Inside Tahrir Square

Greek journalist Iason Athanasiadis is no stranger to uprisings in oppressed nations, having covered Iran’s Green revolution (and been jailed for his work). So it was not even a close call for him to ditch the margaritas during a brief respite in San Antonio, as news in Cairo “acquired an extraordinary force.” He offers a remarkably intimate photographic portrait of the Egyptian revolt from its epicenter in Tahrir Square, following the brutal attacks by government loyalists on protesters on January 25th. Unlike other foreign journalists, who had fled for the relative safety of the Ramses Hilton and other hotels, Athanasiadis took his camera into the heart of the protests, where he captured electrifying scenes of rock- and Molotov-cocktail throwing attacks by both sides, late afternoon prayers, speech-making on tanks, interrogation holding cells in subway stations — all set against Tahrir Square’s “beautiful backdrop.” Says Athanasiadis, “Imagine a revolution unfolding against Belle Epoque buildings and the Nile.” His photos and narration illustrate the juxtaposition of commonplace and unusual, such as “a grandpa driving in his yellow Vespa” past burned-out armored personnel carriers and an Abrams tank. Amid the smoke and chaos, Athanasiadis tracks the rapidly shifting tactics of protesters and loyalists, and almost absurdly runs into old colleagues. He also makes new friends, some of whom shield him from accusations of spying and direct violence. He hides out for an evening in an apartment he locates via Facebook bloggers, where a group of online-savvy Egyptians coordinates demonstration strategies. Athanasiadis remains in the square through the darkest hours, when protesters feel sure Mubarak’s forces will turn on them in full fury, to the day when Mubarak announces his departure, and “the square turned into a fair ground.” Middle East affairs specialist David Weinberg provides a cautionary note to this “fantastic liberation of a people.” The U.S...

Channel: MIT World Video Length: 0s Date Found: Tue, Mar 22 2011 6:45 AM Category: Science Date Produced: Mon, Mar 21 2011 12:00 AM View Count: 7