Egyptians have long been known for two things: their great history, and their sense of humor. Now, one more thing can be added to that list – their spirit of camaraderie. Egyptians have been unhappy for many years with their government, often feeling that corruption was rampant and that the standard of living was unbearable for the majority, with far too few jobs for the growing workforce.
After being patient with the promise of better wages and more jobs, the Egyptian people had finally had enough! Selecting January 25th, a day which had always been spent celebrating the Egyptian Police force, the Egyptian people staged a peaceful protest in front of Alexandria's Al Qaed Ibrahim Mosque, in the port city of Suez, and in Cairo's Tahrir Square, which became so lovingly referred to by the foreign press as Liberation Square. Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in these three locations, as well as some smaller groups gathering at various locations nation-wide.
Having been organized mainly online, through Facebook and Twitter, one would've expected to see a young crowd in the protests. While the youth played a large role in what was happening, and made up a relative majority of those protesting, there were also so many older people as well…some, I'm sure, had never even heard of Facebook before this day.
The protests continued for nearly three weeks, with an official tally of the dead at just over 300, with many hundreds of others injured. But even with all the ugliness and blood and tension that arose during these three weeks, something truly beautiful and incredible also happened. Egyptian people acted as one. Milton was right in implying that every cloud has a silver lining, and this was the Egyptian Popular Revolution's silver lining – teamwork and camaraderie.
Throughout the protests one could hear inspiring stories everywhere of the deeds Egyptians were doing for each other. Every day, Twitter and Facebook were filled with requests for medical supplies, water, and food to be brought to the protesters, with contact names and numbers included for accessibility. Egyptians who could not bring these supplies to the squares themselves donated money for their purchase. Doctors and pharmacists set up makeshift triages and clinics near known landmarks in the area and numbered them so that the injured or sick could receive care.
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