Only other place I'd seen them is across from French embassy.
It's evening in Cairo and a call with Sam reveals that "everything's broken up."
The activity in penned-in areas, documented by Sam here, which were being held indignantly by a large subset of demonstrators determined to exercise some form of speech, despite the Egyptian state's various tactics to suppress it, has now died down and people have dispersed.In an earlier call Sam reported that people were beginning to slowly leave. From Sam's original guess of a thousand participants before the crackdown, to Ali Abunimah's estimate of 300 people penned-in and holding the space to continue their protest, it dwindled to somewhere between one to two hundred people according to Sam. People were allowed to leave the penned-in areas if they needed to, but were not allowed to rejoin.
We are receiving some video clips recorded earlier today when the police began to use force on demonstrators in Tahrir Square. Sam's last communications illustrate a more peaceful scene was established later on, with fewer numbers that the day started with, but with activists still holding space and continuing to demonstrate near the square where some of the demonstrators were penned-in like is shown in the video clips below.
Police begin to move people into areas penned-in by riot police
Police officer hitting demonstrators
Demonstrators being forcibly ejected from the street
Video by Kayvan Farchadi with Sam Husseini.
The demonstrators who remain after this morning's actions in Tahrir Square continue to occupy space and sustain their protest as prior postings indicate. In a phone call, Sam gives credit to French activists for starting a process among the remaining activists to build solidarity, with speakers from each country represented in the demonstration getting up and speaking.
The group also has coordinated a "lost and found" and bathroom access, suggesting sustained will to hold the space and maintain their protest for as long as possible. The French reportedly coordinated similarly when they held vigil outside of their own embassy during actions earlier in the week by internationals to pressure their own countries to push for access to Gaza.
Separately, Sam shared more observations about the police presence. As Sam sees it there are distinct classes of police -- indicated by commonalities in their actions, state of dress, build, and apparent ethnic background. The plainclothes "goons" who attacked demonstrators earlier were more athletic and lighter skinned. The uniformed police in riot gear who are still present and holding a perimeter around the remaining activists are thinner, darker skinned men. One assumes that these observed external traits and behaviors are the product of class and ethnic prejudice within the command of the police force, if not the culture of the state in general.
French mc. First speaker was French of Algerian decent, very passionate. South African says Zionism is apartheid. Word is they are now marching in Gaza. Rumors of Egyptian students trying to march toward us from university, cannot confirm.
Ali Abunimah estimates about 300 people left after police attempted to break up the demonstration and penned-in the area from where Ali and Sam are posting from. Some of them are reported by Ali to be discussing not moving for hours, spending New Year's Eve right there out on the street.