Renad Ghanem
Saudi Gazette
CAIRO — Five years after the January 25th Revolution, Egyptians have mixed feelings about what their country has been through.
Since President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi took power in 2014, the country has begun to settle down and, in spite of difficulties, is witnessing positive changes.
Egypt has been an eventful place since 2011. There have been two revolutions, the January 25th and June 30, two presidential elections, Muhamad Morsi who was ousted in June 2013, Adly Mansour as interim president and then finally President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. Egypt also witnessed two parliaments in 2011, a new parliament in 2016 and two polls on constitution drafts.
There have also been two major tragedies since 2011. One was the Port Said massacre when about 74 football fans were killed and the second was the burning of the Institute of Egypt during clashes. Since 2011, the sacrifices of the police and army cannot be enumerated. According to the Egyptian Ministry of Interior, since January 2011 about 800 policemen have died and 18,000 injured. Despite the huge losses, officers continue to do their jobs.
Sarah Khattab, an Egyptian woman, said the January 25th revolution was the greatest in history. “It was the best days of my life. Unfortunately, it has been stolen because the youth were not aware and qualified to take control. I believe the youth can and will make their country a better place. We believe in ourselves and our spirit. However, I think that rather than crying over the past we have to work hard for our country. Egypt needs us,” she said.
“I blame activists who do nothing but complain. We didn’t get anything as youth because we are unqualified,” she said.
“We waited for appreciation without doing our job by raising our country. We also have to accept other opinions. This is a democracy that we went to Tahrir Square for. We will never forget those who lost their lives to give us a better life. We have to work hard and hand-in-hand with the current government to achieve what they dreamt and lost their lives for,” she said.
Hany Ezz, a 31-year-old Egyptian engineer, describes the revolution as black and dark days. “I wasn’t supporting the revolution or Mubarak. I, like many Egyptians, was bothered about my country. January 25th was a huge lie. I only remember it as a time when the country was destroyed and we lost hundreds of civilians, policemen and soldiers,” he said.
Ezz says he remembers that millions of Egyptians lost their jobs and that investors fled the country. “I remember when gangs burned shops. I remember when criminals were burning police stations and killing officers. They were robbing banks and stores. I can’t forget that we were unsafe in our homes,” he said, adding that he hates the period and the songs of that time.
“I hate how people lost each other because of the politics. I agree that we witnessed the toughest time that Egypt had ever been through,” he said.
“I think the only benefit is that we now choose our governments and president through very credible elections. However, we’re still suffering till today,” he added.
Dina Seyam used to support the revolution but then changed her view. “I was supporting it until I found out that it was all about individual aims. We called for bread, freedom and social justice, but many of those movements and activists exploited the situation for personal gain, glory, money and power. For me, it was all fake,” she said.
“It doesn’t mean that I’m crying over the Hosni Mubarak era. No, I’m crying over the police and soldiers who die every day because terrorism returned to Egypt as a result. We voted for the Muslim Brotherhood thinking that they will work for the country’s interests and also because we thought that we are smarter than them and that we could control them. This wasn’t true,” she added.
“I’m thankful that we have a great army that corrected our unforgivable mistakes by getting us rid of Morsi. We were about to lose Sinai because of terrorism. I’m thankful that it’s mostly under control. I’m not supporting the revolution anymore but I will be appreciating all the people who died for it, as well as the police who sacrifice their lives every day to protect the country,” she said.
Ahmed El-Shami, an Egyptian accountant, believes that the revolution has not still achieved its aim. “It was a sincere revolution. I believe that we didn’t achieve any of its aims. It lost its aims in the busy political and media life. We ousted two presidents in less than three years,” he said.
