and the minds from my colleagues from cnn international who were there when it happened right from the start. january 2011, the first rumblings of an up rising in cairo. crowds begin to gather in the city s central tahrir square. a revolution has begun. what is your message to president mubarak? reporter: whose hosni mubarak has been egypt s dictate for for 30 years. a growing number of protesters want him out. mubarak digs in and the once peaceful protests turn violent. reporter: this is an unmistakable show of military force. this has been a symbol of de defian defiance. reporter: they re speaking in arabic, go, go. reporter: firefighting in the air. the demonstrators say that s the army firing to warn them to stay away. reporter: promubarak forces targeted the unarmed protesters. journalists come under attack. i was shoved out of the way. this is just a completely surreal experience. i m being told, walk, walk. don t stay. okay. been hit now like ten times.