue at this rate, I'll have finished all my tape stock within a week. But I can't blame myself. There's so much going on here.

Riots in Ramses

I just got back from the inauguration of the Solidarity with Arabs Revolution forum at the Commercial Club near Ramses. I captured a couple of very interesting speakers on my flip. Passion for the Egyptian revolution amongst the international delegates was infectious.

I left at around 9.30 p.m. planning to walk to Ramses when I found out that a riot was going on there. I was told by someone standing outside the conference hall that it was related to a bus driver who'd apparently died in police custody. It triggered a riot. I saw security forces dressed in riot gear rush to the scene. I was surprised to see them, but apparently they're back. I could feel tension and excitement mount in the air. A couple of freelance journalists tried to run closer to the scene to get some shots. I sensed the riot was going to spread, so I decided to leave. My battery had run out and I felt it would be a mistake to walk into a situation like that without proper precautions. The other thing was, this was the first time I'd experienced a riot in Egypt. I hadn't been here during the 18 day uprising and I hadn't built the kind of immunity that Egyptians would have built by now.

I walked to the metro station, paid LE 1 for my ticket and decided to get into the women's only compartment. As I stood there, the only unveiled woman in the compartment, I felt like Cairo had really changed since I last used  the metro over 15 years ago.

I also felt like this was going to be an eventful summer.

Shooting Ratio Dilemma

I'm attending the Solidarity with Arab Revolutions forum today at the Commercial Club, a three day conference, which I think will give me a good overview of the current situation in Egypt, but while planning what to film (it's a three day conference), I was faced with the dilemma of not wanting to film too much, but at the same time wanting to capture the more interesting moments.

I'm planning to shoot this sequence observational style. But having planned not to go beyond a certain shooting ratio for my film (I've planned a ratio of 20:1), I realise the temptation is always there to go beyond that and to end up over-shooting. But I made a pact with myself to stick to my plan. I'm planning a 30 minute documentary and I think 600 minutes of tape, plus additional digital footage on my flip camera, will be more than enough.