I just got back from the protest in front of the FederalBuilding in Los Angeles. The Americans I saw there were unhelpful.
I arrive at noon in front of the FederalBuilding to meet up with Nathan, another EAP student who goes to UCLA. The goal of our trip is to find a few legit journalists who can tell our story to the public WITHOUT twisting the story—our photos and videos can be easily misinterpreted out of context.
There are about 100 people along the corner of the sidewalk waving signs, banners, and flags. Newspapers are being sold from a socialist organization regarding the situation in Egypt. A large part of the protesters are from ANSWER, an organization that we are worried might use our information for their own agenda and political gain.
I call Nathan and we meet up. We are disoriented by so many Americans walking around and smiling. A few days ago, I had just been shot at and tear-gassed after all. This protest was comical—angering even.
We are pleased to see two tour buses arrive. Egyptian Americans are dropped off and we approach two men to ask what organization they are a part of. It appears they are a group from Las Vegas that drove here specifically for the protest. I show the men the tear gas canister, bullet shells, and the other things I have from the protest in Egypt. The leader of their group says he would be happy to have our eyewitness accounts IF they prove to be authentic. I am silent but rather I am thinking furiously, “ARE YOU SERIOUSLY KIDDING ME? I AM HOLDING A TEAR CANISTER AND BULLET CARTRIDGES, SHOWING YOU MY FILM NEGATIVES—I HAVE EGYPTIAN POUND NOTES ON ME, I HAVE EGYPTIAN METRO TICKETS ON ME. I CAN SHOW YOU MY PASSPORT WITH MY EGYPTIAN VISA IN IT.” I cannot believe this man. Nathan agrees to give him the information if they want it though. We walk away.
Next, we approach a lady that has been protesting for a while. She is not a part of an organization, but a young man next to her begins talking to us. His name is Albert and we explain our position to him. He gives us a few pointers, but he is not associated with any journalists either. We talk to a few other people but their responses are the same. We leave the protest disappointed.
What I learned from this protest:
1)The public is largely uninformed about the situation in Egypt.
What shocked me the most were some of the chants and banners that the protesters were using. Their chants were largely led by ANSWER and were borrowed from previous protests for other countries. A woman was holding a sign that said “If Mubarak can be elected as President, then I can be president”— one of the major problems in Egypt right now is that there are no fair elections. MUBARAK WAS NOT ELECTED AS PRESIDENT—HE MADE HIMSELF PRESIDENT.
Another example of misinformation: upon her arrival, a lady in front of me said quite loudly to her husband, “Wow, this is more people than they can gather anywhere in the Middle East.”
Please God, take me back to Egypt, I’d rather be shot at. My brain hurts more than my bruises from shrapnel. Information is power and the public does not have it.
2)There are no trustworthy media sources that will tell our stories without misinforming the public or inserting their own opinions.
All the journalists, photographers, or media personnel either brushed us off or were untrustworthy. We could contact CNN or other big news companies that have already interviewed many evacuees, but they are not interested in the truth and can easily edit out important points (they have already done this to a few of my friends who have been interviewed). However, more information is coming back to us every day that could be important to the outcome of events in Egypt. Without media coverage, the misinformed, or rather uninformed public will never know what is happening.
I am asking all of my friends who read this to send this out. I will continue to attach links to my friends’ blogs, pictures, and various other pieces of information. These are eyewitness accounts of people who experienced, or are experiencing the revolution. Please help spread the news.
Hi, I deserve pity because my life sucks cuz people suck. I hate everything except for food, bears, traveling and sleep because these are the only things that don't annoy me, unless the food tastes bad--then that annoys me too. I'm a minimalist and a hobo because I hate it when people waste so much stuff and then end up never traveling because they have to lug it everywhere with them. People are stupid and I hope the whole world dies. I'm an immature hater and I like it and if you don't, then go away. If you do, then go away anyway, freak. I'M SOO BORED I'M GONNA DIEEE.......
PITY ME, because I am a liar of everything true.
Other people write about important things. I write to amuse myself. Deal with it.
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