Thousands of Ghazl el-Mahalla strikers demonstrated following breaking their fast with the dusk prayers, demanding the release of their five detained comrades, reports Kareem el-Beheiri.
Tag: mahalla
Mahalla updates
I received a statement from the Workers’ Coordination Committee regarding the Ghazl el-Mahalla Strike.
The statement describes how the political forces are now united behind the Mahalla workers, and includes details about the solidarity movement with the strikers that is mushrooming. Not only was there a solidarity protest at the Grain Mills, and a strike looming in few hours at Kafr el-Dawar.. but there were statements issued by the Textile workers in Ghazl Shebeen workers, as well as a strong fundraising campaign for the strikers among the workers in Mahalla, Tanta, Helwan, Shobra, the Tenth of Ramadan City, Suez, Alexandria, Beheira, Mansoura, Ismailia and Port Said.
The statement also includes more details about the case against the Mahalla Five, and it turns out there are new charges leveled against two journalists from the opposition Al-Wafd newspaper for “inciting the strikers”!!!!! Basically it’s a move by the Mubarak’s regime to intimidate labor correspondents from covering the strike.
Down with Mubarak… Victory to the Mahalla Strikers…
Ghazl el-Mahalla on STRIKE!
Excerpts from a message I received from journalist Jano Charbel:
I went to the Mahalla Strike on Sunday.
7aga Gamda Gamda! (This is solid solid!) 25,000 men and women on strike.. very uplifting!
The company’s security guards wouldn’t let me in, they then took me and photographer Ahmad Ismail to the security chief – some brigadier general – who told me that we couldn’t enter. He said “da beiti wenta deif, wana ka sa7eb el beit men 7a2i en amna3ak men dukhoul beiti (This is my house, and you are my guest. It’s my right to ban you from entering my house).”
He told us to do our work outside the company’s walls.
Workers whom I don’t know saw that we couldn’t get in, so they brought us inside by force.
Around 10 workers intertwined their arms in mine and cannon-balled me through three lines of security guards.
The mood inside was one of total defiance. People are sick of the ultra low wages, company corruption, and financial fraud.
The security is totally pissed off, and will crackdown and arrest the heroes.
This (Mahalla strike) looks likes it could very well spread further and beyond – to Kafr El Dawwar to elsewhere across the country.
Here are some of the pix taken by Jano:
