Egypt 2.0: The revolution from an Egyptian American prespective

People still ask about the ROI of social media. Really?!!! How about a revolution that boots a 30 year regime in a country of 80 million people. How about that for Return On Investment?!

Egypt like other places in the world had plenty of corruption and injustice. You saw it in the streets along with people’s smiles. As an Egyptian born that made USA her home, I have accepted them as part of Egypt along with its generosity and kindness. Sure I have seen and heard the blogs and vlogs calling for a stand against corruption. But never in million years I would have thought they would change Egypt from the great nation of 2011BC to a great nation in 2011AD.

Watching the revolution unfold from far was very… hard to describe, but it went on something like this:

Jan 25:
I hear of protests throughout Egypt against torture and corruption. According to the digital media they are the biggest yet, organized by sites like We are all Khaled Said and 6th of April Youth Movement. First thing you do when you live away from your family is call to check on their safety.
“Yes, we are all safe.  It is a peaceful protest. Everything will be back to normal tomorrow”,  mom says.
Relief fills me and I move on about my day. Then I check again few hours later.
“Shit!!! it is getting nasty” I think as I watch the tweets, livestream and FB comments. I call as soon as I get home to check on everyone’s safety again.
“Yes we are safe. We are watching what’s happening on the satellite and the net.  The national TV is useless. Oh! and earlier I had to literally sit on your little niece (24 years old computer engineer- Not so little) because she wants to join her friends in Tahrir Square”  her mom says with a relief.

Now I’m glued to Al Jazeera (Broadcasting live from Egypt). I watch the protests as the police uses excessive force on the peaceful protesters. My heart aches for them. People are just asking for their basic human rights and the cops are just doing what they have been told to do. I finally go to sleep at 2am praying for a peaceful resolution the next day.

Jan 26:
“Shit! It is getting worse”, I call the family again. Thankfully everyone is fine. But for how long, I wonder. Now fear is really gripping at my heart, fear for my family, fear for the people in the streets and fear for the fate of Egypt that I have always loved and known to be peaceful.

Few hours later I get the text that the bastards shut down the internet and the mobile network. Now I’ m really freaked out and I head straight home. After hours of search I finally find my family’s land line numbers (Who the hell uses land line in 2011? Egypt does thankfully). I call and find out that everyone is still safe and scared for the country they call home.

Suddenly my feelings have switched. I’m no longer just worried about my family, I’ m angry at the bastards for trying to isolate Egypt from the world. I’ m checking all the social sites to find out what’s happening,Twitter, Facebook, CNN and some random live stream.
All are streaming the sounds of gunfire, people screaming and injuries all over the country…in the dark. OMG! They waited until it was dark to take stab at the protesters. Anger now is eating at my gut. Disbelief that this is really happening at the place I just visited 10 days earlier.

Jan 27:
The internet is still down. Twitter (Hashtag #Egypt #Jan25) is full of instructions on ways around the shutdown. People from all over the world are tweeting  proxy server and Speak2tweet to connect Egypt to the world. I ‘m filled with love for humanity, the white hat hackers and nerdy geeks who stand for freedom.
Clashes reported in Port Said, Suez, Alexandria and Cairo are reported all over the net. I call my family again for the 12th time in 2 days. They are safe and clueless about what’s happening in the rest of the country. But I can hear the fear in their voices.

I look for tickets online to fly back to Cairo. Then I hear on the news that the airlines are canceling all flights to Egypt. WTF!!! Now I am totally freaking out, so I call a friend who just visited Egypt for the first time 2 weeks earlier.
“I need to be there. I can’t just sit here and watch. If there are no flights to Egypt, I could fly to Jordan and…and…ride a camel to downtown Cairo?!!”
Really!!! Now I feel stupid, helpless and angry. I stay home that day because I’ m an emotional mess.

Jan 28:
First thing I do as I open my eyes is check Al Jazeerah, We are all Khaled Said and Twitter, that’s when I read:

Police have disappeared from the streets. The demonstrators have taken over police stations freeing the protesters…and criminals are hitting the streets with guns threatening people in their homes and looting…some people broke into the Egyptian museums…

My first reaction is OMG! not the museum!. It is the treasure of our history and the planet.

I call my parents but no answer. So I call my nieces instead.
“Your nephews are out in the street since last night with golf clubs and Tennis rackets. People have barricaded the street to protected the neighborhood from looters with guns and knives. Noboy goes in and out without identification and checking their cars”.
I hang up and try my parents again. But no answer. I could feel the panic building.
Where are my parents? Have the looters and thugs gotten into their house? Are they tied down as they took their stuff? OMG, Have they killed my parents?
My cousins can’t get to my parents’ house. It’s total lock down everywhere.  I keep on calling while trying not to lose my mind as I might need it to get to Egypt. Finally my mom answers the phone.
“We are fine. We were downstairs with the neighbors forming watch committees. The young men of our neighborhood along with their fathers and your dad have barricaded the street and there will be 24/7 watch,  split into shifts between all the houses. We are safe…..”
Somewhere between hiccups and tears, I hear myself apologizing for being far away from them. It was the first time in my life that I questioned my decision to live in the States. America is my home but Egypt is where my loved ones are and it is part of who I am.
After 1hour of arguing and crying, I promise not to return to Egypt at this moment. As soon as I get off the phone, I get on We are all Khaled Said and write a long thank you note to the beautiful men of Egypt who are looking after my family while I’ m away.

The army has landed in the streets and people are finding ways to tweet and communicate from unplugged Egypt.

