The College Fix

Sloane Speakman arrived in Egypt in early January expecting to sharpen her Arabic skills and immerse herself in Middle Eastern culture at the American University in Cairo.

Instead, she witnessed a people’s revolution against former Egyptian President Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak’s regime and was forced to evacuate amid concerns for her safety.

Now, Speakman, a junior at Vanderbilt University, has returned to Tahrir Square, to observe a country in transition — an Egypt freed from the totalitarian Mubarak regime and searching for a more democratic future.

“The biggest change is the patriotism,” Speakman said in an email interview. “Flags and Jan. 25 fliers, posters and stickers are on every car, every door, every window.”

Speakman, who was evacuated to Dubai on Feb. 1, witnessed the first few days of the revolution, and recalls being caught off guard by the popular uprising.

“I knew I was going to be there during an election year, which I found exciting, but most people scoffed at the idea of anything exciting happening. I figured they were probably right,” she said.

“In fact, on the first day of protests, most of the Egyptians came to Midan Tahrir as bystanders, onlookers checking out what was going on. Once they were able to overcome the fear threshold, things escalated quickly,” Speakman said.

Speakman, who is the first student to participate in a Vanderbilt-approved study abroad program for students interested in learning Arabic, was forced to abandon her studies at the American University in Cairo, and was relocated to Hebrew University in Israel for the semester.

Egyptian protesters began conducting demonstrations in Tahrir Square on Jan. 25, following the example of the Tunisian Revolution that saw the overthrow of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Thousands of Egyptians took to the streets to protest Mubarak’s autocratic government, which had ruled Egypt under emergency law for 30 years.

“I remember falling asleep to the sound pops from the tanks and to the chanting from Tahrir,” Speakman said. “More than anything, I remember feeling so inspired by the Egyptians. They were risking a lot by being out in Tahrir, and they did it anyway.”

“Some of my friends had their cameras smashed in Tahrir, but most told us, ‘Take our picture so you can show the world what we’re doing.’ Even today, they are so proud of what they accomplished,” she said. “It’s really touching.”

Under Mubarak’s rule, constitutional rights were suspended and censorship was legal. Speakman said she observed numerous people afraid to criticize the government when she first arrived in Egypt.

“The biggest thing I encountered was people’s hesitation to criticize the government. Not in private. In their homes, they were more than willing to share their stories and opinions. But never in a cafe, a restaurant, any public arena,” she said.

“I remember one time my friend Rashid was talking, rather obnoxiously, about Mubarak on a bus, then joked he was going to be black-bagged later,” she said. “We laughed, but it happened all the time.”

The Mubarak government notoriously blocked Twitter and Facebook in response to the mass uprisings in Tahrir, after protesters used the social networking sites to organize protests.

“I definitely encountered censorship,” she added, “especially in the newspapers and especially during the protests when Al Jazeera was banned and the State TV was just flat out lying about the events.”

After 18 days of demonstrations, Mubarak announced his resignation from the presidency on Feb. 11. The Egyptian government is currently under military control, with the constitution suspended and both houses of parliament dissolved until elections are held. The political future in the country is unclear, however, as the Muslim Brotherhood, the founder of Hamas, has reportedly set up a network of political parties in the country.

“Most Egyptians certainly walk with their heads higher. But there are still problems,” Speakman said. “People are not happy with the military government and want a quicker transition.”

“I had an hour-long conversation with a young man yesterday who said he hates everything that’s happened and promised me the pro-Mubarak protests on the 25th (of April) were going to be the biggest thing I’ve ever seen,” she said. “Clearly, things are a long way from over.”

Speakman, who returned to Tahrir Square for spring break, said witnessing the revolution in Egypt gave her a more concrete understanding of American democracy.

“No experience has ever made me more grateful to be an American than my last few months abroad,” Speakman said. “The fact that you can stand on the streets and protest and yell about how horrible of a president Barack Obama has been or even that ‘George Bush hates black people’ and have no fear in doing so is quite remarkable.”

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