20110728 interview

######, an air conditioning maintenance manager at the American University in Cairo, describes his experience in the January 25, 2011 revolution. He tells of his participation in the first four days of the revolution, including joining the demonstrations on January 25 when he was in Tahrir Square by chance, not originally knowing about the protests. During the remainder of the January and February revolution ###### served on his neighborhood “ligan sha’abiyah” watch group or popular committee. He recalls his doubts that the protests would succeed, lacking a leader or unified plan; President Mubarak’s departure surprised him, as did the brutality of the regime’s reaction. ###### explains how thefts committed against shops limited products available for purchase, and the difficulty in finding credible news sources (he felt the Al Jazeera channel overreacted and state television was inaccurate). According to ######, after the revolution AUC took the demands of its staff and students into greater consideration, and that “foreign students started looking differently at Egyptian students.” He also offers his views on the country’s future, including his misgivings about the value of continued protests.The University on the Square: Documenting Egypt's 21st Century Revolution project was made possible by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation