This post is also available in: Arabic
The Role of the Facebook Page in the Revolution
The Facebook page “We Are All Khaled Saeed” played an important role as a powerful organizing tool in mobilizing people in the protests which led to the overthrow of the Mubarak regime in February 2011. The page coordinated with the April 6th movement and other activists to call for a massive anti-government demonstration on January 25, a national holiday honoring the Egyptian police. The creator, Wael Ghonim, was arrested by police on January 27th and released after ten days of solitary confinement, during which he was blindfolded and interrogated. Ghonim emerged as a leading figure in the protest movement after an emotionally charged interview aired shortly after his release. Ghonim’s televised appearance is credited with galvanizing anti-government protesters, who took to the streets on the following day in one of the largest public demonstrations to date. The Facebook page, although still active, currently no longer plays an important role in the Egyptian political sphere.
Background
Khaled Saeed, a 28-year-old resident of Alexandria, gained notoriety in June 2010 after he recorded and disseminated a video via the internet revealing Egyptian policemen dividing up seized narcotics and cash. On June 6, two policemen retaliated against Saeed for releasing the incriminating video by arresting and beating him to death. State police later claimed that Khaled’s death was due to an overdose of marijuana. His parents, unconvinced, bribed a guard in the morgue for a picture of his body which depicted severe wounds that revealed that Saeed’s death was not accidental.
Saeed’s death quickly provoked a public backlash against Alexandria’s notoriously abusive police bureau. Wael Ghoneim, an Egyptian Google executive, was among those who launched the Facebook page, “We are all Khaled Saeed,” which aimed to expose human rights violatiosn and acts of corruption perpetrated by Egypt’s state security apparatus. The Facebook page quickly gained momentum and had attracted more than 473,000 members by July 2010. The page ultimately transformed into a tool for organizing and mobilizing protests, as well as a source for updates regarding pending cases of police brutality.
Websites:
Arabic Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/?tid=1719189221333&sk=messages#!/ElShaheeed
English Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/?tid=1719189221333&sk=messages#!/elshaheeed.co.uk
