The Military Council and unforgettable dates by Hoda Kamal

This post is from my friend Hoda Kamal. She wrote a detailed and honest account of our relationship with the military starting with the Egyptian revolution until today. So please read this post and leave her your comments & thoughts.

I have been reading a lot of comments recently criticizing those who dared to distrust the Military Council and of course, I am one of those people .... :) I had given myself some time to think ... maybe I am someone who doesn't trust people easily, or maybe I doubt things too much, or maybe I am stupid, or have an agenda or I might be an irresponsible person or too revolutionary....

No matter what you think of me and others who share my same belief, please allow me to share my thoughts with you... let me first tell you something... I don't have family members or direct friends in the Army, so I basically didn't know much about the Army before Jan 28th....all I knew is that, we respect our Egyptian Army very much... they are great people, who fought Israel in 1973 and did a wonderful job.... I watch the 6th of October movies on tv and enjoy them very much!!!!

We don't have same respect to the Police, unfortunately, maybe because we deal with them in our daily life, and SOME of them proved to be quite brutal, but the Army, thank God, we never had to deal with them before Jan 28th :)

So let me start from the day I got introduced to them... January 28th, 2011.... the same day that the Egyptian Police was killing the peaceful protesters ... also the very same day that the internet connection got cut off and I am not sure, if people in Egypt had access to any non-Egyptian tv channel...

January 28th :

I was watching AlJazeera News, police had been fighting the protesters for several hours, all of us here felt terrible until we saw the first TANK that came in Tahrir Square and it was said that " الحاكم العسكري أمر بنزول الجيشi" (the military ruler ordered the army to go down to the street).... a very special moment... I kept wondering, who is this الحاكم العسكري, that is saving the Egyptians.... he must be the boldest man in the Military.... and a few mins later, they explained on TV that "الحاكم العسكري" = Mohamed Hosny Mubarak :).... wooooooooow, did I hear it right?? Mubarak is sending the Army to save the Egyptians?? Are you kidding me?? So who the hell is the bad guy who sent out the Egyptian Police to kill the Egyptian People??? it is definitely not Mubarak then... :) and soon after this, we heard that Habib el Adly is probably the bad one who gave the instructions to the Police to kill the protesters.... aaaaaaaaah, now this makes some kind of sense... El Adly is the bad one, who without getting back to his boss, went ahead and decided to kill the Egyptians... but his "good" boss, saved them!!! Thank God we had Mubarak that day... I am truly appreciative to his efforts.... but did  we hear anything about Tantawy or any other Military figure that day?? NO, it is MUBARAK who sent out the Army.... REMEMBER THIS PLEASE....and BE THANKFUL TO MUBARAK, but of course, he must have discussed it with his right-hand man Tantawy first.... maybe we should thank Tantawy, in case it was his bright idea.....

Ok, the Army is now in the streets of Egypt protecting the Egyptians, not anymore from the Police, who disappeared right after the Army came, but from the prisoners that were set free by SOMEONE who opened the prisons for them and asked them to go frighten the Egyptians.... it must be another BAD guy, maybe ElAdly again, we don't know....but for sure NOT MUBARAK... Mubarak is GOOD and he proved this today already.... and the ARMY is the people's savior...

February 2nd :

We just had a "historic speech" on February 1st that Mubarak gave... it was very emotional and a lot of us felt terrible that day, that we dared to protest or even support the demonstrations against Mubarak, the good old man, who served our country for 30 years....

This speech was so well written that I wonder, who is the one who wrote this brilliant speech? It can't be an Egyptian!!! Don't get me wrong, I don't mean that the Egyptians can't write brilliant speeches, I only meant, that there was a word used in this speech that I have never heard of in the Arabic Language before.. never heard it from any Egyptian, literate or illiterate:  "أنتوي" ... does it come from a different language? Hebrew, English.... or something else? it sounds more like "intend".... but, let's not get off track... talk now about Feb 2nd pls.....

A few hours after the speech, the internet was back up and we were again very thankful to Mubarak.....

but wait wait wait... what's going on this morning again in Tahrir Square after the great speech??? what??? Camels, Horses... Molotov??????? Why??? Aren't protesters supposed to be home now and rest until September, when Mubarak leaves as promised in his speech??? NO, apparently there was a number of BAD, STUPID protesters in Tahrir, who DOUBTED the words in Mubarak's speech and decided to continue the demonstrations... must be " a bunch of idiots" who "enjoy instability" and "are too revolutionary"...... or maybe some of them had an "agenda"...... so now they are facing Thugs, Camels, Horses... and Molotov??????? Are you serious??? Who is responsible for all this??? ANOTHER BAD GUY...

Ok, we need Mubarak URGENTLY and RIGHT NOW here to save the Egyptians again from the bad people... and guess what,  the ARMY is present!!!!! Oh sure, it will protect the Egyptians... can't imagine otherwise!!!! but BIG NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.... THE ARMY HAD CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS TO STAY NEUTRAL..... what??? neutral??? isn't the ARMY'S JOB TO PROTECT THE EGYPTIANS??? No, the army takes orders and it does, what it's asked to do....stay neutral means, leave the peaceful protesters die in front of your eyes.... and DO NOTHING for over 15 hours when everything stopped and the protesters did a GREAT JOB lining themselves and fighting the thugs.... I guess, you guys are our TRUE ARMY....

So, where has Mubarak been?? If he is old and sick and was sleeping all day, where was TANTAWY or any other MILITARY LEADER that can give instructions to the Army to save the people???? until now, I have NO ANSWER ....

Obviously, those protesters should have gone home and stopped their stupid demonstrations after listening to the speech...

February 10th  & 11th :

It’s Thursday today, and some STUPID PROTESTERS promised BIG demonstration tomorrow, if Mubarak doesn’t step down… someone  needs to do something about this….. I can smell something serious is going on today…. What is it? BREAKING NEWS….the MILITARY COUNCIL is currently holding a “continuous meeting”…. What does this mean? Some rumors are going on that Mubarak is going to step down today… waiting, and waiting, and more waiting…and finally Mubarak gave a speech and didn’t mention stepping down… he promised changes to the constitution…. What??? Don’t worry, the MILITARY COUNCIL that gave the impression that Mubarak is going to step down today, and doesn’t give us an explanation for the speech that we all just heard… is still meeting… PLEASE IGNORE THE SPEECH….

You should know, that when the MILITARY COUNCIL announces that it is holding a continuous meeting, this means that it is in fact the one in power and that Mubarak is no longer ruling…. But because there were some stupid ignorant people like me who didn’t understand this by themselves, the Vice President had to announce this clearly on February, the 11th that Mubarak stepped down… OUR SAVIOR IS NOW THE MILITARY COUNCIL…. Thank you!!!! So, what happened between YOU and Mubarak? It’s non of your business….. why do you care to know??? THE MILITARY COUNCIL SAVED YOU……

February 26th :

After 2 weeks of “ stable”  life, and on February 25th, a million people demonstration was called for …. This was to put pressure on the MILITARY COUNCIL to lay-off the Prime Minister, Ahmed Shafik and his government and hire a new government, from people that are NOT related to the OLD REGIME…

Today, among these protestors were some STUPID ONES again, that thought that they should stay in Tahrir and not go home, until the MILITARY COUNCIL responds to their demand…

So please, wait here, what’s wrong with Shafik?

He is a nice, decent, smart guy, very respectful, charismatic and talks really well… and most importantly doesn’t stutter…. please stop saying, he was a friend of Mubarak’s or he was chosen by Mubarak to be the current Prime Minister and please don’t mention that he was the Prime Minister on the bloody Wednesday, Feb 2nd  and did nothing…oh, and don’t mention that he kept defending Mubarak until the very last day too…this all doesn’t count..… if you don’t know, who this respectful guy is, please enjoy a trip with Egypt Air or if you can’t afford the ticket, please pay a visit to our New Cairo Airport and you will know, how GOOD this guy is….

Oh, no, this STUPID GROUP doesn’t want to listen…. and the MILITARY COUNCIL doesn’t like that… because it likes to be obeyed. It tolerates the Friday Demonstrations, but can’t tolerate breaking the curfew rule anymore as it did during Mubarak time…

A few mins before the curfew is supposed to start, some group of Military Police is in Tahrir Square trying to disperse the demonstrators using Electric Tasers and beating them….  even some are getting arrested by them…. but, don’t worry, it is not a large group… and the MILITARY COUNCIL is on TV the next day, to apologize and ask The Egyptians to forgive them...  at least give them credit for ALL what they’ve done so far…. J)))) Since they apologized, this means they are the ones who really did that, not some sort of civilians as we heard?!! Probably YES….

March 9th :

Please, give me a break … what’s going on again??? Shafik is now gone and a new government has been formed… it has some people who were NDP members before, but the MILITARY COUNCIL really couldn’t find someone else who would accept to join this government of Dr. Essam Sharaf….

