U.S. protests in solidarity with Egypt uprising
By
Monica Moorehead
Jersey City, N.J.
Published Jan 31, 2011 10:30 PM
A crowd of Egyptians who live in or around New York City
demonstrated at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza near the U.N., perhaps 1,500 strong.
Whole families came out to call for an end to the Hosni Mubarak regime and
especially for Mubarak himself to leave office. As one homemade placard put it,
“Game over, Mubarak.” Many U.S.-based leftist parties and immigrant
groups showed their support for the Egyptian uprising.
Outside the U.N. in New York City.
WW photo: Brenda Ryan
|
Two emergency demonstrations were held on Jan. 26 and Jan. 29 in San
Francisco to support the Egyptian freedom struggle. Called by an
ad-hoc grouping of Egyptian, Palestinian and anti-war activists, the actions
attracted hundreds of angry protesters.
On Jan.29, nearly 1,000 people marched through downtown chanting, “Hey,
hey, ho, ho, Hosni Mubarak’s got to go!” Speaker after speaker
applauded the young people of Egypt for leading the struggle. Abdel Malik Ali,
a representative of the Malcolm X Center for Human Rights, commented that the
Egyptian youth are showing us how to use “the social media for social
change.” Ali added that the struggle in Egypt is for self-determination
and freedom. Plans are underway for more protests throughout the Bay Area.
Jersey City, N.J.
WW photo: Monica Moorehead
|
A few hundred people demonstrated for more than three hours at the CNN
headquarters in Atlanta on Jan. 25. The protest brought out
Egyptian nationals studying at area universities, entire families from elders
to babies from many Arab and North African communities, as well as members of
progressive student, political and anti-war groups. Young women played a key
role in sustaining the impassioned chanting of “Down with Mubarak!”
that rang through the downtown area. The action received extensive local media
coverage. CNN and CNN Español conducted studio interviews with some of the
organizers of the demonstration.
On Jan. 29 an Egypt solidarity demo that brought out 1,500 people on 48
hours’ notice assembled in Chicago at the Egyptian
Consulate.
Chicago
WW photo: Lou Paulsen
|
Egyptian nationals — women and men, young and old — held an
impromptu protest in front of the Journal Square transportation center in
Jersey City, N.J., chanting and holding signs demanding that
Mubarak leave office. Supporters representing BAYAN USA, Veterans for
Peace-N.J., the Jersey City Peace Movement and Workers World Party also
attended.
The heroic, inspiring uprising throughout Egypt demanding the complete
ouster of the U.S.-backed, pro-Zionist Hosni Mubarak regime, continues to
occupy the world center stage as it enters its second week. As hundreds of
thousands of Egyptians continue to occupy the streets in defiance of the
military curfew, especially in Cairo and Alexandria, and now calling for a
million-strong strike Feb. 1, global demonstrations in solidarity with the
Egyptian people are also taking place and growing. The following roundup is a
brief summary of some of these demonstrations — many called on very short
notice — that have taken place so far in the U.S. Additional
demonstrations occurred in Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; Minneapolis; Houston;
Dearborn, Mich.; and elsewhere. More solidarity actions are yet to
come.
San Francisco
WW photo: Judy Greenspan
|
The streets of Cambridge, Mass., and Boston
resounded with chants of “Down with Mubarak!” and “Barack
Obama you should know, Mubarak has got to go!” on Jan. 29 as more than
700 protesters, many Egyptian and Arab, expressed their solidarity with the
people of Egypt.
The demonstration was organized in two days’ time on Facebook by Egyptian
students. It marched from Harvard University to the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, and then over the Massachusetts Avenue bridge and all through
downtown Boston, ending at Faneuil Hall. International Action Center signs were
enthusiastically received and carried by the marchers.
Slogans included “Mubarak Regime — Made in U.S.A.!”
“Long Live the Egyptian Intifada!” and “No More U.S. $ for
the Bloody Mubarak Dictatorship!” An IAC statement in solidarity with the
Egyptian uprising was also well received.
A delegation from the Egyptian community protested outside of Sen. Carl
Levin’s office in Warren, Mich., along with members of
the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War & Injustice, Workers World
Party, the Socialist Party USA and the Organization for a Free Society.
On Jan. 29, spirited demonstrators in Miami showed support for
the Egyptian people’s struggle to topple the U.S.-backed Mubarak regime.
The protest began at the Federal Building. Protesters gathered there and
marched amid Saturday shoppers and some applause to the “Torch of
Friendship” on Biscayne Blvd. Most of the people attending the rally were
Egyptians and Palestinians who came with their young children. Their
enthusiastic chants, cried out in English, Arabic and Spanish, included,
“No justice no peace, U.S. out of the Middle East!” and
“Egypt, Egypt, don’t you fear, revolution is already here!”
Passing drivers honked their car horns in support. Local TV covered the
protest.
About 70 Egyptian, Arab and anti-war protesters demonstrated their support for
the mass rebellion in Egypt Jan. 31 at rush hour in front of the
Philadelphia Federal Building.
Contributing to this roundup and photos were John Catalinotto, Judy
Greenspan, Martha Grevatt, Cheryl LaBash, Mike Martinez, Dianne Mathiowetz,
Frank Neisser, Lou Paulsen and Joe Piette.
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