WEBVTT 00:00:10.552 --> 00:00:14.223 My name is Mona El-Sabbahy, I´m 18 years old. 00:00:14.223 --> 00:00:18.810 I study architecture, and I´m in the No Military Trials for Civilians campaign 00:00:18.810 --> 00:00:22.439 I´m also in the Popular Committee to Defend the Revolution. 00:00:22.439 --> 00:00:28.195 My name is Hanan Sadek, 52 years old. I work in an oil company. 00:00:28.195 --> 00:00:33.390 I heard about the 25th of January on the internet. 00:00:33.390 --> 00:00:37.079 There was an event & everyone was talking about it. 00:00:37.079 --> 00:00:43.335 I hadn´t decided to participate, until they posted a manual 00:00:43.335 --> 00:00:47.881 in case of injuries or arrests, to do so and so. 00:00:47.881 --> 00:00:56.848 So it was a bit reassuring, and I decided to participate a day before the protest. 00:00:56.848 --> 00:01:01.019 And I started sending invitations out, but I was still afraid, 00:01:01.019 --> 00:01:05.440 because I still didn´t understand it, and was hesitant about telling people. 00:01:05.440 --> 00:01:09.236 Wondering if State Security will come to arrest me. 00:01:09.236 --> 00:01:15.659 I told her "Be wise Mona, don´t get yourself in anything reckless" 00:01:15.659 --> 00:01:22.958 But I wasn´t worried, I saw that the invitations were on Facebook. 00:01:22.958 --> 00:01:30.302 "We will do the same as Tunisia" "A revolution on so and so date" 00:01:30.302 --> 00:01:36.263 I felt it was a sort of a joke. Not that I took it lightly, 00:01:36.263 --> 00:01:41.184 but felt it was like the Khaled Said protests that we hear a lot about 00:01:41.184 --> 00:01:44.771 and we tried to join them in Alexandria and Cairo. 00:01:44.771 --> 00:01:50.027 I didn´t expect anything more. 00:01:50.027 --> 00:01:56.408 Mona was going with very high hopes, because she had been participating 00:01:56.408 --> 00:02:00.245 for three days, kind of warming up. I wasn´t there. 00:02:00.245 --> 00:02:04.529 I was just the mother worried for her daughter who is going to demos. 00:02:04.529 --> 00:02:08.920 So on January 28th I took part for the first time. 00:02:08.920 --> 00:02:17.369 People were chanting "freedom, human dignity" and stuff like that. 00:02:17.369 --> 00:02:19.622 Fine, I didn´t say anything. 00:02:19.622 --> 00:02:23.685 We started at the Mustafa Mahmoud mosque, 00:02:23.685 --> 00:02:28.148 through Batal Ahmad street, there were a lot of people. 00:02:28.148 --> 00:02:31.568 They started chanting "the people wants to overthrow the regime" 00:02:31.568 --> 00:02:35.783 My daughter Mona was next to me, a young girl with her mother. 00:02:35.783 --> 00:02:38.367 I told her "Hush, don´t chant that" 00:02:38.367 --> 00:02:43.538 She look at me. For me it was the first time I hear this chant. 00:02:43.538 --> 00:02:47.709 And I was startled, thinking if they´ll beat us or kill us. 00:02:47.709 --> 00:02:50.879 The overthrowing of the regime is a big thing. 00:02:50.879 --> 00:02:54.466 So she looked at me, she didn´t understand since she was living 00:02:54.466 --> 00:02:58.097 different stages. I was still new and fresh. 00:02:58.097 --> 00:03:05.769 I don´t know if she ended up chanting, but I remained silent. 00:03:05.769 --> 00:03:14.514 Till the end of January 28th I almost didn´t chant at all. 00:03:14.514 --> 00:03:20.597 Except when riot cops started to move on Asr El-Nil bridge 00:03:20.597 --> 00:03:25.580 I then started to shout and swear. 00:03:25.580 --> 00:03:33.922 They had 4 amroured cars with 3 or 4 rows of police in front of them, 00:03:33.922 --> 00:03:39.354 dressed in black. They moved towards us, the birdge was full of people. 00:03:39.354 --> 00:03:46.371 They were moving as if they were a machine, a moving robot. 00:03:46.371 --> 00:03:51.805 A machine pushing in front of it the big mass of people. 00:03:51.805 --> 00:03:59.948 It was as if they were a black giant walking wall. 00:03:59.948 --> 00:04:03.869 As if those in front were not humans. 00:04:03.869 --> 00:04:07.734 They were moving as if the street was empty. 00:04:07.734 --> 00:04:14.166 My mom first went down on January 28th, I had been protesting 00:04:14.166 --> 00:04:17.424 since Januray 25th. So I had experience. 00:04:17.424 --> 00:04:20.927 I was telling her what to do and when. 00:04:20.927 --> 00:04:25.892 At first I was leading her, but when the teargas started, 00:04:25.892 --> 00:04:31.313 I couldn´t see anything, she was holding me and moving me around. 00:04:31.313 --> 00:04:37.177 When the gas got really heavy she took me in her jacket. 00:04:37.177 --> 00:04:42.866 At some point we went to the front and met someone we know. 00:04:42.866 --> 00:04:47.871 He was hurt badly, bleeding from his face and his body covered with blood. 