Spot News, 3rd prize
Dawn of a revolution
Eduardo Castaldo
01 February, 2011
People wanting to come onto Tahrir Square are frisked, by a security team organized by the demonstrators themselves, on 1 February.
Eduardo Castaldo
Eduardo Castaldo (35) was born and raised in Naples, Italy, and began working as a photojournalist in 2006. He has always worked freelance. Castaldo’s first feature work was abou...
Cairo, Egypt
People wanting to come onto Tahrir Square are frisked, by a security team organized by the demonstrators themselves, on 1 February. Towards the end of January, encouraged by an uprising that had led to the overthrow of the Tunisian government, people in Egypt staged mass protests against the rule of their own leader, President Hosni Mubarak. After afternoon prayers on 28 January, in what became known as the ‘Friday of Anger’, hundreds of thousands streamed onto the streets of cities around the country to protest against the regime. In Cairo, demonstrators from all walks of life marched to occupy Tahrir Square, demanding the president’s resignation. Street battles with the police ensued. Mubarak called in the military to enforce an 18.00 curfew, and imposed a near total black-out on communications—internet and the social media played a large part in coordinating resistance. Unlike the police, the military did not use active force against the protesters, and were seen by many as allies. Protesters ignored the curfew, and Tahrir Square became the focal point of a movement that would eventually topple the Mubarak regime.
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