Tune in Friday morning 8 a.m.- 10 a.m. on KPFA 94.1 FM in Berkeley, KFCF 88.1 FM in Fresno or stream on KPFA.org
On January 25th, thousands of Egyptian protesters crowded the streets to protest against what they assert is Egypt’s corrupted and autocratic government.
Despite the tear gas that police released into the streets and the heavy beatings many protestors endured in the last few weeks, citizens continue with their protests in an effort to overthrow President Hosni Mubarak’s regime. On Friday morning from 8am -10am on KPFA, Voices of the Middle East and North Africa will be speaking with experts to receive an update on the demonstrations in Egypt. We will discuss the lack of free elections and free speech, high unemployment, food price inflation, low minimum wages and corruption, among other important topics.
Protesters organized the demonstrations through various social media outlets, including Twitter and Facebook. As angry Egyptians crowded the streets to fight against corruption, the Mubarak regime blocked all social media outlets and access to Internet in hopes of discouraging continued demonstrations. We will discuss the positive and negative effects of social media. Among other guests, we will be joined by Ahmad, a 29-year old Egyptian political activist living in the United States, to discuss the effects of the protests from a youth’s perspective. Ahmad will also be discussing the activism that young Egyptians are engaged in within the United States.
The 2011 demonstrations are the largest protests Egypt has seen since the 1970s and have taken place in major cities including, Cairo, Alexandria and Suez. As political unrest continues to thrive within Egypt’s borders, many Egyptian political officials worry that the Muslim Brotherhood will obtain the upper hand and will take over President Mubarak’s regime. We will explore the historical perspective of these protests to give listeners more context when following the progress of the demonstrations.
(By: Sarah Ravani)
