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A double-edged sword
25 January, 2021 Egyptians wave their national flag in Cairo s Tahrir Square on February 25, 2011, shortly after protesters forced the departure of longtime president Hosni Mubarak. Khaled Desouki/AFP via Getty Images
January 25, 2011, will forever be known in the Arab world as a day of revolution â one that was made possible by the rise of social media.
Thousands of Egyptians swarmed the countryâs streets to voice their discontent with President Hosni Mubarakâs tyrannical regime. They serenaded Cairoâs neighbourhoods with songs of freedom, filled the polluted air with rhythmic reminders of past joys and spoke of a brighter future for their children. Crowds funneled their way through the narrow downtown passageways, fusing into a single 15,000 strong collective to occupy Tahrir Square â a central landmark that translates to
Revoluci zažehl policisty ubitý mladík Arabské jaro v Egyptě začalo před 10 lety reflex.cz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from reflex.cz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Published date: 22 January 2021 11:37 UTC | Last update: 2 months ago
On 12 February 2011, Egypt s youth were feted for their courage and resolve. But a decade on, they have become a cautionary tale, forever caged in their mental prisons
Egyptian demonstrators crowd Tahrir Square in Cairo on 30 January 2011 (AFP)
Years before the “Arab Spring” brought hundreds of thousands of Egyptians to the streets chanting for bread, freedom and social justice, Egypt’s youth had started their own revolution. Their tools: a keyboard, a blog and big dreams of change.
It was 2006. The Egyptian blogosphere was taking shape, prodded by Iraqi blogs that showed the real story of the US invasion of their country. It was an unadulterated space where governments had no control, and content was raw and personal - a space with no boundaries, no indoctrination and no censorship.