00:04:47.871 --> 00:04:52.375 He is tall, so since I´m tall too, I supported his body. 00:04:52.375 --> 00:04:57.297 Even though I´m a woman and he is a man, but the others were short. 00:04:57.297 --> 00:05:03.512 Till some people came and said they´d talk him to an ambulance at the other side of the bridge. 00:05:03.512 --> 00:05:10.143 Mona and I know this person, he was Mona´s teacher at school. 00:05:10.143 --> 00:05:15.857 Mona collapsed. She was scared and crying really hard. 00:05:15.857 --> 00:05:19.653 I remember I held her and told her not to be afraid. 00:05:19.653 --> 00:05:21.571 She told me "he is going to die" 00:05:21.571 --> 00:05:24.908 I told her "No, he is fine" 00:05:24.908 --> 00:05:32.374 I had seen his injury, his elbow was hurt and some around his eye. 00:05:32.374 --> 00:05:36.753 But he was conscious and he knew what he was saying. 00:05:36.753 --> 00:05:42.092 But this terrified her. 00:05:42.092 --> 00:05:47.847 People around us were shouting at me, telling me to take her home. 00:05:47.847 --> 00:05:52.185 They felt I was a harsh on her, telling her that he will be fine 00:05:52.185 --> 00:05:55.776 and that she should pull herself together. 00:05:55.776 --> 00:06:02.696 I felt then that if I had taken her home, she won´t be able to continue. 00:06:02.696 --> 00:06:05.115 And she needs to continue, and she has to know that 00:06:05.115 --> 00:06:08.368 people will get hurt, people will fall, people will die. 00:06:08.368 --> 00:06:11.426 But if we don´t continue it won´t work. 00:06:11.426 --> 00:06:16.126 If I get scared and transmit this fear to her, she won´t be able to continue. 00:06:16.126 --> 00:06:18.439 And she is the one who has to go on, we are old 00:06:18.439 --> 00:06:22.882 and thanks to God it´s enough that we´ve witnessed this day. 00:06:22.882 --> 00:06:26.219 I was in the security committee in (Tahrir) square 00:06:26.219 --> 00:06:29.639 I was even at Lazoghli 00:06:29.639 --> 00:06:33.893 We were in charge of checking people on the entrances, 00:06:33.893 --> 00:06:36.896 to see if they have weapons or the like. 00:06:36.896 --> 00:06:42.819 I felt this was humiliating. When I was the one being searched it was totally fine. 00:06:42.819 --> 00:06:50.368 When I was doing the searching, it was uncomfortable to open their bags.. touch them. 00:06:50.368 --> 00:06:55.846 A big part of my participation was outside the square. 00:06:55.846 --> 00:07:03.173 Bringing things to the people there, Mona was more the one participating. 00:07:03.173 --> 00:07:08.261 When she would be in the sqaure, I´d feel she is happy 00:07:08.261 --> 00:07:10.638 and that she feels safe among the people. 00:07:10.638 --> 00:07:13.350 The real problem was me at home not being able to sleep. 00:07:13.350 --> 00:07:18.542 During the Shafik sit-in there was attack on the church in Sol, Atfih 00:07:18.542 --> 00:07:23.693 We heard that there were lots of people, and things were tense (at Maspero) 00:07:23.693 --> 00:07:31.117 It was a bit strange for me, surprised that the Christians are organizing protests 00:07:31.117 --> 00:07:35.080 So I went there (to Maspero) and there were lots of people. 00:07:35.080 --> 00:07:39.250 People who looked like it was their first time at a demonstration. 00:07:39.250 --> 00:07:43.505 People were like "Some were chanting here, others there. What shall we do?" 00:07:43.505 --> 00:07:46.582 And I was like "just go and join" 00:07:46.582 --> 00:07:49.928 So I sat there, and met lots of people. 00:07:49.928 --> 00:07:52.514 At first I got some weird looks. 00:07:52.514 --> 00:07:55.916 First because I´m a girl and it was already late at night. 00:07:55.916 --> 00:07:59.104 Second because I´m veiled, so people thought "what are you doing here?" 00:07:59.104 --> 00:08:02.732 "You must be an infiltrator" 00:08:02.732 --> 00:08:09.239 But I spoke to many and then went back to sleep in (Tahrir) square. 00:08:09.239 --> 00:08:14.074 But after that, when they started the sit-in there (at Maspero) 00:08:14.074 --> 00:08:18.123 They had women in the middle and men on both sides. 00:08:18.123 --> 00:08:22.710 With ropes dividing them. I felt that was strange. 00:08:22.710 --> 00:08:29.718 At first I was with the men, then they told me "go with the women" 00:08:29.718 --> 00:08:35.348 So I felt if I say no, being a veiled woman, it will be too confusing for them. 00:08:35.348 --> 00:08:37.934 And I didn´t want to do anything wrong. 00:08:37.934 --> 00:08:40.270 So I went to where the women were. 00:08:40.270 --> 00:08:43.285 When I was passing under the rope separating men from women 00:08:43.285 --> 00:08:48.069 my veil fell off, and there was a moment of clarity. 