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Community amid Egypt's chaos
Community amid Egypt's chaos
United against their president, demonstrators in Tahrir Square have managed to bridge the country's political divides.
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It will likely be weeks before the world knows whether pro-democracy protesters in Egypt have successfully dislodged their president, but whether or not they achieve that goal, they have already succeeded in offering a new model for a more engaged Egypt.
The protesters massing in Cairo's Tahrir Square have set up their own self-contained community. Food supplies are limited, but vendors dispense bread, cheese, water and other essentials.
A sign outside the shuttered Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant advertises medical services. Doctors and nurses in white coats roam the grounds, providing care for the thousands of people injured in clashes over the past week.
A newspaper provides the latest updates on the conditions in the square and the politics outside.
Civic engagement is not a new phenomenon in Egypt, of course, and it would be dismissive to claim otherwise.
Mosques play a key role in providing social services to communities, and Egypt's Coptic Christian community – a large percentage of the population – is a political force.
Opposition groups, like the Ghad (Tomorrow) and Wafd (Delegation) parties and the banned-but-tolerated Muslim Brotherhood, have their own media outlets and organise their supporters on key issues.
ENDS
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