„Freedom is so close“

Dieses Blog hat es sich zur Aufgabe gemacht, Fragen zu stellen. Der folgende Text hingegen stammt von jemandem, der Antworten gibt. Antworten auf Jahrzehnte voll Unterdrückung, Folter und Angst, in denen er und seine Landsleute die tägliche Willkür des Regimes Mubarak erleben mussten.

Seine Antwort lautet: Protest, Auflehnung, Revolution. Mein Freund Ahmed, den ich im vergangenen November in Bonn kennen lernen durfte, ist einer der unzähligen ägyptischen Demonstranten, die dem Despoten Mubarak seit einigen Tagen einen schlechten Schlaf bereiten und die gesamte Welt in helle Aufregung bringen.

Während ich mich um Vorlesungen, einen Haarschnitt und die täglichen Einkäufe kümmerte, zeltete er auf dem Tahrir-Platz, lieferte sich Straßenschlachten mit der Polizei und wurde von einer hilfsbereiten Landsfrau vor der Miliz in ihrem Appartment versteckt.

Doch bevor ich noch mehr vorweg nehme, lieber Leser, mach dir doch selber ein Bild. Der uneditierte Text von Ahmed hat mich heute per Email erreicht, er hat mich gebeten, ihn möglichst vielen Leuten zum Lesen zu Verfügung zu stellen. Ahmed ist kein Journalist, er hat nicht den Anspruch, eine objektive Sicht der Dinge darzustellen. Hier spricht jemand der Zeitzeuge und Aktivist gleichermaßen ist. Sein Bericht ist daher so distanzlos wie der polizeiliche Knüppel, der auf ein menschliches Körperteil niedergeht:

„First of all I would like to introduce myself.

My name is Ahmed Mohamed Baligh. I am a dentist and used to work as a maxillofacial surgeon in Ahmad Maher’s hospital. We, the Egyptian youth arranged on facebook to do protests and decided to start on the 25^th of January, which was a Tuesday allover the country.

The main demands of our protests are to remove the whole corrupted regime and mainly its head (Hosny Mubarak) that ruled Egypt for more than 30 years, which were the worst in the Egyptian history regarding economic, medical, educational, and democratic aspects. There is no democracy, no work. Being a dentist I have a good income, but many of my people are suffering, they even do not have the money to buy medicine for their children. These were the main motives for us: our people and our beloved country.

We started on the 25^th of January. We marched from allover Cairo towards Al Tahrir Square, which is one of the most important squares in Egypt as it contains many important governmental buildings.

For myself I walked with my friends in a march that contained thousands of Egyptians yelling for their freedom from El Mohandeseen to Al Tahrir Square (more than 10 km).

Of course the regime forces tried to stop us many times but we continued our march till we reached Al Tahrir Square. At this time the regime forces were actually still peaceful, they only tried to stop us by cordons of their bodies but we continued until we reached the square.

In the square they started to bomb us with tears bombs but we resisted and continued remaining in Al Tahrir Square. Then, after about 2 hours of bombing and resistance, they stopped bombing and let us stay in the square peacefully.

The moment I entered Al Tahrir Square for the first time was amazing. I will never forget it! It was just like you earned your freedom or some thing like this. As our march was the first to enter the square, it was such a nice feeling that I would never forget.

We remained in the square from 2.00 pm 25^th till 1.00 am 26^th. Then the regime forces started to bomb us again at 1.00 am aggressively and they could separate us. They captured many of us, many of my friends were captured but I managed to escape with some of the people that were in Al Tahrir Square. Reunified, we started to arrange ourselves again in march from Al Tahrir Square and walked allover Cairo up to Shubra and Imbaba. We continued to march from 1.00 am till 3.00 am when the regime forces surrounded us in a place called „Rod el Farag“. They managed to capture most of us. I ran in a building and I knocked the door on an appartement in this building, a woman answered me although she was so afraid because it was 3.00 am, told her that I was running from the regime forces down there, so she allowed me in and hided me until they went away, many of my friends were captured that day, but this didn’t make us hesitate or afraid, it made us more strong to continue our protests, till freedom.

My captured friends were set free on the next Thursday (27^th of January).

We started then to arrange another protest on the 28^th of January, which was Friday and called it „the Friday of Anger“. As on Tuesday there were many marches allover Cairo and the whole country. The Cairo marches were towards Al Tahrir Square of course, for myself I walked in a march from Heliopolis till Ramses that contained more than 90.000 people. On our way criminals of the regime wanted to separate us but they were so few so we managed to continue until we reached Ramses, which is another square on our way to Al Tahrir Square. Ramses square was full of regime forces. They started to bomb us again with tear bombs and they started to shoot us with cartouche gun shots which are used to kill birds.

From the way between Ramses and Al Tahrir Square there were many battles between us and the regime forces. I remember on that day I got many gun shots allover my body and I got 2 in my forehead. Later, I removed all the bullets except one in my forehead. Doctors told me that they have to wait until inflammation subsides so that they can remove it. Also I got a burn in my hand because I caught one of their bombs and threw it back on them. The bomb wasn’t too hot but the chemicals from it burnt my hand badly. Thank God it wasn’t worse.

The regime forces were bombing us very hard, hundreds of bombs were thrown on us, and many heroic actions were done by the protesting heroes, I would never forget this day at all.

After 3 hours of fighting, we managed to reach Al Tahrir Square again. The regime forces finished their bombs and cartouche (bird killing) bullets. During that time Hosny Mubarak ordered the military forces to enter the streets to separate us and the police forces as they finished their bombs and bullets. You can imagine how many bullets and bombs were thrown on us on that day. Many times I felt that I would suffocate from the bombs and from coughing and tearing, but then I remembered freedom, my people and of course my beloved country, so I became stronger than ever and started again. I think the greatest love is the love for your country.

The army and military forces at last separated between us and the police forces. Many people died that day because of suffocation and because of the cartouche bullets (which entered their brains through their eyes).

We then lasted our first night in Al Tahrir Square and until now, people are still there every day and night till we gain our freedom. This was on the 28^th of January. The day, which we call the „Friday of Anger“.

We then rested in Al Tahrir Square on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and on Tuesday. Hosny Mubarak had a speech on TV and said that he would understand us and that he would try to fulfill our demands. The next day the liar Hosny Mubarak sent us thousands of criminals to butcher us in Al Tahrir Square. His regime set the prisoners and criminals free, gave each one of them 500 pounds and told them to eliminate us.

With swords, horses, camels and knives they attacked us on the 2^nd of February, thousands of them. The battle with stones continued for more than 20 hours from 12 pm on Wednesday till 9.30 am on the next day until we defeated them.

I remember on that day I had a serious wound in my head and got 2 stitches in the back of my head.

You can now imagine, my face with 2 bullets in my forehead and 2 stitches in the back of my head, that many people were killed with stones that day. Also the regime used snipers to kill us after the regime realised that we managed to defeat the regime criminals. But the snipers shot only those, which got out of Al Tahrir Square and ran after the criminals. But those, which stayed in the square, the snipers didn’t shoot at them. Thank God.

From that day till now we are still remaining in Al Tahrir Square and moreover we extended our protest to the parliament (the peoples assembly) and the presidency of Ministry Street, which are just one street away from Al Tahrir Square.

I am writing this note to you from Al Tahrir Square on the 9^th of February between thousands of free Egyptians that would never leave the square until Mubarak leaves and until we win our freedom.

Our numbers are increasing in Al Tahrir Square, our spirits are so high and our belief is so great that freedom is so close.“

Ahmed Baligh from Al Tahrir Square on 9^th of February 2011