Change in Egypt

For eighteen days, protests against then President, Hosni Mubarak, were evident in Egypt. Mubarak had been in power for approximately thirty years, after the assassination of President Anwar el -Sadat in 1981.

The government tried to suppress the protests from gaining additional momentum by arresting hundreds of people as well as prohibiting public gatherings.

The Bridge had the opportunity to chat with Dr. Ben-Ruwin, Professor of Political Science and Chair of the Department of Social Sciences who expressed, "it is a movement led by young people... it is led by students less than 30 years old".

The use of the Internet and social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook were a crucial part of the movement mentioned by Dr. Ben-Ruwin. According to the New York Times, among the people who helped this movement by creating a Facebook campaign was Google Executive Wael Ghomin. Ghomin disappeared on Jan. 28; however, was later released from prison on Feb. 7.

Ghomin later confirmed in an interview that he did make the We are All Khaled Said Facebook page.

Dr. Ben-Ruwin described the regime as "one of the most oppressive regimes in the region" and continued by stating, "It is very corrupted, 40% of Egyptians live on two dollars a day". Therefore, corruption, poverty, and oppression have been catalysts for further change.

The protests continued with millions of people around the world watching as the events unfolded through news outlets.

At one point, Mubarak addressed the people letting them know he would not step down, yet he would not run for another presidential term. However, on Feb. 11 Mubarak stepped down as the President delegating the countries' affairs to the military.

Ultimately, Dr. Ben-Ruwin mentioned how, "Egypt will not be the same Egypt it was yesterday... the change of Egypt will affect the whole region because Egypt is the heart of the Arab countries".

(Julio Obscura may be reached at Julio.obscura@dusty.tamiu.edu and Nidia Yanez may be reached at nidiayanez@dusty.tamiu.edu)