So why are you still sitting in the green area of the Tahrir Square then? This is truly unbearable…. You seem to “enjoy”  the status of instability… so please answer me today, why are you still here? What?? You are asking for a NEW CONSTITUTION NOW? Didn’t you hear that the Egyptians are voting on the 19th on the referendum? Go vote, NO, if you want…. But believe us, YES is better for you…. these changes are perfect.

THE MILITARY COUNCIL put a lot of effort in coming up with the changes…

THE MILITARY COUNCIL selected a group of very experienced people and asked them to make some changes in response to your demands to some clauses that THE MILITARY COUNCIL thought needed to be changed… and they did a great job!!!

Please go home now and leave the square… allow yourself sometime to think about the suggested changes as they are really good, even the Muslim Brotherhood and all other Islamists think so, not only THE MILITARY COUNCIL …but if you insist on NO, you will find other political power share your same opinion… you all please go and vote and let’s start the true democracy….

Please don’t be afraid of Abboud el Zomor, the one who planned the assassination of fromer President Sadat … he was only let out, because he deserved to be free… Mubarak had let him stay 10 extra years in prison, but

THE MILITARY COUNCIL  is different…

THE MILITARY COUNCIL is JUST…and

THE MILITARY COUNCIL might be thinking, it is its responsibility to reimburse him for the extra time he spent in prison… maybe the least that we can do is, have the MEDIA show him as a HERO…. Don’t worry, he really changed a lot….

So these Idiots still don’t want to leave the Tahrir Square?? They are getting on everybody’s nerve now and we need the MILITARY COUNCIL to be more strict with them… we just hope, they don’t get too much involved with them like on Feb 26th… well, someone else can do this job then….THUGS!!! Where did they go?? Go get them please….they can attack protesters with sticks and swords while the Army violently  disperses this gathering of around 1000 people… wait here… you say VIOLENTLY??? Do you mean beating demonstrators, dismantling tents and breaking up an informal medical clinic? What? Not only this? Wipe the memory cards of Journalists attempting to record events?

And moreover, make SOLDIERS arrest more than 100 protesters and take them to the Egyptian Museum near to Tahrir Sqaure??? And among them is the famous Revolution Singer, Rami Essam who is being dragged to the Egyptian Museum? Is he really getting beaten by them with metal rods? and not only this,  are they applying electricity allover his body? YES, but thankfully he is being released… but others are taken before Military Courts…

Is there more stuff? Egypt women protesters forced to take 'virginity tests'??? Why? Aren’t they able to express their views on the future of Egypt without being detained, tortured, or subjected to profoundly degrading and discriminatory treatment???  

NO, NO, NO… this is utterly unacceptable…

Hey Egyptians, let’s try to forget this and not think anything bad of our MILITARY COUNCIL…

March 19th and 20th :

March 19th: 45% voted today  - WONDERFUL J

March 20th : 77% said YES – EVEN MORE WONDERFUL J)

Oh, dear MILITARY COUNCIL, thank you very much for the wonderful TEAM WORK!!!

You proved to us, that you would do “ANYTHING” to make sure that the Egyptians choose the RIGHT thing… and we have NO DOUBT that you will do  the same when it comes to other critical decisions like this one in future….

April 9th :

Great day, starts with another million people demonstration... yahoooo!!!.... LOTS of people are joining in Tahrir Square and it is beautiful watching them all on TV... they all want to put pressure on the MILITARY COUNCIL, because they believe, that the MILITARY COUNCIL is TOO SLOW in responding to their  "never ending demands".... but among those are some that not only think that the MILITARY COUNCIL is slow... they DARE to think that it is in fact NOT TRUSTWORTHY and that it proved this throughout the last 2 1/2 months..... this group must be STUPID again, but you know what, they have their REASONS why to NOT TRUST the MILITARY COUNCIL... reasons???? are you sure, they have valid reasons?? NOOOOO, these people are "too revolutionary" and "can't calculate things right"... please everyone, listen to me here, WE CAN'T AFFORD TO LOSE THE ARMY, OUR 1 AND ONLY ALLY..... please tell this "bunch of idots" to stop and go home....we have our 8 demands, that everyone in the political power agrees on, but to dare to ask the MILITARY COUNCIL TO PEACEFULLY HANDOVER THE POWER TO A PRESIDENTIAL COUNCIL, this is too much....we all trust the MILITARY COUNCIL, even the Muslim Brotherhood, that used to be Mubarak's 1st enemy... come on.....how are we going to select people in this Presidential Council??? Who is going to manage this whole process?? What if, this STUPID GROUP doesn't like the Presidential Council later on??? ... endless questions.... NO, NO, NO, PLEASE STOP....  we need STABILITY HERE…... they can put pressure through Friday Demonstrations, but other than that, it will be TOO MUCH...

We all agree, THE MILITARY COUNCIL is too slow, but we still trust them... they are the ones who SAVED :)) THE REVOLUTION... Saved, the revolution??? How can we judge this, while the revolution is still going on??? NO, the revolution ended on February 11th, when Mubarak stepped down and the MILITARY COUNCIL TOOK OVER..... but there is a group that says NO and thinks that the revolution ended on March 5th after "AMN EL DAWLA" had fallen apart.... and another, MORE STUPID group thinks that the revolution is going on until we achieve TRUE DEMOCRACY, TRUE FREEDOM AND TRUE SOCIAL JUSTICE.... no matter how long this is going to take... even if these people die before they witness this day, they still believe in this.....

Oooh, it is a very good and SUCCESSFUL day today :) ... that's what I've been hearing... SUCCESSFUL... how you say this, please explain...!!! we haven't heard 1 word from the MILITARY COUNCIL  commenting on the 8 demands!!!! No, it is successful, because we were able to collect over a million people in Tahrir Square:) ----- ahaaaaaaaaaaa.....

alright.... I guess it's getting late and we all need to go home after this successful day and continue again next Friday, if today turned out to be unsuccessful:))

We can even travel to Sharm el Sheikh, if necessary, but of course, get back home before the curfew starts.... J

So, what again? don't tell me that this same "bunch of idiots" doesn't listen to the wise voice of other fellow Tahrir Demonstrators and insists on putting more pressure today and wants to disobey the curfew rule, that the MILITARY COUNCIL put  again and stay in Tahrir Square after 2 am.... these PEOPLE ARE IRRESPONSIBLE...

What??? they are not alone? there is a group wearing Army Uniform with them??? Are these real soldiers? what do they want?  Don't they have to respect their job and don't protest against their bosses??? Again, what do they want ??? They want people to clash with the ARMY??? ARE THEY CRAZY???  NO, this is truly unbearable... PLEASE OUR DEAR MILITARY COUNCIL, DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS...... collect all the power you have (army forces, 777, intelligence, police...etc..) and send them to Tahrir Sqaure to get rid of these "THUGS" in the middle of the night...but, please try not to be TOO BRUTAL with them, because we don't support brutality, unless it's necessary, of course... and more importantly , please finish this before we wake up and start our work day on Saturday, so that we DON'T SEE THIS happening in front of our eyes and only hear about it from YOU, DEAR MILITARY COUNCIL, on our beloved Egyptian TV and on YOUR Facebook Page through your STATEMENT #34".... :)))))))

April 10th :

Mubarak is back on TV, saying “Hi” to the Egyptians through an audio speech. Any Explanation?

I guess, I have to stop writing and allow you to think, think and think....

thanks, for taking the time to read what I've been THINKING about and sorry, if this had brought bad memories to you........ and another sorry, if you wasted your time reading the thoughts of a stupid girl….

Welcome to the new Egypt!

Today is a historical day. No, in fact, this entire week is historical! I believe this week marks the beginning of a new era for Egypt.

For the first time in the history of any nation, almost an entire government ends up in prison! Not only that, but news last night of the questioning and imprisonment of former president Hosni Mubarak and his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, is also unprecedented!

Given the horrific events of this past Saturday, where army and police forces attacked Tahrir protesters, leaving at least one dead and over 70 injured, these arrests provide big relief for most Egyptians.

Maybe it's the army's way of saying it's sorry? Or it's the army's way of proving to protesters, who were increasingly becoming distrustful and impatient, that they are serious in their intent to trial every single corrupt official. Whatever the intention, I know I am not alone in feeling like a huge weight has been lifted off my chest. The recent arrests of Zakaria Azmy, Ahmad Nazif, Safwat el-Sherif, Alaa and Gamal are long-awaited actions that Egyptians have been waiting for since day one of the fall of Mubarak's corrupt regime.

Now, I might be feeling huge relief and happiness at this moment, but that is not to say I am 100 percent confident. I know some people will probably hate me for the pessimism, but I can't help feeling skeptical and slightly distrustful.

What I'm trying to say is, we should be happy and relived, but we also need to be very cautious. I mean, we've experienced 30 years of nothing but corruption and unfairness and now all of a sudden, in one week, we're witnessing the imprisonment of one corrupt thug after the other! How else should I feel?

