[Update] As of Friday, Feb. 11 at 10:40 a.m. CST, fomer president Hosni Mubarak, who had been Egypt’s president for more than 30 years, has resigned.
Reports of the thousands of protesters shouting “Egypt is free!” are flooding news media and social networking sites.
After 18 days of demonstrations and years of the Mubarak reign, protesters’ cries have been heard and answered.
The White House has reported that President Obama will make a statement this afternoon.
[Original story] With death tolls exceeding 300, conflict in Egypt continues and spreads beyond Cairo.
For the past 18 days, revolt has shaken Egypt as demonstrators gather in Tahrir Square to protest the injustices they have endured throughout President Hosni Mubarak’s thirty year administration.
In response to citizen’s hostility, the government has issued a curfew requiring everyone to be in their homes by 7:00 p.m. (recently changed to 8:00 p.m.) and to exit their homes no earlier than 6:00 a.m. The use of social networking to rally protestors also caused the government to disable internet access and text messaging services.
Protests have also led to many injuries and the 10-day disappearance of Google executive, Wael Ghonim, who actively protested Egypt’s government via social networks such as Twitter.
Egyptian vice president, Omar Suleiman, managed Ghonim’s release from their security services. However, according to the Wall Street Journal, the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights estimates over 1,200 people have been detained since the beginning of the protests.
For the past thirty years, Mubarak has subdued citizens of Egypt and imposed on their rights by instating a military emergency law after former president Anwar El Sadat’s assassination.
Junior Psychology major, Jinan Mahdi, was born in Najaf, Iraq and lived with her family there for several years while Saddam Hussein was in power. Mahdi described the military emergency law as “protection for the government” that “uses the people as a shield.”
According to the International Federation for Human Rights, this law was only supposed to be in place for a year, but has been extended every year since 1981.
As of Monday, a few Egyptian officials stepped down from their positions, including Mubarak’s son whom many feared could be his father’s successor. The president has seemed to have full intentions of remaining in office until his term ends in September to avoid further chaos.
Mahdi says Mubarak’s “good intentions” should not fool anyone.
“Every president, good or bad, likes to have the chair and stay there,” Mahdi said. “If he was really trying to avoid more chaos he would have stepped down a long time ago.”
Continuing protests suggest many Egyptians agree and believe Mubarak should be removed immediately. Other demands of the protestors include more media freedom and the removal of the military emergency law, all of which were discussed, according to their state TV, at an official meeting.
Bible and ministry professor Phil Kinzer has led trips to Egypt and Israel in the past months and, while he observed a bit of chaos in Cairo, he says as tourists, they “weren’t looking for signs of a revolution.” However, he did take note of the chaotic nature of the city, as well as the fact that around 40% of the Egyptian people live on less than $2 a day.
The low living standards, high levels of injustice and revolt sparking in neighboring country, Tunisia, however, made for a revolutionary combination.
If Mubarak steps down, there are only so many options for his successor(s). The Muslim Brotherhood, a predominant protest group, claims loyalty to human rights and the people of Egypt. However, because of groups like al-Qaeda, the Brotherhood must establish more trustworthy roots before demonstrators will consider them as a serious option.
Luke Brooks, a senior English major from Birmingham, Ala., thinks the U.S. should support the protestors and further push the current Egyptian government to step down. While the White House has definitely shown support for protestors, Brooks believes the picture is much bigger.
“Egypt has the capacity to be a great ally in the Middle East,” Brooks said. “That should motivate the U.S. to support demonstrators, [as] if the injustices Egyptians have faced aren’t enough.”
The future of Egypt is largely dependent on the persistency and organization of the protestors and their willingness to continue demonstrating even as other aspects of life return to normal.
Adam Curtis, a junior and sustainability major from Mt. Juliet, Tenn., says he “applauds the Egyptian people for fighting for a system of government they think suits them better.”
“I hope that their movement is not destroyed when the time to agree on specifics of a new government comes about,” Curtis said.
Only time can tell what the future holds for Egypt’s tireless protestors.
“Pray for the people,” Mahdi said. “They’ve fought hard and deserve freedom.”