{"id":3434,"date":"2011-02-03T11:12:28","date_gmt":"2011-02-03T07:12:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/?p=3434"},"modified":"2011-02-03T19:06:21","modified_gmt":"2011-02-03T15:06:21","slug":"tell-the-world-he-is-killing-us%e2%80%99","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/middle-east-politics-analysis\/tell-the-world-he-is-killing-us%e2%80%99\/","title":{"rendered":"It&#8217;s &#8216;Ruined&#8217;: &#8216;Tell the world he&#8217;s killing us\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"highslide\" onclick=\"return vz.expand(this)\" href=\"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Prostests.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3435\" title=\"Prostests\" src=\"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Prostests.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"498\" height=\"320\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Today was the day everything changed for the peaceful patriots of  Egypt. It was the saddest day of what was a peaceful revolution and has  now been attacked with unspeakable violence by a regime that has had  three decades to finesse it.<\/p>\n<p>[youtube]http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=LSBJwsjakcg&amp;feature=player_embedded#[\/youtube]<\/p>\n<p><em>Listen to Mona Seif speaking to AJE from Tahrir Square, Cairo<br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><\/strong>As I write this gun-shots ricochet across the Ground Zero of this yet  unfinished revolution, Tahrir Square-gun shots originating from snipers  hired by the dictator who just refuses to go. Its 5 am and two people  have been killed in just an hour, some think the number is even higher.  Fragments of very disturbing conversations today gave me the following  quotes from friends who had been again granted mobile phone access:<\/p>\n<ul type=\"DISC\">\n<li>They are asking to evacuate because they want to start shooting at us<\/li>\n<li>All those who took part in the\u00a0 2 million people march need to rturn to Tahrir Square and fight<\/li>\n<li>Many non Egyptians attacking the patriots at Tahrir square (To this I added before tweeting \u201cFolks this is Tehran2009 Part 2)<\/li>\n<li>This is no longer a peaceful revolution. The peoples revolution it still is but Mubarak is not a peaceful man.<\/li>\n<li>I just escaped being stabbed by a knife. Mubarak has let out his paid thugs to kill us.<\/li>\n<li>People are running towards Talat Haarb. He has decided to kill us<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>My first conversation on the \u201crestored\u201d\u00a0 internet happened with my  friend Ibrahim who I have not been able to reach since all of this  started. (This was at 8:48 am Eastern US time, Cairo is 7 hours  ahead)-this was through Facebook chat. He had just returned to his  apartment in Dokki.<\/p>\n<p>Me: How are you? So worried. Glad we could finally get on!<\/p>\n<p><em>I: I am so sad today\u2026so depressed\u2026They ruined our revolution\u2026Egyptian state TV is disgusting<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Me: I know\u2014you back home? How unsafe outside? They have all kinds of killers on the loose now\u2014paid upto 500 pounds apparently\u2026<\/p>\n<p><em>I: I was there all morning and jsut got home. It&#8217;s not safe there<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Parvez I cannot believe it is Egyptians who are raising up a Yes Mubarak sign\u2026They stole our freedom and happiness\u2026 <\/em><\/p>\n<p>Me: D told me that there were looters at your place in Dokki?<\/p>\n<p><em>I: Looters ha! They were escaped prison inmates&#8211;<\/em><em>they  were close to my family&#8217;s place outside Cairo not mine\u2026you know on the  road to Alex&#8212;they did a citizen arrest 30 people and gave them to the  army\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Me: So you are in the Dokki apt?<\/p>\n<p><em>I: Yes I am here now\u2026closer to Tahrir<\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=100000861655177\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Me: u think the revolution is over?<\/p>\n<p><em>I: I don\u2019t want to say that\u2026he is sending people to kill  people\u2026We might have to do a strategic retreat for a few days but people  will regroup and rise again<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>I know for sure he paid people 50 pounds to raise his banner. <\/em><\/p>\n<p>Me: Is Facebook and Twitter playing a role anymore?