Lebanon: Vocal support for Egyptian protestors · Global Voices
Antoun Issa

This post is part of our special coverage of Egypt Protests 2011.
The Lebanese blogosphere has been vociferous in its support for the Egyptian protests that have so far left up to 150 people dead.
Egypt has been rocked by mass demonstrations aimed at forcing their totalitarian leader, Hosni Mubarak, from power after 30 years in office.
Lebanese bloggers have been anything but idle as the Arab world witnesses a momentous event that could change the region forever.
As soon as demonstrations began on January 25th, Lebanese bloggers Mireille Raad (Twitter: @migheille) and Layal (Twitter: @nightS) – also a Global Voices contributor – established an image feed for protestors to easily upload and circulate their photos online.
Blogging Beirut has equally been instrumental in providing online assistance to Egyptian protestors. The authors at Blogging Beirut have set up a Missing Person's List via Google Docs for Egyptians to add and circulate information of missing loved ones caught up in the protests.
Tweets have also revealed Lebanese in Egypt protesting alongside Egyptians for an end to Mubarak's rule.
Lebanese @BloggerSeif has been in Cairo participating in protests, and tweeting frequently as events unfold:
Rami Zurayk has been particularly vocal on his blog Land and People in support of the uprising. In one post, Zurayk points to the fear in the US and Israel of a collapsing regional order:
I think the US and Israel are more concerned about the revolution in Egypt than Mubarak himself. They see the end of the US and Israeli order imposed through tyrants and dictators. And they are right: Obama will witness the end of the US influence in the Middle East and this is going to be added to his long list of failures.
US arrogance is clearer than ever these days. They do not care to hide it any more. They want to dictate to the Egyptian people how they should lead their revolution. And they are now making positive signs about the “wish of the people” and the “rights of the people” as if they really cared about the people when they supported dictatorships and fed them and helped them oppress that same “people” for over 30 years.
Frenchy on Le Liban potentially sees the renewal of Egypt as a major Arab regional power with the fall of Mubarak:
Moubarak n’est également pas un Gamal Abdel Nasser. Les pays arabes – et plus particulièrement les monarchies du Golfe et d’Arabie – ont tremblé à l’aube de la révolution nassérienne, face au risque de voir l’Égypte devenir le pays le plus puissant de la région, s’appuyant sur une politique Panarabe, pour l’unité des pays arabes. Si le pouvoir égyptien saute, qu’un successeur reprenne le flambeau d’un pays destiné en fin de compte, par son importance géopolitique et démographique à être un pays majeur de la région.
English:
Mubarak is equally no Gamal Abdel Nasser. The Arab states – and in particular the monarchies of the Gulf and Arabia – that trembled at the dawn of the Nasserite Revolution, risk seeing Egypt becoming the most powerful state in the region, following pan-Arab policies, for the unity of Arab states. If Egyptian power leaps, that a successor retakes the torch of a country destined, by its geopolitical and demographic importance, to be a major country in the region.
Green Resistance points to wonders of people power in changing the paradigm in the region:
Just a few weeks ago, I heard the same comments I’d be hearing for years: we the Arabs need a dictatorship. We the Arabs need a military coup d’etat. The “people” are dumb. The “people” are sheep. Ironically, the folks making these comments were never part of the “people” they were condemning.
Now, in Tunis, and in Egypt – the people are rising. The people are leading. The people are organizing. The people are protecting themselves. The people are building something beautiful.
Stop for a second. Relish in this concept.
People believed – and believe – they can make a change. Hope is a powerful element. A very powerful element.
These people are us. Here.
Strong words of support from Rita Chemaly:
People of Egypt, dear Courageous demonstrators, you are voicing out our frustration, you are leading the way as your fellow Tunisian did, for people to make the choices and the reforms they wish.
No more double standards by big powers in looking at the situation!
The people are saying what they want, can’t You hear them?
Stop being afraid for your interests in the region,
The words chanted by the People in the streets, and retransmitted throughout social media, and mass media are simple:
“The people want the regime to fall!”
Dear Egyptian friends Long Live your ACTION!
Noting the consequences of an Egyptian Revolution for Israel, BeirutSpring wonders which way the Americans will swing:
You can’t overestimate how much Israel is worried right now. The question is whether or not the Americans will bend over backwards to accommodate those Israeli fears.
As is the case across the Arab world, the Lebanese are expressing unanimous support for the Egyptian demonstrations.
This post is part of our special coverage of Egypt Protests 2011.