[Foundation-l] (OT) Wael Ghonim TED talk on the Egyptian Revolution

[Sue Gardner]

This is not 100% off-topic, since he talks about Wikipedia off the
top. But it's worth watching regardless of that: it is a really
lovely, inspiring talk.

http://www.ted.com/talks/wael_ghonim_inside_the_egyptian_revolution.html

Thanks,
Sue

Some text from his Wikipedia article below:

In January 2011, Ghonim persuaded Google to allow him to return to
Egypt, citing a "personal problem".[12] Ghonim had been running a
Facebook fanpage about Mohamed ElBaradei, which was being used to
promote democracy and organize protests in Cairo.[13] Ghonim
disappeared on 27 January during the nationwide unrest in Egypt. His
family told Al-Arabiya and other international media that he was
missing. Google also issued a statement confirming the disappearance.
Many bloggers like Chris DiBona and Habib Haddad campaigned in an
attempt to identify his whereabouts.

On 5 February 2011, Mostafa Alnagar, a major Egyptian opposition
figure[14], reported that Wael Ghonim was alive and detained by the
authorities and to be released 'within hours'.[15] On 6 February 2011,
Amnesty International demanded that the Egyptian authorities disclose
where Ghonim was and to release him.[16]

Ghonim was released on 7 February, after 11 days in detention. Upon
his release, he was greeted with cheers and applause when he stated:
"We will not abandon our demand and that is the departure of the
regime."[17]

The same day, Ghonim appeared on the Egyptian channel DreamTV on the
10:00 pm programme hosted by Mona El-Shazly. In the interview he
praised the protesters and mourned the dead as the host read their
names and showed their pictures, eventually rising, "overwhelmed," and
walking off camera. The host followed.[18][19] In the interview, he
also urged that they deserved attention more than he did, and calling
for the end of the Mubarak regime, describing it again as 'rubbish'.
He also asserted his allegiance to Egypt, saying that he would never
move to the United States, the homeland of his wife.[20][21] Becoming
a symbol of the revolution in Egypt,[22] Ghonim stated that he is
"ready to die" for the cause.[23] "At the end ..., he gathered himself
for a few seconds and tried to make the most of the platform
[El-Shazly] had given him. 'I want to tell every mother and every
father who lost a child, I am sorry, but this is not our mistake,' he
said. 'I swear to God, it’s not our mistake. It’s the mistake of every
one of those in power who doesn’t want to let go of it.'"[18]

On 9 February, Ghonim addressed the crowds in Tahrir Square, telling
the protesters: "This is not the time for individuals, or parties, or
movements. It's a time for all of us to say just one thing: Egypt
above all."[24]


--

Sue Gardner
Executive Director
Wikimedia Foundation

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415 816 9967 cell

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