I can't help feeling that yes, these people are being questioned and might in fact be in Tora prison as we are told, but is this enough to prove that justice will be served? Will every single corrupt official who inflicted years of pain and unfairness on Egyptians be subject to a fair trial and receive a long-term sentencing? I still feel the answer is NO.

I hope I am wrong and I pray to God to inspire the army and our new government to prove myself and other skepticals wrong. Please army, do the right thing and finish what you started this week till the end. Every single official who stole our money, who tortured our people and who humiliated us, should be trialed and punished.

In the meantime, I will try to force the skepticism to the back of my mind and enjoy this moment of victory; a victory that is unprecedented and is being recognized worldwide at this very moment.

It's a victory, because even if these people are set free tomorrow, we, the people of Egypt, have lived to witness the day when our dictators have tasted some of their own medicine and have been humiliated big time!!!!!!!

So, let's enjoy our moment of victory today; but let's get back to work tomorrow to start thinking planning how to keep things moving in the right direction! We need to make sure that what we're celebrating this week is in fact a sign of a new democratic & just Egypt!

Are we taking things too far?

Friday April 8th witnessed another successful Tahrir protest. That is, until things got pretty ugly.

First, let's start with the good part of the day. Protesters planned Friday's million-man/woman protest to exert pressure on the army to speed trials of Mubarak and his thugs. There were also protesters who were calling for the replacement of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces with a civilian council that will lead Egypt through democratic presidential elections.

So how did things go bad? It probably started with the few army officers who decided to protest on Friday. These are alleged officers who are against the SCAF and its leader, Tantawi. The officers said they are joining to support the people and to voice their anger and disapproval of current events in Egypt.

I have to be honest, I am one of the people who welcomed the officers' initiative with open arms. I was glad to finally see army members waking up and joining us in our call for more efficiency and speed with punishments of Mubarak and NDP thugs.

This doesn't mean that I am against the army. Not at all, I've said this before and will say it again, I have grown up with the deepest respect for the Egyptian army. My father is a retired army general and I have nothing but respect for army officers, based on what I have lived with and witnessed throughout my life from my father and his army friends.

But I was also growing more and more impatient with the SCAF. This council has been way too slow and lenient with the people who have brought Egypt to its current state of poverty and corruption. The council has also been extremely vague and lacking transparency in its dealings with the public. In everything from accounts of torture to virginity tests for women, the council has either denied or said nothing. We need more transparency; we need the council to be on top of its game and to come out with immediate explanations of what's happening.

So, back to Tahrir and the couple of hundred officers who joined the protests yesterday, why were many Egyptians worried about this move? People were afraid that our support of these officers would be misread as clear defiance against the army as an institution. Others were also questioning these alleged officers. I keep saying 'alleged' because there are still those who think they are not even officers and were just civilians in uniform pretending to be army in a dirty plan to divide the people and the army!

So, again, back to Tahrir: Curfew starts at 2 a.m. and when the officers joined Tahrir, many protesters felt a need to stay with the officers all night (I guess officers couldn't leave once they joined the protests in fear of arrests). So at 2 a.m., the peaceful scene in Tahrir changed to ugly gunfire attacks and lead to the death of one person, 70-something injured and the arrest of most of the army officers.

I guess, I'm really confused now. I'm mad and angry that the ugly attack took place. I'm also confused from SCAF's news conference earlier today. The army officials were explaining yesterday's events and they insisted there was no gunfire. So what were the loud, ugly shots that were non-stop from 2 a.m. until almost 6 a.m.??

But, as much as I am confused and angry at the army, I am also angry at protesters for not respecting the curfew! We need to abide by these rules because they are also protecting us. With thugs and everything else going on, the army is right in enforcing these rules, so we should not be testing the army! That was a big mistake, even if the intentions were noble.

Last night, in my opinion, was the first clear crack in the army-people relationship. It is a move I fear we will regret in future. As much as I hate the way SCAF is handling the country, I also don't want to lose them. We can't forget that the army protected us in Tahrir and saved us! Yes, I say saved us, because these officers, who are loyal to the people, refused to carry out Mubarak's orders and attack protesters!

What makes things worse is protesters are defying the army once again. They are out in Tahrir right this minute and waiting for the army to attack. Again, we are causing the crack to widen with our growing defiance and challenging of the army.

