In Police State, Egyptians Use Twitter to Remember Uprising

Jan. 25 marks the fifth anniversary of the famous uprising in Egypt that captured the world’s attention half a decade ago, but the activists and citizens who spearheaded the social and political movement weren't commemorated.

State officials and supporters of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the Egyptian police on Monday were the official groups that were heralded on a day which for many Egyptians symbolized the sacrifice of participants in the uprising.

Bystanders and Egyptians on social media reported the streets were free of protesters but full of heavily armed and intimidating security forces, while the iconic Tahrir square’s metro station was closed off from the public.

Despite this show of state force in the public sphere, Egyptians have turned to social media to express their frustrations with the current government and commemorate the fifth anniversary of the “January 25th Revolution.”

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Using the hashtag, ”I Participated In The January 25th Revolution,” Egyptian Twitter users wrote about why they joined the initial uprising five years ago.

Bassem Youssef, the former television celebrity host of parody news show “Al-Barnameg” used the hashtag on his official Twitter account.

١ #انا_شاركت_في_ثورة_يناير هاشتاج اتمنى اننا نستغله بشكل مختلف،نفتكر فيه الناس اللي اتحبست بسبب الثورة اللي احنا فخورين بيها رغم الاخفاقات

— Dr Bassem Youssef (@DrBassemYoussef) January 17, 2016

“I Participated in the January Revolution Hashtag I hope that we use this hashtag in a different way to remember the people that are incarcerated because of the revolution that we are proud of despite the failures.”

Others used the hashtag sarcastically or to show support for the former President Mohamed Morsi.

#أنا_شاركت_في_ثورة_يناير ونزلت رابعة احارب انقلاب العسكر وادافع عن حلمنا وديمقراطيتنا..بس الحمدلله انكم والعسكر قتلتوا الديمقراطية جوانا..

— Anan (@AlBatanoni) January 16, 2016

“I Participated in the January Revolution and went down to Rabaa Square to fight the military coup and defend the democratic campaign (of former President Mohamed Morsi) but thank god the military killed democracy in us.”

#انا_شاركت_في_ثورة_يناير اعظم حاجة حصلت في حياتي والله يرحم شهدائنا

— Tarek Mohamed (@Teeko003) January 16, 2016

“I Participated in the January Revolution because it was the best thing that happened in my life. God Bless the Martyrs.”

#انا_شاركت_فى_ثورة_يناير. علشان طفل زى دا ميتسجنش و يتعلم ان بلده بتحترمه pic.twitter.com/4I4LIYALJ0

— samah eltohami (@lloolia) January 16, 2016

“I Participated in the January Revolution so that children like this boy will not be imprisoned and can learn in a country that respects him.”

Many Egyptians used the hashtag to express their disillusionment and disgust with the current ruling government of al-Sisi.

Former Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected president, was overthrown in July 2013 following a coup and a military takeover by current president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, who was then the chief of staff of the armed forces under Morsi. The coup came a day after protests across the country called on Morsi to resign. He had only been the head of the state for 10 months but was often considered controversial and divisive by many Egyptians not aligned with the Brotherhood.

However, el-Sisi’s presidency has been heavily criticized for human rights abuses committed by the Egyptian state within the same time frame.

With public protest protests banned, 1,000 protesters dead and an estimated 41,000 political dissidents and journalists behind bars and 2,280 civilians placed in military trials, the figures make for a shocking review.

According to the local Egyptian National Council for Human Rights, 2,600 people were killed during the upheaval after Morsi was ousted, including some 550 civilians.