Asmaa Mahfouz is the one who started it all.
She recorded a vlog on January 18th and posted it in the net. It sparked everything. Tahrir Square became most known place in the entire world. She had shared it on her Facebook, and it had gone viral. It was so powerful and so popular, that it drove Egyptians by the thousands into Tahrir Square, and drove the Egyptian government to block Facebook . I’ll shut up now and let Asma talk. It is just four minutes.
Transcripts of the speech :
Four Egyptians have set themselves on fire to protest humiliation and hunger and poverty and degradation they had to live with for 30 years. Four Egyptians have set themselves on fire thinking maybe we can have a revolution like Tunisia, maybe we can have freedom, justice, honor and human dignity.
Today, one of these four has died, and I saw people commenting and saying, “May God forgive him. He committed a sin and killed himself for nothing.”
People, have some shame.
I posted that I, a girl, am going down to Tahrir Square, and I will stand alone. And I’ll hold up a banner. Perhaps people will show some honor. I even wrote my number so maybe people will come down with me.
No one came except three guys—three guys and three armored cars of riot police. And tens of hired thugs and officers came to terrorize us. They shoved us roughly away from the people. But as soon as we were alone with them, they started to talk to us. They said, “Enough! These guys who burned themselves were psychopaths.”
Of course, on all national media, whoever dies in protest is a psychopath. If they were psychopaths, why did they burn themselves at the parliament building?
I’m making this video to give you one simple message: we want to go down to Tahrir Square on January 25th. If we still have honor and want to live in dignity on this land, we have to go down on January 25th. We’ll go down and demand our rights, our fundamental human rights.
I won't even talk about my political rights. We just want our human rights and nothing else.
This entire Government is corrupt - acorrupt President and a corrupt security force!
The self-immolators were not afraid of death. But they were afraid of the security forces!
Can you imagine that? Are you like that? Are you going to kill yourselves too? Or are you completely clueless?
Iam going down on January 25th and from now till then, I am going to distribute fliers in the streets.
I will not set myself on fire! If the security forces want to set me on fire let them come and do it!
If you think yourself a man, come with me on January 25th
Whoever says women shouldn't go to protest because they will get beaten
Let him have some honor and manhood and come with me on January 25th
Whoever says it is not worth it because there will be only a handful of people, I want to tell him, you ar the reason behind this.
And you are a traitor, just like the President or any security cop who beats us in the streets
Your presence with us will make a difference, a BIG difference
Talk to your neighbours, your colleagues, friends and family and tell them to come
They don't have to come to Tahrir Square, just go down anywhere and say it, that we are free humanbeings
Sitting at home and just following us on news or Facebook leads to our humiliation
Leads to my own humiliation!
If you have honor and dignity as a man, come. Come and protect me and other girls in the protest.
If you stay at home, then you deserve all that is being done to you. And you will be guilty before the nation and your people. And you will be responsible for what happens to us on the street while you sit at home.
Go down to the street, sen SMS's, post it on the net, make people aware. You know your own social circle, your building, your family, your friends. Tell them to com with us.
Bring 5 people, or 10 people if each of us manages to bring 5 or 10 to Tahrir Square and talk to people and tell them, THIS IS ENOUGH!!
Instead of setting ourselves on fire, let us do something positive. It will make a difference, a BIG difference!
Never say there is no hope! Hope disappears only when you say there is no hope! So long you come down with us, there will be hope.
Don't be afraid of the Government, Fear none but God!
God says that He ''will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves" (Quran 13 : 11)
Don't think you can be safe anymore! None of us are!
Come down with us, and demand your rights, my rights, your family's rights
Iam going down on January 25th and I will say "NO" to corruption. "NO" to this regime!
The self-immolators were not afraid of death. But they were afraid of the security forces!
Can you imagine that? Are you like that? Are you going to kill yourselves too? Or are you completely clueless?
Iam going down on January 25th and from now till then, I am going to distribute fliers in the streets.
I will not set myself on fire! If the security forces want to set me on fire let them come and do it!
If you think yourself a man, come with me on January 25th
Whoever says women shouldn't go to protest because they will get beaten
Let him have some honor and manhood and come with me on January 25th
Whoever says it is not worth it because there will be only a handful of people, I want to tell him, you ar the reason behind this.
And you are a traitor, just like the President or any security cop who beats us in the streets
Your presence with us will make a difference, a BIG difference
Talk to your neighbours, your colleagues, friends and family and tell them to come
They don't have to come to Tahrir Square, just go down anywhere and say it, that we are free humanbeings
Sitting at home and just following us on news or Facebook leads to our humiliation
Leads to my own humiliation!
If you have honor and dignity as a man, come. Come and protect me and other girls in the protest.
If you stay at home, then you deserve all that is being done to you. And you will be guilty before the nation and your people. And you will be responsible for what happens to us on the street while you sit at home.
Go down to the street, sen SMS's, post it on the net, make people aware. You know your own social circle, your building, your family, your friends. Tell them to com with us.
Bring 5 people, or 10 people if each of us manages to bring 5 or 10 to Tahrir Square and talk to people and tell them, THIS IS ENOUGH!!
Instead of setting ourselves on fire, let us do something positive. It will make a difference, a BIG difference!
Never say there is no hope! Hope disappears only when you say there is no hope! So long you come down with us, there will be hope.
Don't be afraid of the Government, Fear none but God!
God says that He ''will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves" (Quran 13 : 11)
Don't think you can be safe anymore! None of us are!
Come down with us, and demand your rights, my rights, your family's rights
Iam going down on January 25th and I will say "NO" to corruption. "NO" to this regime!
For More Here and Here. and Here
1 comment:
It is very inspiring. Forceful. The words bombard you uniterruptedly. She is brave. Hats off to Asmaa Mahfouz.
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