March 21, 2007

Trapped around Talaat Harb

No dadaism in this text plagiated and transformed by Teeth, originally written by blogger Sandmonkey.


25th of March

Whenever someone would stop, they would tell them they couldn't stand where they were standing and that they had to move along.

When we try to cross the street towards them the police wouldn’t let us, and then they do allow us to cross the street but not get on the otherside of the pavement, forcing us to go back and cross the street again.

I hear Salma say: "Fuck this" and start running across the street towards the square with the other girl

Right before they reach the square they are tackled by the police who swarms on them from every direction.

***

All the whole the police officers are pushing us to move forward.

Plainclothed police thugs run after him and hold him and start to pull him towards the Paddywagon.

Picture by Amr Abdallah.

One of his friends is being grabbed as well and thrown in the same car with him, and then the car starts moving taking them to an unknown destination.

The other demonstrators break free and walk towards Talaat Harb square, while chanting slogans.

The police encircles the protesters.
They push the protesters together and beat them.
On top of the sound of the battle, you can hear distinct female screams.
The egyptians walking on the street stand there, some of them take their cellphones out and use their cameraphones to videotape what's going on while joking about it. I really hate them at the moment.

***

As if they were not hearing the same screams we are hearing.

R. yells at the police, while H. grabs her and M. pulls on them both, and Alia is trying to reason with the officers behind us.

When we finally reach the other side we see the big Police Paddywagon leave and move. I look around me and notice that besides the 10 people who have been joining me on the other side, I am surrounded by foreigners. But all the egyptians are gone. The Police selects the egyptians from the big mob and throw them and only them into the paddywagon. Anyone who looks foreign they let go. This mean that Bassem and Hosam, alongside of Malek and Salma, have been all arrested.

Malek getting arrested. Picture by Nasser Nouri.

He seems really disturbed. He urges us to move faster and to get him inside the syndicate as fast as possible, so we hussle and we get him in. Alia notices that he isn't acting like his usual self. To any of our inquiries about what is wrong with him, he keeps silent, sullen.

***

The number of SS soldiers starts to increase.
It isn't a good sign.
Many of the foreign journalists, now satisfied with the story they had, start leaving the area.
It also isn't a good sign.
We notice that the police doesn’t let her egyptian companions through.
It defintely isn't a good sign.
We are being trapped here.

Some of them get into cabs and order the drivers to follow the Paddywagons to bloody God knows where.

VOICE RECORDER

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