Check out this hilarious Egyptian Arabic blog.
Censorship is a lost cause, says Egyptian blogger
The Daily Star Egypt covered the talk I moderated at the Center for Socialist Studies last Sunday. I thought however I’d clarify more what Maram was referring to in the following paragraph in her report:
The same sentiments were echoed by journalist and blogger Hossam El Hamalawy, who said that young people from the late teens to the twenties are able to do and say things his generation couldn’t do and say because they were seen as taboos. He says the reason is that they did not experience real cruelty by the government before, so they don’t have red lines.
What I meant was that people like myself who joined the activist circles in the late 1990s, before the outbreak of the second Palestinian Intifada, had always been aware of the “red lines” that existed in the Draconian 1990s, when you could not write any criticism of Mubarak and his family, when you knew you would definitely get assaulted by the troops if you dared mobilizing a demo outside university campus, when you felt content if you just managed to organize one sit-in a year over whatever issue…
The outbreak of the 2000 Palestinian intifada was a shot in the arm for street politics in Egypt, pushing thousands of fresh participants, who were not necessarily bound by the taboos someone like me might have had. The same generational shift happened following Black Wednesday, May 2005, when bloggers like Alaa and others–who were not necessarily aware of or concerned about the red lines that had existed before and had not been subject yet to police brutality–flocked to the movement, raising the ceiling of freedom of expression by more vocal criticism against the president, with more daring and unconventional street action.
Bloody clashes in Sayyeda Zeinab
I still do not have full information, but it seems around 10:30am Central Security Forces have stormed the neighborhood of Qale’t el-Kabsh in Sayyeda Zeinab, and clashed with the citizens, reportedly using tear gas and rubber bullets.
There are unconfirmed reports that at least one citizen died. Seventeen citizens were injured, as well as three police officers, one corporal and seven soldiers.
The families had assembled the day before in front of the People’s Assembly, to protest their conditions and government negligence. Protesters tried to assault the Cairo governor when he showed up. More than 250 houses were burnt down two days ago, making at least 350 families homeless… no compensation or aid was given to the victims.
Yesterday, I was told by a journalist, Mubarak’s NDP youth set up an emergency relief tent when TV cameras were present, but then packed it all off, as soon as the cameras went away.
If there are any reporters, photographers, or bloggers nearby, please let us know what the hell is happening.
UPDATE: Amr Abdallah took some photos of the clashes. Please check his flickr account.