<\/p>\n<p><em>I: Facebook for sure, especially in beginning\u2026Twitter stopped for most anyway Tuesday\u2026so it was not used that much<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Me: Obviously its back now?<\/p>\n<p><em>I: Now everything is back<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Internet is back and I think they will try to use FB ad twitter  to fight back. They know the rules of the game now\u2026The majority in the  country don\u2019t use it ofcourse\u2026and now everyone knows where to go\u2026but the  early days of revolution were started by group of young people who are  very active on FB\u2026but anyway even if some if started on FB\u2026for most it  was people mobilized by watching TV\u2026they knew what was happening and  participated\u2026It did start on FB but then FB didn\u2019t matter\u2026after first  day\u2026after internet phones went down\u2026it was people talking to neighbours  and friends\u2026It is a people revolution really\u2026its about all of us\u2026the  momentum started and there was no holding back\u2026 <\/em><\/p>\n<p>Me: What were chants today in Tahrir?<\/p>\n<p><em>I: Our people said Down with Mubarak and Mubarak\u2019s thugs said Yes Mubarak! I almost cried\u2026Its like a war now\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>In Arabic the chant is Tell the world he is killing us<br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>I have to go now Parvez\u2014call my friends who are still there and make sure they are OK\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Me: Will you go out?<\/p>\n<p><em>I: Not today I think so no\u2026Its all about Friday now\u2026I know I will go out on Friday\u2026Thanks Parvez <\/em><\/p>\n<p>Me: Bless you\u2026please please take care<\/p>\n<p><em>I: Yes. OK. <\/em><\/p>\n<p>By 6 pm today\u2014this revolution being broadcast live on Al-Jazeera, had  shown us shocking and unprecedented scenes of thugs on horses with  swords and whips lashing through the crowds. Molotov cocktails and  Petrol Bombs were hurled at thousands of the revolutionaries by thugs  hired by Hosni Mubarak\u2014the going rate estimates on twitter chatter  ranged from\u00a0 a 100 Egyptian Pounds to 500 punds.<\/p>\n<p>By 2 pm Eastern, friends were reporting that there were suspiscious  new twitter accounts. I had no doubt that Mubarak\u2019s parallel crackdown  would be monitoring whatever little social networking was still going on  (and today was a huge spike given the return of the Internet).<\/p>\n<p>Hosni Mubarak is using techniques similar to what Ahmadinejad used in  Iran in 2009 in what was mistakenly being called a Twitter revolution.  The regime in Iran cracked down on Internet dissent and regime insiders  had set up online alibi\u2019s to monitor the social networking traffic. A  terrible crackdown followed after that \u201crevolution\u201d\u00a0failed.<\/p>\n<p>I have been tweeting the following to the few that still tweet out of Cairo. Please re-tweet.<\/p>\n<p>PLEASE BE CAREFUL if sending #tweets frm inside #Cairo. The Next #Mubarak crackdown might be on tweeps and FaceBook #Jan25<\/p>\n<p>#Egypt Create alternative profiles please. Ahmadinejad did this in Tehran in 2009<\/p>\n<p>Once again pls try &amp; create alternative\u00a0<a title=\"#twitter\" href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/#%21\/search?q=%23twitter\" target=\"_blank\">#twitter <\/a>profiles in case of online crackdown if in\u00a0<a title=\"#Cairo\" href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/#%21\/search?q=%23Cairo\" target=\"_blank\">#Cairo <\/a>Remove yr own photos\/names\u00a0<a title=\"#Jan25\" href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/#%21\/search?q=%23Jan25\" target=\"_blank\">#Jan25<\/a><a title=\"#Egypt\" href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/#%21\/search?q=%23Egypt\" target=\"_blank\">#Egypt<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>MONA SEIF, MONDOWEISS: Today was the day everything changed. It was the saddest day, a peaceful revolution and has now been attacked with unspeakable violence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":3435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[154,60,63],"tags":[982,378,4378,18300,39,18306,4385,2033,399,2744,166,18302],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3434"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3434"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3434\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}