Abdel Latif El-Menawy
Bouaziziâs sacrifice and the âJasmine Revolutionâ it inspired were felt across the Middle East and North Africa, where swathes of the population had endured years of economic stagnation, mass unemployment and official corruption, coupled with limited personal freedoms and heavy-handed policing.
Emulating the rage of Tunisians, crowds of young Egyptians spilled onto the streets on Jan. 25 to demand change. Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo became the symbolic center of the movement, where protesters camped out under the watchful eye of the worldâs media. Aggressive police tactics to quell the protests stoked anger further, culminating in calls for the removal of Mubarak.