Egyptian Revolution--A View From the Inside, part 4

We are visiting with my friend, Ahmed Nadar Al-Gretly, an Egyptian writer from Cairo, Egypt. You can read part one of the interview here.

What was it like for you when the “pro-Mubarak” supporters attacked the protesters?


I was baffled actually. I couldn’t understand what was going on, I kept asking myself, were these people hired? Did someone pay them money to do this? But I knew that this was an effort made by the previous government to divide the unity that held this revolution together. They tried to create a sort of a civil war between Egyptians. It saddened me to see my people being attacked by others of the same country, the same blood.

How did you feel after Mubarak made his last speech? And after Omar Suleiman announced that Mubarak had stepped down as president?

Mubarak’s last speech was highly depressing and badly written; I didn’t even hear the rest of it. We all waited for that speech and everyone expected him to step down that evening, but the speech itself was a slap in the face, it was very disrespectful to the minds and hearts of the Egyptian people. He was talking as if he didn’t care about this country, for example, he said “Your martyrs” when he was talking about the people who lost their lives in the protests, the use of the word ‘Your’ instead of ‘Our’ meant that he himself didn’t really care, it meant that he did not relate to these brave martyrs.

Now Suleiman’s (the vice president appointed on the 29th of January) speech –which lasted less than a minute, that was something else. I wasn’t home when they aired it on national television. I came down to park my car in the garage, and when I came out of the car, I heard something that sounded like a scream, but then after that, the screams turned into cheers of joy and I knew it. I rushed up stairs and heard the words that made Egypt cry tears of joy.

“President Mubarak has resigned from his role as president of Egypt…”

If you want me to sum up all these emotions in one word…I felt euphoric.

In your mind, what was the greatest factor in making this revolution a success?

It was the force; I’m not talking about Star Wars. I’m talking about faith. Faith gave people the power to go on and not back down; it was the fuel that kept their fire glowing. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like “Hey, we’re gonna keep praying and eventually, God will prevail.” It’s more of “We’re gonna work, we’re gonna fight, we’re gonna do the best we can and God will protect us because we have faith that we are on the right path”

People had faith in the higher power; they knew that God was on their side, and that they were fighting for a good cause. That –in my point of view was the greatest factor in making this revolution a success. Did you see that photograph where Muslims were praying, surrounded my Christians who stood as a human shield to protect them? Did you ever see that before anywhere in the world? That’s who we are Mrs. Swore.

A new section of Ahmed's interview will post everyday this week.

Tomorrow's question: Who is now in control of Egypt? How do you feel about the military?
Have a question for Ahmed Nader Al-Gretly? Please comment.
You can follow Ahmed on Twitter @ANaderGretly