Between protesters roaming around shouting sarcastic anti-government slogans into handheld microphones, others attracting the crowd with original poetry, and young bands playing music, the sit-in in Tahrir Square has turned into a street festival.
For seven days now, thousands of demonstrators have been camping out in the heart of the capital, calling persistently for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak. But despite the violence between anti-Mubarak and pro-Mubarak groups, people in the square are trying to provide entertainment and creativity.
“These entertainment episodes boost people’s morale and keep them in. We should make sure that people do not get bored until the demands are met,” said Abdel Rahman Samir, media coordinator for a pro-Mohamed ElBaradei campaign told Al-Masry Al-Youm on Tuesday. In the background, the well-known Eskenderella band was performing patriotic songs of the famous left-wing duo Ahmed Fouad Nejm and Sheikh Imam.
“We were inspired by carnival-like protests held in Europe and the United States… We must have entertaining episodes that can serve the context,” added 26-year-old Samir, standing next to an elevated stage.
To host the performance, protesters had to bring 23 speakers and three power generators. “A group of businessmen bought this equipment for us. It cost LE120,000,” said Samir who works for a private software company.
Egypt has been swept by unprecedentedly large protests with hundreds of thousands of protesters taking to the streets denouncing Mubarak’s regime. At least 300 people were killed in clashes that marred the rallies across the nation.
While Mubarak’s regime contends that it has already made concessions by announcing that the 82-year-old ruler will not run for a sixth presidential term and promising constitutional amendments, pro-democracy protesters hold that the regime has not offered enough and demand that he step down immediately.
In Tahrir Square, entertainment is not restricted to well-established bands. On the contrary, the square has turned into a platform for young talents to express themselves without censorship.
In a small garden situated on the fringes of the square, Ahmed Metwalli, a 24-year-old electric engineer stood before dozens of demonstrators lying on the grass to perform a song that he said he wrote seven years ago after he was arbitrarily detained by police.
“I was still a kid when I got arrested. They arrested me for the simple reason that one of my friends belonged to the Muslim Brotherhood,” Metwalli told Al-Masry Al-Youm.
“We should stay here until the president leaves. We should not get bored… We should find everything we need here including entertainment. We need to feel that we are at home,” added Metwalli.
