In Tahrir Square, a Sit-In That’s Meant to Last
The feel of Cairo's Tahrir Square is more reminiscent of the 18-day uprising than ever - there are more people out than have been in months, the crowd has a high proportion of politically engaged protesters rather than hangers-on looking to have fun, and those protesting are again organizing with a shared purpose which hasn't been the case since Mubarak's departure.
In January the common goal was to oust Mubarak, and while his stepping down marked a major victory, it set off a process of splintering and confusion as people sought to establish another set of achievable, and perhaps more importantly, unifying demands. That splintering of groups, interests and priorities is still evident, but this weekend, activists have come together to call for a clear set of 7 demands all of which are related to the ouster of the miltary regime that replaced Mubarak.
In January the loudest chant was "The people want the end of the regime" referring to Mubarak and his strong-arm government. This July, the words of the chants are the same, but they carry a radically different message: while chants of "The people want the end of the regime," continue, the regime they are referring to now is that of Tantawi. Another recycled chant that has taken on a strikingly new meaning: "He goes; we stay." Again the target of this chant has morphed from Mubarak to SCAF.
This weekend's mobilization was not designed as a finite demonstration. It's now a workday in Egypt, and the protestor-built mini-city that was constructed on Thursday night shows no signs of dissipating. All the trappings in Tahrir right now are indicative of the self-organization and seemingly spontaneous coordination that have marked the revolution throughout.
THE TENT
Planning of the sit-in took into account the July sun, and activists enlisted a well known Egyptian architect to to design a shading device that covers the entire center of the meedan. In a collaborative initiative reminiscent of January's 18-day long sit in, volunteers pieced it together with safety pins, staples and ropes ahead of the Friday demonstration.
Here are demonstrators preparing another part of the tent:
And here's that tent in it's entirety - taken on Saturday night.
THE CROWD
Step underneath the tent and you'll find smaller tents set up to house nearly every subset of the revolution - from April 6th to "No Military Trials" to the Egyptian Socialist Party, it's a combination of political parties and groups that aim to function as movements or watchdog organizations. One friend told me that there are roughly 20 separate newly formed movements, alone, camped out in the center of the meedan right now.
Besides the diversity of interests, this weekend also witnessed extreme diversity in demographics - at times it's hard to tell if you're standing in the middle of a festival or a political protest. Small families walk around taking in the sights. Children hold posters and chant political slogans. You're nearly as likely to see a woman demonstrating as you are a man.
The more diverse the crowd, the more powerful - because it appears to be more representative of the population, and thus more of a threat, and also because the more women and children the more complicated the calculus for a military wondering whether or not to send in the tear gas as they did a week ago.
COORDINATION
The square is once again guarded by volunteer security checkpoints and kept clean by volunteer trash collectors. Occasionally a call for more checkpoint staffers goes out on the loudspeaker, and more volunteers head to a meeting point near the Egyptian Museum on one side of the square to sign up. Demonstrators even siphoned electricity from powerlines to charge mobile devices and equipment (which was also done during the 18 days.)
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE FUTURE?
As activist and artist Aalam Wassef underlined last night as we stood alongside the square's center, it took three months for protesters to regroup and come back to the square.
Just because those with different interests were able to join together this weekend to push for a clear set of demands, doesn't mean that the huge set of challenges facing the revolution as it moves forward are going anywhere. However, at least in the context of this sit-in, people are slowly mobilizing around a cohesive focus. And at least those that are in the square seem to agree that a) the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) needs to be pushed into doing something, b) that SCAF is different from the military (which most Egyptians adore), and c) that the media is failing.