Jan 29:
Emotions are constantly changing and once again something has shifted deeply. It is no longer the story of injustice in the world. It is the story of my family. I was once Egyptian and sang to Egypt expressing my love for its soil and people. The people who lived decades in fear of torture, are now protecting my family. The young generation of Egypt are hacking the system to let the world know their story and hear their voices. They are fighting for their rights and freedom

I’ m praying. I’m crying. I’m angry and I’m glued to the net.It’s all I seem to do.
People welcome the army. They trust them. They have always protected the people.

Jan 30:
I’ m still glued to the media, watching We are all Khaled Said, Al Jazeerah, CBS, CNN, Twitter…
I’ m a total mess. I can’t go on about my life here. Still contemplating breaking my promise to return to Egypt and join the protesters.
The revolution is gaining momentum, doctors, judges, scholars, artists, rich and poor people are in the streets. People want Mubarak out. Mubarak appoints a VP after decades. A day late and dollar short!!!

Oh! a tank shows up to my family’s street. Mom sends over dinner and tea.

Jan 31:
The revolution is gaining momentum. People stand together of all sect, of all ages, of all classes and of all backgrounds. Just people. Oh! Police is back on the scene now to arrest criminals and show their value….yeah right!
Still glued to all digital media. My life is at stand still. I read, I write and for once in my life, I feel part of what’s going on in Egypt. I only trust the voice of the young generation as all the local Egyptian media has been lying for decades while eating kabob by the Mubarak regime.

Feb 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6:
Protesters are filling the streets, all over the country. They won’t go home.
Thugs and snipers are killing beautiful young men and women. Death toll keeps going up. People will either live free of fear or die.

Anderson Cooper among other journalists gets beat up by Mubarak’s thugs.

Mubarak regime is trying to convince the Egyptian people and the world that the revolution is funded by outsiders… Really Mubarak!!!! Stop please. Now you sound really stupid, just because you don’t know how to use Facebook, Google and Twitter.
The army is still in the streets. It hasn’t taken sides. Oh! Internet is back on the Feb 2nd.

Feb 7:
Wael Ghoneim, the activist responsible for the Arabic page of We are all Khaled Said was released after 12 days of interrogation and being blind folded. He gave a very moving and emotional interview.

The Energy in the street has picked up as Wael joins the people in Tahrir.
I might be living in Austin, TX but baby, I’ m there every minute of the day. Thank you digital age.
I call my mom for the 3rd time that day to share what I’ m reading. She says
” I’ m praying for this country’s safety. But for the first time ever I’ m grateful that you are not here”

Truthfully, it would have been a hard call. It always feel right and easy to sacrifice yourself for your beliefs. But it is very difficult when you know that your beliefs will harm your loved ones…Then again, how could you live with yourself if you don’t stand up for your convictions?!
I know I can’t. I wish I was there in Tahrir Square.

Feb 8, 9, 10 and 11:
It’s a revolution, so I can’t really give you a minute by minute details. Only thing I can say that it is chaotic and  crazy…people are dying, hospitals are filled with injuries. Mosques and churches have changed to clinics.

And then you see the Muslims and Christians are praying in the streets and protecting each other’s back.

The people have set up camps, tents and concerts in the square. And wait!!! a couple just got married and they are serving sorbet and juices. I love you Egypt.

It is a mess. Yet it is a very inspiring mess. So proud of the protesters. So amazed that they are holding their temper. Peaceful!!! Yes peaceful.

VP Suleiman speaks and sounds even more like an ass.
Army announces that Mubarak will speak again, and rumor has it that he will finally LEAVE.
The Mubarak comes on and OMG! not only he is condescending but he is singing his own praises. WTF!!!
People are so pissed off. My body is pulsating with anger. How dare he!!!!

Feb 12, 2011:
I can barely open my eyes.  4 hours of sleep mixed with days full of emotional roller coaster sadness, anger, fear, worries, helplessness and frustration are taking their toll. I force my eyes to read the tweets,  We are all Khaled Said and AlJazeerah. I’ m breaking under pressure of this amazing revolution. I want to be there and stand with these amazing people. I could always lie to my parents, except my mom knows me well enough to know when I lying.
I’ m contemplating this as I drive to my hair appointment that I made back in December. I’ m sure my friends are tired of seeing my puffy eyes. No reason to inflict bad hair too because Mubarak is stuck to his chair like a nasty piece of gum. My iPhone is plugged into my ears as I watch and listen the mobile applications of the revolution. My hairdresser is my  putting the goop on my head. That’s when I hear it, Mubarak has resigned.

OMG! Tears of joy and an overwhelming sense of relief is all I can feel. My hairdresser sees me crying. She is concerned. All I can say between hiccups and tears ”He is gone and they are safe. Egypt is safe”

Finally I get her to wash the crap off my head and I’ m out calling everyone. My family in Egypt are crying while they are out in the streets celebrating. I write on the pages of the strangers who became my family in the last 18 days of the revolution. I call my friends who have been totally and absolutely awesome and supportive.

Hello Egypt! You have won. Be free and be the great nation that you are.
Egypt has raised me to be kind and proud. America has raised me to speak my truth and follow my dreams. Both are my homes and I’m proud to be Egyptian American.
This my friend is the story of EGYPT 2.0, a revolution using web 2.0 technologies

Special thanks to all the media and the people who shared their pictures, to the geeks around the world who helped Egypt stay connected and to We are all Khaled Said (The English page with its awesome Admin who is not Wael Ghoneim) for educating, mediating and keeping it true.

This is not just the story of the Egyptian people, it is the story of all humanity.

Click CC button to read the translation