00:08:48.069 --> 00:08:51.448 I joined the women and the veil went back on my head. 00:08:51.448 --> 00:08:56.703 Concerning my daughter sleeping in Tahrir, this was of course 00:08:56.703 --> 00:09:00.290 a revolutionary decision. I think. 00:09:00.290 --> 00:09:04.322 This is from the effect of the revolution on our way of thinking. 00:09:04.322 --> 00:09:10.842 I´d remind her that during the Shafik sit-in I took part without any problem. 00:09:10.842 --> 00:09:14.345 But after that the March 9 sit-in was evicted, 00:09:14.345 --> 00:09:23.062 followed by another sit-in that was forcefully evicted by the army on April 9 00:09:23.062 --> 00:09:28.026 I wanted to join the sit-in and she didn´t allow me. 00:09:28.026 --> 00:09:31.696 She started telling me that I was a girl.. 00:09:31.696 --> 00:09:36.534 I was confused, asking her "how could you say this to me?" 00:09:36.534 --> 00:09:42.582 Very confused. I told her "You never said this before" 00:09:42.582 --> 00:09:48.046 She told me "we live among people who think this way, and we have to live by their rules" 00:09:48.046 --> 00:09:55.261 I was really really upset with her. Very upset. 00:09:55.261 --> 00:10:01.726 We spent a day upset at each other, then I came to her, 00:10:01.726 --> 00:10:05.814 and asked her if she really believed in what she told me. 00:10:05.814 --> 00:10:07.982 She said "of course not" 00:10:07.982 --> 00:10:11.402 I want to say something really important, 00:10:11.402 --> 00:10:14.586 it is not to remind her because she doesn´t really know it. 00:10:14.586 --> 00:10:18.409 The Mona we knew before January 25th no longer exists. 00:10:18.409 --> 00:10:23.104 Mona became a totally different person after January 25th. 00:10:23.104 --> 00:10:33.675 Mona before Jan 25 was a very shy person, she couldn´t talk to people 00:10:33.675 --> 00:10:39.013 without planning it really well before. "Shall I talk or not?" 00:10:39.013 --> 00:10:43.393 And most of the time ended up not talking to them. 00:10:43.393 --> 00:10:47.605 She used to do Karate exercises to build her self-confidence 00:10:47.605 --> 00:10:52.341 Stuff like that, but now she is totally different. 00:10:52.341 --> 00:10:56.864 Now she is a person who knows what she wants, who knows 00:10:56.864 --> 00:11:05.957 where she is going in life, and has enough convictions and arguments to defend what she believes in. 00:11:05.957 --> 00:11:20.054 This is a transformation that wouldn´t have been possible in such a short time without a revolution. 00:11:20.054 --> 00:11:31.149 I see that the arguments between us have to do with the youth wanting 00:11:31.149 --> 00:11:39.282 everything quickly and the way they see it. Without flexibility or compromises. 00:11:39.282 --> 00:11:46.748 This coming period, the youth who took part in the revolution, not just Mona, 00:11:46.748 --> 00:11:55.173 have to slow down and decide what they want to accomplish 00:11:55.173 --> 00:12:01.596 and plan 1-2-3 steps to get there and how to get there. 00:12:01.596 --> 00:12:05.461 Not just go "Nah, we don´t want this" and that´s it. 00:12:05.461 --> 00:12:08.387 It will take some time and they should accept this. 00:12:08.387 --> 00:12:12.148 But this is all part of growing up. 00:12:12.148 --> 00:12:15.818 O.k. I agree we are asking for a lot of things, 00:12:15.818 --> 00:12:19.072 but I´m not saying we want to build a city in the desert in 3 days. 00:12:19.072 --> 00:12:23.910 I´m sure this will take time, but there are stuff we demand that don´t need time at all. 00:12:23.910 --> 00:12:28.581 Like demanding freedom for the detainees. So free them. 00:12:28.581 --> 00:12:35.838 Of course I tell her. I do tell her. 00:12:35.838 --> 00:12:43.554 I see that she should know, because Mom and I are friends 00:12:43.554 --> 00:12:46.557 we tell each other everything. 00:12:46.557 --> 00:12:54.571 Because the way she is not entitled to prohibit me from something without a valid argument, 00:12:54.571 --> 00:13:01.142 I should tell her everything I´m doing so she knows what she is prohibiting me from. 00:13:01.142 --> 00:13:05.965 I think that the revolution starting... no not that. 00:13:05.965 --> 00:13:14.669 I think that if we remain silent after all those people had taken to the streets, and in the end nothing changes; 00:13:14.669 --> 00:13:19.858 is much worse than if no body had protested in the first place, and we were still waiting for them. 00:13:19.858 --> 00:13:24.137 Unfortunately, we are leaving behind a very complicated task to our kids, 00:13:24.137 --> 00:13:32.917 not easy at all, but in God´s will they will do a good job! The job we couldn´t do.