Egypt: Tweeting the Day of Revolution

This post is part of our special coverage of Egypt Protests 2011.

Protesters from today's demonstration

Protesters from today's demonstration by @monasosh

From reports of small gatherings to those of thousands of demonstrators marching across different cities in Egypt, Twitter is ablaze with reactions.

This nationwide “Day of Revolution” coincides with Police Day and brings together people from different walks of life and a wide political spectrum to protest against President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule.

Tweeting from Mohandesin, @monasosh notes:

If u r not here, u r missing a lot. Down wt mobarak . Mohandesin #jan25

In another tweet, she chants:

#jan25 يا مبارك يا مبارك، الطيارة في انتظارك
Mubarak! Mubarak! The plane is waiting for you.

in reference to Zein El Abidine Ben Ali's escape from Tunisia, after its people's uprising.

An aerial view of demonstrators gathering in Ramsis by @basboussa1

An ariel view of demonstrators gathering in Ramsis by @basboussa1

As the gatherings get bigger, some find it difficult to catch up. Ahmad Khalil tweets:

عشرون الف متظاهر فى شارع جامعة الدول العربيةشباب وصبايا وربات بيوت واطفال يركدون لم استط محارتهم …نفسى اتقطع
20,000 demonstrators on the Arab League Road. Young people, housewives and children. They are all running. I wasn't able to catch up with them. I lost my breath

In another tweet, he sums up the mood:

الناس اللى ماشيين فى المظاهرة اول مرة اشوفهم ..يظهر اول مرة يتظاهروا كلهم همة وحماس عايزين يعملوا ثورة حقيقية
This is the first time I see those people in this demonstration. It seems that this is the first time for them to demonstrate. They are full of enthusiasm and excitement – as if they want to create a real revolution

Soon enough, tweets of police repression start pouring in.

Sandmonkey reports:

Police just arrested everyone in cilantro. Took their ids and phone. We barely got out.” #jan25

Wael Abbas adds:

انباء عن اعتقال صحفية في المحلة الكبرى
News of the arrest of a female journalist in Al Mahala Al Kubra

And in another tweet says:

اخبار عن ضرب المتظاهرين في شبرا
News of protesters being beaten up in Shubra

Crowdmap to report demonstration updates

Crowdmap to report demonstration updates

A crowdmap, prepared by the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, is already in place for people to report the protests, arrests, police harassment and where people and police are gathering.

And in an expected or not so expected move, reports are also surfacing of the censoring of internet sites.

Mohamed ELGohary notes:

Now http://dostor.org and Bambuser.com are blocked in Egypt #NetFreedom #Jan25

And Alaa Abd El Fattah tweets:

Egyptian ISPs seem to be illegally blocking websites again, collaborating with police despite no laws allowing internet censorship #jan25

Meanwhile, Mona Eltahawy notes:

In past 8 days at least 12 #Egyptians set themselves on fire out of desperation: unemployment, poverty, corruption. #Jan25 #Egypt protest

For more reactions, follow the hashtag #Jan25 on Twitter.

Stay tuned for more coverage from Egypt.

This post is part of our special coverage of Egypt Protests 2011.

Photocredit:
1. @monasosh
2. @basboussa1

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