“LOVE IS IN THE AIR…”

Once again following eighteen straight days of instability that weighed down the country – curfews lessened, shops are open, traffic is turbulent and the Nile-tour boats are decorated with dazzling lights, army tanks at every turn are being used as explicit backdrops; and then, something - by no means formerly seen in Cairo... At the hub of the revolt protest that brought down the almost three-decade regime of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak; men, women and children took to the streets once again - only this time, with a separate agenda. The exact same revolutionaries who toppled the system using solely their voices have armed themselves with a distinctive kind of weapon: All proudly armed with brooms, dustpans, gloves, surgical masks and trash bags, they launched an enormous debris cleanup effort with hundreds of volunteers, cleaning the streets and trying to remove anti-Mubarak graffiti from statues and buildings. Citizens helped dismantle barricades and the tents in which they’d spent several extended chilly, tough nights.

My friends and fellow AUCians were cleaning the streets of Tahrir, for days following Mubarak’s ouster. Many people smiled at us, waved happily and came up and thanked us for our inspiring action. Some even offered water, food or chocolate. The Square was literally filled with people volunteering to clean up, picking up the trash and painting the pavements, This revolution didn’t only change the people in power, it awakened something in every single Egyptian that made us eager to build a new country with a brighter future”, Farida Y. said…

“Teams of conscientious Cairenes scoured neighborhoods, zealously hunting down litter as if the future of the city depended on it. They stopped traffic to clean out the gutters and pushed pedestrians to the side so they could wash the footpaths. By dusk on Saturday, Most of the anti-Mubarak graffiti had disappeared in Tahrir Square, the junction that had become the heart of the uprising, smelt like a freshly scrubbed bathroom”, Jason K. said…

What’s become clear is that not only has there been a physical revolt, tossing out the tyrant and some of his cronies, but as importantly Egyptians have embarked on a mental revolution as well. I personally, was neither born nor raised here in Egypt, but I distinctly remember visiting Egypt for the first time when I was almost 11 years old, the doors between my grandmother’s home in Alexandria and her Christian neighbor were never closed. The events since 25th January brought this feeling back all over again, Egyptians took to the streets from all walks of life - men, women, Muslims and Christians, old and young, rich and poor. All of them hand in hand, wanting their freedom. They wanted their dignity back. We witnessed Egyptian Christians pouring ablution water for their Muslim brother and protecting them from behind while they pray; similarly the Muslims protected the Christians while they performed their Sunday mass, repeatedly chanting, “Muslims, Christians we are all Egyptians”…

“Just when we were told that a religious strife was about to engulf Egypt, and that the people were subdued to the point that there was no hope, millions of brave Egyptians declared a revolution that brought Muslims and Christians together. The courage and the bravery they displayed is enough to restore our faith in the world - in the human race, and in ourselves. Those who are still wondering if Arabs are capable of this or that - need not ponder anymore. Just listen to them roar and you will find the answer”, George I. said...

Egyptians are not only holding their government to account for its actions. They are also holding themselves responsible for making Egypt a better place. There is an incredibly popular word in Egypt; Al Sabr. It means patience. But no one could detect or foresee when the people’s patience would seemingly come to an end. The country’s opposition parties didn’t see this upheaval coming, and even Arab and Egyptian scholars were caught by surprise. Egyptians have always been proud of their culture, but for the first time in decades they’re also proud of their country. With this pride comes an enormous sense of conscientiousness. And while many want to breathe the air of freedom. Others still want righteousness. Nobility. Equality. Hope, and above all, a Democracy. On that fateful Friday at sundown, in a twosentence
statement to state television that took approximately 40 seconds
-- Egypt’s history has changed forever...