Saturday, the 12th February. Today when I wake up it's the first thing I think: Mubarak is gone. The eternal dictator, the iron ruler of Egypt for 30 years, abdicated. I've been about a week back in Germany and the events in Cairo on me. That night I could finally sleep in peace. Not because I think naive to think that now everything is good, that everything will now add as if by magic in the direction of democracy, freedom and human rights. The ruling elite is still intact, the authoritarian system, at best, made the visible tip. But it's a start, a sign in the right direction, a first major success on the road to a liberal democratic constitutional state. And a huge opportunity. For Egypt, the Egyptians, of course, but also for the entire Middle East, the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians.
I remember the Saturday two weeks ago. How dreary looked the whole story. I hardly slept at night. Friday night I was completely exhausted with a few friends sags on our balcony. From the terrace you could see the burning bank of the Nile. On the other bank of angry demonstrators some wooden fences were set on fire. The fire spread quickly from lightning, found in the dry trees that lined the banks of his perfect breeding ground. Before the Conrad Hotel beat out the flames Sangria Restaurant, an oasis of peace with Nile views. Just a few weeks ago I had been sitting under the Nachhimmel. This was now black with smoke. It stank of soot and we closed the balcony doors.
came against a clock in the morning my roommate dissolution home. He had left on Friday morning to play football in October City and we had the whole day not heard from him. The mobile network was completely shut down fpr Cairo. Philip was completely under power, in a trembling voice he told us about his Odissee. After football games, he had been by some of the players in the car to take home. But since the Midan Sphinx of protesters already overcrowded was and get through to Zamalek seemed impossible to Mohandisseen, they had taken the plan to go further north towards downtown Imbaba to bring Philip then 15 on the May Bridge to Zamalek. Just the Bridge, which raged a few hours ago still had street fights, where I had photographed people in prayer before they stormed the bridge. All the players whose unconscious had come up to the Corniche, the Niluferstraße. Approximately level with the Nile City Towers, the car was then placed in a police lock. Philip continued his way on foot. When he was in the distance the flame front of him, which ate into the sky, he decided in the Arkadia Mall, looking into a modern retail park protection. This is adjacent to the sangria. There he had defended himself on the seventh floor for hours together with a few landowners against hordes of looters. With heavy fire hoses, the employees of a children's paradise had shot down the escalators to the mob to prevent the rise to the top floor. Fire extinguishers and other utensils were used to block their view. As the looters set fire to the mall, Philip and his defenders were able to escape a fire stairs at the rear of the building. He had been right in the center of the huge fire that we had watched from the balcony. At home, he was the danger in which he had only become aware floated right.
had thus started the Saturday two weeks ago. We never would have dreamed that the police would retire after this violent night from public life. That would roll over in the evening reinforced the Nile island of Zamalek. That with thousands of men, armed sticks, axes and knives to join a militia would be to defend their property against marauding bands of looters. dismiss that A representative of the German Embassy in the DAAD looting and pillaging as rumors and hearsay would, while Philip danebensaß speechless.
We should be the next Days are quite a few surprises ....
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| The Arkadia Mall on fire on Saturday afternoon still |
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| Saturday lunch - still rising smoke out of the mall on |
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