Excerpt
The retired general in the blue suit walked alone, with a cane, as hundreds of Egyptian protesters surged past him, chanting and holding signs. He stopped to catch his breath, grabbing the railing of a bridge so he could look out at the Nile.
The general pointed to his throat, signaling that he was mute, but on this day of protest he intended to be heard. So he grabbed a pen and wrote.
His name was Maj. Gen. Ali Ibrahim al-Gafy, 71, and he had fought in several of Egypt’s wars with Israel. He had walked about one and a half miles from his home in the Dokki neighborhood to be part of Tuesday’s grand gathering in Tahrir Square. He looked at the tanks in the distance, noting the warm reception the soldiers received. “People like the Army and hate the police,” General Gafy wrote.
Then he jotted down a few words about the man who had inspired the protests, a fellow veteran of Egypt’s armed services: the country’s president.
“Down with Mubarak.” he wrote. “Traitor.”
General Gafy’s scribbles were the quietest expressions of anger on a loud day.
Hundreds of thousands of his fellow Egyptians, brimming with confidence after days of protest, traveled like pilgrims to gather at Tahrir, or Liberation, Square, to speak freely and to be heard.
They said that President Hosni Mubarak had never listened to their complaints, aspirations or opinions. So on Tuesday they made noise, carrying banners, painting their faces and singing their slogans. Later that night, it was clear that Mr. Mubarak, who announced he would not run for another presidential term, had been listening — though he might not have heard.
There was no mistaking what the protesters wanted. “Go already,” read one sign held aloft for Mr. Mubarak. “My arm’s starting to hurt.”
"Kerry: U.S. Needs New 'Egyptian-People-Centric Policy'" PBS Newshour Transcript 2/1/2011 (includes video)
No comments:
Post a Comment