Saturday, February 5, 2011

Photos of Egyptian Uprising - Tahrir Square

State-security thugs stole my camera - along with photos and videos - while I was documenting the clashes which took place during the "Friday of Rage" (Jan. 28) in Ramses Square.

Unfortunately, I've not been able to retrieve my photos or footage of Friday's uprising. While these unprecedented images are lost, I've begun documenting the Egyptian uprising in Tahrir Square - with a new camera - since Monday (Jan. 31)

Will be posting more images soon.

***

MONDAY - Jan. 31


Headquarters of ruling party, and riot-police truck outside - burnt down on Friday. The NDP headquarters were burnt down on Friday, but remained smoldering until Sunday.


Tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of protesters filled Tahrir Square on Monday, demanding the downfall of the Mubarak dictatorship.


This uprising is led primarily by Egyptian youth - without any clear leaders, or guiding political-forces


Army helicopters are constantly hovering over the protests.


Protesters and members of the armed forces fraternized, but the protesters in Tahrir Square quickly learned that the army - who are far more respectable than the police forces - is not on their side.


TUESDAY - Feb. 1


Protesters mock dictator Hosni Mubarak,comparing him to Adolf Hitler.


Unprecedentedly massive protests demand removal of Mubarak.


Estimates suggest that over 1.5 million anti-Mubarak protesters filled the streets of Tahrir Square, Abdel Moneim Riyad Square and Talaat Harb Square on Tuesday.


Anti-Mubarak protesters stand upon the base of the Omar Makram statue - raising grievances regarding the ruling regime's media and communications-blackout, censorship, and oppression.


Millions of Egyptians, not only in Cairo but across many cities, have been demanding the downfall of Dictator Mubarak and his corrupt regime.


WEDNESDAY - Feb. 2

The massive protests in Tahrir Square - which had been peaceful and non-violent from Saturday (Jan. 29) to Tuesday (Feb. 1) turned violent on Wednesday. Armed forces in Tahrir Square stood idly by as pro-Mubarak protesters, hired thugs, and undercover police forces moved to attack the anti-Mubarak protesters.


At least five anti-Mubarak protesters died, two of whom were killed by live ammunition, while several hundred were injured in the Wednesday's clashes.


The most intense fighting centered around Abdel Moneim Riyad Square, by the Egyptian Museum; and to a lesser extent, around Talaat Harb Square.


Hundreds of anti-Mubarak protesters received treatment and medical attention - from field clinics staffed by professional volunteers.


Injured protesters suffering from cuts, bruises, fractures, and broken bones. The more seriously injured protesters - suffering from compound fractures, bullet wounds, burns from Molotovs, etc. - were transfered to hospitals outside via ambulances. The fight was stiff and lasted nearly 14 hours, but the anti-Mubarak protesters won the battle and held on to Tahrir Square.


THURSDAY Feb. 3

A number of journalists, and members of camera crews - including both Egyptians and foreign correspondents - recommended that I not bring my camera to the protests on Thursday, due to the fact that police and armed forces were confiscating (and in some cases destroying) cameras, film, and memory cards. Numerous journalists and photographers were detained, arrested, and interrogated.

At the height of Thursday's protests, around 200,000 anti-Mubarak protesters were in attendance in Tahrir Square - well over double the number that was present during the previous day's clashes. Thursday's protests witnessed some skirmishes between anti-Mubarak protesters and undercover police/hired thugs, but on a far smaller scale.

FRIDAY, Feb. 4

Following Friday noon prayers, an estimated million protesters poured into Tahrir Square from around Cairo and other governorates. These protests denounced Mubarak's stubborn and dictatorial policies. As I was returning home from these protests on Friday night I saw three police pickup trucks unloading plain-clothed policemen with pistols and submachine-guns. Well over a dozen of them joined the small pro-Mubarak protests in Downtown Cairo.


An effigy of Dictator Mubarak hangs by its neck from a lamppost in Tahrir Square.

1 comment:

Tristan Klein said...

Hope you find this interesting http://theanarchistlibrary.org/HTML/Mohamed_Jean_Veneuse__Anarca-Islam.html . the author is of egyptian descent not that 'that' should make a difference.