Ten Years ago, they overthrew the Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak. Now they are in exile in Britain, threatened by captivity by the military regime. For Cairo’s revolutionaries, it was a long journey of great hopes and shattered dreams.
“I was part of a historic moment,” says Sayed, 39. He was working in the Middle East in December 2010 when Mohamed Bouazizi, a street vendor in Tunisia, set himself on fire in protest against local officials. Fueled by social media coverage, the incident sparked protests in the region, including in Egypt, where crowds flocked to Tahrir Square in Cairo and overthrew the Mubarak.
“Tunisia inspired us,” says Sayed. “I had a dream that we could change Egypt.” He returns home and takes a leading role in the revolution. “It was the best decision I ever made.”
On January 25, 2011, after 18 days of protests, Mubarak resigned. “It was a day of shock,” said Aly Khafagy, 37, a youth leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, the powerful political group that opposed the regime. “We have shaken Mubarak’s throne. We have ended 30 years of corruption, injustice and constant fear. ”
Hani Mahmud, 41, a political communications officer of former presidential candidate Abdel Moneam Aboel Fotouh, was on a street in Cairo when the government fell. “The 25th was a day full of hope for all of us,” he says. “We will eventually get social justice, democracy and positive change.”
Those dreams were short-lived. On July 3, 2013, the military launched a coup against the revolutionary government. Army Chief of Staff Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi removed the new president of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi, described the revolution as a conspiracy against the army and suspended the new constitution.
Sisi launched a wave of repression and human rights violations against his political opponents. Egypt now has 60,000 political prisoners, mostly youth activists, politicians, journalists and doctors who opposed the government. “We were naive,” says Sayed. “The counter-revolution has defeated us. The regime destroyed my life in Egypt. They sent me to jail, tortured and threatened. They left me no choice but to flee my country. He arrived in London in 2018 to seek asylum.
Khafagy, who now lives in Manchester, was first targeted by the regime in 2013. He fled to the UK in 2019. ‘The Sisi government sentenced me to 50 years in absentia, froze all my assets and put my name on the criminal list. he says.
Mahmud also claimed asylum in the United Kingdom and now lives with his family in Scotland. He considers himself lucky that he was able to make it out in time. “I’m happy to be a refugee in the UK,” he says. “As far as I know, no one who believed in or participated in the revolution was targeted by the Sisi regime. I have many friends who have been killed, sent to prison or banished. ”
Now, a decade after the overthrow of Mubarak, they mourn the lost hope of a democratic Egypt with a mixture of anger and disappointment. They mostly stir to get their allies out of jail. “I quit politics,” Sayed says. “The only thing I can do now is campaign for our friends in jail.”
Mahmud is determined to do something. “It’s immoral to ignore all this pain, ‘he says,’ to forget about our friend in prison or who was killed and just keep going in our lives. ‘
Their feelings about their newfound home are mixed. Everyone is grateful for the refugee status they have acquired, but many are outraged at the fact that Britain maintains relations with the military regime in Egypt. “As long as powerful nations like America and Britain continue with Sisi to ignore its atrocities, dictatorships will continue to exist,” Mahmud said. “It is shameful. The UK has given me protection against Sisi, but they continue to do business with him. ”
As far as there is hope, it is for the future, and an expectation that the revolution will inspire the next generation of Egyptian activists.
“I will never give up,” Khafagy said. “I will continue what we started in 2011. The factors that spurred the revolution ten years ago continue to this day. Sooner or later, Egyptians will once again take to the streets to demand a better future. ‘
Sayed agrees. “We did it once and we can do it again. Although the revolution failed, our generation left good lessons for future generations. ‘
This pursuit is the last flicker of the flames that once shook the Middle East and overthrew one of the longest dictatorships in the region.
“The legacy of the revolution is hope,” says Mahmud, “even with all our defeats.”
* Some names have been changed to protect people’s identities