I understand how many protesters feel right now. And I am not in Tahrir and have not experienced these brutal attacks, but I can imagine how humiliating and horrifying these experiences must have been. But I also feel we need to be rational and we should not take things too far with SCAF.

I also want to bring your attention to another danger. Do you realize that we are doing exactly what Mubarak and his thugs want us to do? We are falling into a web of distrust and defiance and slowly losing our strongest ally in this revolution. And deeper we fall into this trap, the less attention we pay to corruption trials and other dangerous moves by the counter revolution team!

It's not only that, but last night's events are causing pro revolution Egyptians to disagree and separate as well. I was on Twitter all night following the events in Tahrir, and the majority of the tweets were from people blaming each other or saying, "I told you so!" Again, we need to calm down and realize who's benefiting from our disagreement; we are making one group of people so happy right now!!

So, please, let's slow down and think rationally about these events. Let's focus on enforcing change without losing our ally and protector. Yes, SCAF is horribly slow and cannot be trusted 100 percent, but we can exert pressure on this council without being outright defiant. We're already doing this really well and it's been effective (we have come to expect good news on long-awaited arrests or trials every Thursday or lelya el millionia as we say).

And let's not forget that we need to stay united. We can't lose the Tahrir spirit and unity now; our struggle is not over and will NOT be over until every single corrupt official is trialed and until we can enjoy democratic rule. So, stop the blame game and the arguments over petty issues, and let's organize our strength to work out our list of demands for next Friday's million protest Inshaa Allah!

How did we get to such a state of corruption??

I've been out of Egypt for over 10 years now and every single year when I visited over the summer, I could see the change.

I saw how the gap between the very very poor and the extremely rich grew wider and wider by the year; I saw how I could get no paperwork done in a single government office, unless I was willing to bribe someone, and I saw the smiles and sense of humor that Egyptians are known for, slowly being replaced with sadness, desperation and hopelessness.

The problem? Corruption is the sickness that has plagued my country for years and years!

Now, I've always known that Egyptian officials were tainted with some level of corruption. But never in my wildest dreams did I know that such corruption was widespread, extending from the top, with our former president Mubarak, all the way to the low-level government officials!

Since our Jan25 Revolution, I've been thinking about corruption in Egypt and trying to figure out how we got to this stage. How and when did this happen?

Every day, I get more and more angry, frustrated and disgusted at these so-called officials who have robbed our country of all its goods.

Take today for instance, I just read that Zakaria Azmy, Mubarak's right hand man, has 600 diamond watches in the bank. This is in addition to multiple lands, cars and villas across Egypt.

Or take Mubarak and his family, the guy's wealth is so widespread, the army is having a hard time getting a hold of just how much he owns and where! We've heard he has money in the US, Canada, Europe, Gulf countries as well as Latin America!

Why? Why do these pigs need all this money? how many lives do they think they are going to live to be able to enjoy and spend such outrageous amounts??

What is even more frustrating is how? How were these corrupt officials allowed to drain our country over the years like this? How come no one stopped them? I guess the answer is easy: because there was no clean official who had such authority. Everyone who worked with Mubarak was tainted with his corruption!

It is heartbreaking to see millions of Egyptians living in cemeteries or entire families living in a tiny room (while sharing a bathroom with God knows how many families). It is even worse to hear the awful stories of men, women and children who die every day, because they can't buy food or medicine.

But this sadness turns to anger and frustration when I read these stories of our outrageous officials!!! How did these people sleep at night? How could they drive in their million dollar cars and not notice the poverty and desperation of the millions walking the streets?

And throughout all of this, we still have some delusional Mubarak supporters who recently announced plans to organize protests calling for his return! Are these people for real??

I have only one thing to tell these so-called Mubarak fans: you're either part of the corruption and you're starting to feel your pockets getting lighter, now that the cash flow has stopped, or you're seriously delusional if you think for a second that this man has done one good deed for our country. Just drive by the closest cemetery and you will see for yourself!

I also want to question the army and Dr. Essam Sharaf's government on their slow response to such outright corruption! Why is it taking us so long to punish every single thief who robbed our country and left the majority of Egyptians in desperate need??

I urge officials to take action now. We need to purify Egypt and erase all elements of corruption so that we can have a fresh start. This fresh start won't happen unless we send a clear message to everyone that corruption is no longer tolerated and that every penny that was robbed from the people will be retrieved!

Truly, I dream of a day when I set foot on Egyptian soil, where there won't be bribery and corruption everywhere. I might be naive, but I don't think this is impossible.

After all, nothing is impossible after Jan25, right?