Cairo

Jas and I arrived in Cairo on Tuesday noon and got out on the streets around 3:30. Had little trouble navigating civilian checkpoints of the anti-Mubarak groups. The mood in the square was up beat and almost festive with people overjoyed with the ability to have the freedom to express them selves. Many families and youth out and chanting their message. We gathered our material, using a digital still camera actually, and returned to the hotel once again without much hassle. We filled our story and felt pretty good about the day, considering it started Monday morning at 8 am in Beijing and ended Tuesday morning around 2 am Cairo time.

Feb 2 we headed out to gather material around 11 am and within 20 meters of the hotel found Pro Mubarak protesters heading towards state TV. Just as passionate as the anti Mubarak protesters but as the crowd built you could sense the less than friendly attitude. After 2 hours or so we were heading away to try and get some pictures to contrast the demonstration but keep getting told to shoot what was going on around us. They seemed to think that we hadn’t covered their demo.

Jas and I hopped in a cab and headed back towards the airport and found some areas that seemed quiet and I got out to take a couple shots around a busy bank machine. Quickly started to get the impression I wasn’t welcome so left. As I was getting in the car I was getting a street shot and as the frame ended a cab pulled up with a Mubarak photo and flags flying.

I bailed and hopped in the cab off we went. A mile or two up the road we found a shop selling fresh juice and another convenience store with some others closed. The kind of shots we were looking for. Was getting the picts when I heard a car roll up behind me and I headed for the cab. Was confronted by about 5 guys yelling at me to shoot pictures of there car and Mubarak signs. Did as asked and then jumped in the car and locked the doors with Jas yelling to the driver to go. We were block in from behind and within seconds blocked in from the front by another car. At this point there was more than a dozen people around us, pounding at the vehicle and asking us who we were. We attempted to talk to the ones that were calmer and told them we were Canadian. They wanted and insisted we wait. They tried to check our passports but we wouldn’t hand them over, just showed them. The pounding and anger continued for about 20 more minutes and finally police arrived. An officer eventually got in the cab with us and got us out of there, we thanked him but then we headed down back streets and he wouldn’t tell us where we were headed. We reached a dead end and he wanted us to come with him so he could “check our documents” we refused, suggested that he take a photo of our passports as we would get stuck because of the looming curfew. We wouldn’t get out of the car and he finally gave in. Told us to cover the camera and get directly to the hotel. We did, and after some backed up traffic, several back streets, emerged close to the hotel and final felt that we were safe.

That, was Wednesday, a big contrast from Tuesday. Later that afternoon and night the protesters from both sides clashed in the rock throwing assaults that were seen around the world. The gunfire and petrol bombs continued until the early hours as witnessed by Jas and Dan Hodgson. Luckily I have a back facing room and slept pretty well.

If you look at the video, you will notice, it was the same cab in the first picture of the street that rolled up behind me down the road. To me it looks like these were Pro Mobarak thugs out to target the media and turn them over to police.

Video runs a little long, and the shot isn't great but hey, didn't get thumped and I call that a win.