On January 24, the day before protests broke out in Egypt, I was at a restaurant located by the nile in the upscale neighbourhood of Zamalek, Cairo, sipping white wine and stuffing my face with sushi. I had a short chat (very prophetic in retrospect) with the shisha man, which made me uneasy sitting in my place. It started off with me asking him why he looked so angry and that I've never seen an Egyptian who's in such a bad mood. He replied swiftly: "well, you haven't met real Egyptians... three quarters of Egyptians are unhappy and disgruntled."
The next day, Tahrir Square and other areas in Egypt, were flooded with protestors, which still stand until today, not willing to budge. That was the first time in my life I witness anything of that magnitude. For 21 years I thought that Arab citizens were pacified, and the majority of the youth apathetic. The "day of anger" protests are epic because a group of activists who started out on Facebook, gathered momentum so quickly as soon as they hit the streets. The protests started off calling for basic demands, which have now evolved to an outcry against Mubarak and his regime, demanding he leaves office. But really, these protests are not about one corrupt figure of authority, it's about dignity, the dignity that a corrupt and oppressive regime has deprived its people of.
This time around all the inequalities and disparities that have plagued Egypt over the years drive the people to exasperation, causing them to protest. In the past you could see protests and strikes against rising food prices, but now, people are protesting against corruption, police brutality. They are also calling for human rights, political reform and constitutional amendments, which ideally should compliment a democratic regime.
Challenges still lie ahead, but only time will tell whether Egyptians will be able to consolidate their destiny.
