CAIRO - When thinking of the revolution, we experience a whole range of feelings: victory, pain, happiness and suffering. You will feel the same on visiting the exhibition ‘Oh time, write down Egypt's revolution' at the Cairo Opera House, inaugurated last Friday by Emad Abou Ghazy, the new Minister of Culture. The exhibition includes around 400 photos by 130 Egyptian photographers, chosen by a jury headed by Farouq Ibrahim. ‘Oh time, write down Egypt's revolution' does not only include photos but also videos from the revolution, moving you across space and time to Al Tahrir Square around month ago. You feel as if you were there, participating in the protests that led to victory. “We invited the members of the Photojournalists' Society to participate in this exhibition. They all welcomed the idea, and two days later we had already received around 800 photos from 70 photographers,” said Amr Nabil, Vice President and founder of the Egyptian Photojournalists' Society. The exhibition includes photos from the very beginning of the revolution and to the ousting of former President Hosni Mubarak. The photos show you what the Egyptians faced through the 18-day revolution; their pain and suffering during the days of police violence. The photos also illustrate how the revolutionaries spent their nights in the Square, singing and playing music. “I'm so proud to be Egyptian and I can't believe to this moment what happened,” said Mohamed Omar, a photojournalist of the European Agency. “I was there from the first day until the terrible Wednesday, when police violence reached its peak and thugs assaulted the photographers and journalists,” the courageous photographer added. Photojournalists were involved in this historical event from the very first moment, putting their lives in danger. They had two duties; first as Egyptians and second as photojournalists. “I participated in the protests four years ago, this is when the revolution actually began. Egyptians started to walk down the streets, demonstrating in groups, creating national movements like Kifaya, 6th of April, the National Movement for Change, all against the regime's injustice,” said Adham Khorshid, a photojournalist for Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper. Like many Egyptians, Khorshid never imagined that Egyptians would unite one day and say no. “I waited so long for this day! A day when all Egyptians stand together as one man against the corruption and injustice, I thank God that this day has come and we Egyptians have done it,” Khorshid added. The photo exhibition does not forget the martyrs who paid with their lives to let all Egyptians live in freedom and dignity. You will find some of their photos the moment you enter the hall. “It is a great feeling of victory and the price for our freedom so precious. The martyrs' blood is testimony that they faced the police violence only with their dreams and their voices, their words were the only weapon,” said Khorshid proudly, who took many photos of the martyrs. Mohamed Mahran is another participating photojournalist. His photos show the bloody days of the revolution, such as the fateful on Friday, January 28, known as ‘Day of Anger', and also on Wednesday, February 2, known as ‘Camel Day'. This was the day when the protesters in Al Tahrir Square were brutally attacked by thugs on camels and horses. “When walking down the street on the ‘Day of Anger', I didn't imagine that it would be so bloody and violent. Then people shouted “our revolution is peaceful,” and the riot police started to attack them with sticks, tear gas, rubber bullets and even live ammunition,” Mahran continued. The exhibition also illustrates the solidarity and unity of Egyptians during the revolution, Muslims and Christians, young and old. This becomes clear when you look at a photo showing two priests sweeping the courtyard of a mosque. And there are the photos of Christians forming a human chain to protect Muslims while they were praying. The exhibition is running until March 18, open daily from 10am - 2pm and from 4:30pm - 8:30pm in the Main Hall of Plastic Arts of the Cairo Opera House.
