Saturday, February 12, 2011

Freedom at last!


I just woke up, and it seems that I had the sweetest dream of my life. This dream started off with me praying Salat-el-Asr pleading for God to have mercy on my people and free them from tyranny and injustice. I was on the verge of reminding God to keep his promise of victory to the believers of equality, justice, freedom, and righteousness. I finished my prayer with the conviction that I will maintain my devotion to Him regardless of the outcome of the Egyptian Revolution.

I packed my bag, Egyptian flag, and made my way to the Egyptian Embassy in London for another of what seemed like countless demonstrations to cry for an end to the atrocities committed against my brothers and sisters in Egypt. As I made my way, I crossed by a TV screen airing CNN news with the following words running across the bottom of the screen:

"Breaking News: Mubarak resigns as president of Egypt"

I could believe these words and thought I had misread them, but once I saw the footage of Midan Tahrir explode in jubilation, I began to believe that the miracle had finally occurred! I caught the first red double-decker bus to Marble Arch station, where I jumped off and sprinted as fast as I could to the Egyptian Embassy. I couldn't control my happiness!

As I ran across the American Embassy and London's posh Mayfair district, all I could think of was how God had blessed our beloved Egypt with the final greatest gift: freedom! Egypt is endowed with the world's greatest history, culture, civilisation, and people. All that was missing was justice, freedom, and our rights!

My cellphone rang several times and when I picked up, it was my mother congratulating me in hysteria: "Mabrooooook ya Mosti! He's finally gone!" She them told me how she and my two aunts joined the ocean of people in front the Presidential Palace in Heliopolis to celebrate our victory!

As I finally reached the Egyptian Embassy, what had always been a gloomy scene of anger and disgust of the protesters emerged as a joyous scene with everyone chanting patriotic slogans and songs. Kids and grown-ups alike were waving flags, jumping in exhilaration, running around. I was as if we'd all been slaves for our whole lives and had just been granted our right to liberty. Even the little toddlers who had no idea what was going on were bursting with joy!

We sang and danced until sundown when we all gathered to pray Maghrib on the cold, wet London street. Despite my earnest gratitude to God, I was completely sidetracked in my prayer with disbelief that we had finally come out victorious! Afterwards, we prayed Salat-el-Ghaeb in remembrance of the Revolution's martyrs. After the prayers, we chanted:

"افرح افرح يا شاهيد! انت في جنة و احنا في عيد"

As darkness overtook the sky, all hundred demonstrators (or should I say celebrators) decided to take the party to Edgware Road, the Arab hub of London. We formed two straight lines and were led by the London metropolitan police. During the half-hour walk, we chanted, drummed, sang, cried, and experienced every emotion related to complete elation and euphoria! As we walked through the alleys of London, people looked out of their windows in curiosity. Those aware of what had just happened gave us two thumbs up.

As we made it to Edgware Road, all heads turned towards the walking parade celebrating a new chapter of world history! Britons, Arabs, Africans, and every other ethnicity on that street joined in celebrating. This was truly a victory for all of humanity against injustice, tyranny, and outright evil!

Cars that passed through the street showed their support by honking. Soon, Algerians, Libyans, Syrians, Saudis and all our oppressed Arab brothers joined in by chanting "Salute to Egypt!" Once again, Egypt would serve as an example for the region! After celebrating our success, we chanted, "Freedom to Palestine, freedom to Syria, freedom to Algeria, freedom to Libya, etc..."

It was amazing how all of London seemed to join in celebrating. After celebrating for five hours or so, I decided to take a break with Sherif, a fellow comrade who'd joined me in all the demonstrations, and ate at el-Shishawy, London's main Egyptian restaurant. To celebrate, we had Koshary and Om Ali and watched the festivities in Midan Tahrir on Al-Jazeera. Although I wish I was there, I was certain that I had been sent to London for a reason, i.e. to help build Egypt's new future.

Afterwards, we returned to scene of celebrations, where the festivities had died down a bit. Shocked, we grabbed the megaphone and started to chant: "El Masreeyen Ahom, Ahom Ahom Ahom!" Once again, the crowd joined in and we began chanting patriotic songs, some of which I'd begun to know by heart from being amidst the demonstrators for so long. We continued till midnight, for what seemed to be a never-ending night! As my energy waned, I bid my brothers and sisters farewell and made my way home.

As I got on the tube, all I could think about was the day I would reunite with my beloved Egypt. Although I'd always loved Egypt, I was certain that what I would return to would be different. As President Obama rightly put it, "Egypt will never be the same!"

At the moment, I am preparing to go join a second day of festivities. This time in the heart of London, Trafalgar Square. Today, Egyptians will shake the heart of the Western World by reminding them that they are the people who founded the world's greatest civilizations, that they are the ones who singlehandedly preserved their dignity, freedom, and justice, and that they are the ones who will write history once again!

تعيش الثورة المصريه الى الابد

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