Young Egyptians wake up to new sense of possibility (News Feature)

By Yasmin El-Rifae Feb 12, 2011, 15:59 GMT

Cairo - The day after Egyptian president Hosny Mubarak stepped down, Egypt's youth, who have known only his 30 years of rule, were already revelling in a new-found sense of empowerment.

'Today is the first day of my life in which Hosny Mubarak is not the president of Egypt,' said Tarek Shahin, a 28-year old Egyptian cartoonist.

Largely peaceful, nationwide protests that began on January 25 and culminated in Mubarak's leaving office after 18 days, seem to have motivated young people and given them an idea of the country's potential for change.

'There is a sense of community and hope in the future, Shahin added. 'Sadly, Egypt has limped for too long without either.'

In central Cairo's Tahrir Square, the focal point of the demonstrations, thousands of people on Saturday waved flags, sang patriotic songs and helped clean the area and rebuild sidewalks destroyed during the unrest. Some wore signs reading 'Yesterday I demonstrated, today I rebuild Egypt.'

'Just like we cleaned the presidency, we will clean the streets,' Islam Mahmoud, a medical student who took part in the protests, said.

Couples who announced plans to marry after Mubarak resigned, proclaimed 'Now we can have children in Egypt.'

Many young people had previously seen their future and that of the country as bleak. Mubarak's era was long-associated with government- wide corruption, a lack of accountability, and police brutality.

But some Egyptians living abroad have now said they may consider moving back in order to contribute to the 'rebuilding' of the country.

'Before, I felt there was little I could do to improve this place, but now I am seriously considering quitting my job and moving back to Cairo,' said Sarah Daoud, a 27-year-old architect working in Canada.

'I think all of Egypt's youth can use their skills to really pull this country forward. This is the beginning,' she continued.

With the armed forces now in charge, people are hoping that a peaceful transition to democracy will allow younger generations to have a voice in the country's future.

'Now there is an optimism that, with the regime gone, the army will oversee a quick transition and the opportunity to rebuild the country will come much quicker than expected,' said protester Karim Ennarah, who works for the United Nations mission in Sudan and returned to Cairo for the demonstrations.

Some demonstrators have said they will remain in Tahrir Square until the armed forces delivers on its promise to establish a democratic civilian-led government.

'I will stay in Tahrir until parliament is dissolved, emergency law is abolished, and a transitional government is in place,' the student doctor Mahmoud said.

There were also continued demands for the release of political prisoners, many of whom have been missing since demonstrations began.

Many Egyptians are hoping the revolution, which removed a widely loathed political system, will also bring about improved standards.

Economic gains of the past several years were rarely felt beyond the country's elite, with at least a third of Egypt's population living at or just below the poverty line.

'I hear people talk about better health care and a higher minimum wage. Expectations will have to be adjusted because it will take time to undo the effects of a 30-year long dictatorship,' Ennarah said.

But for now, people are proud of their revolution, which few expected to succeed in a society which has been allowed few political freedoms.

'What makes me hopeful is not just that Mubarak is gone,' said Sherine Said, a 25-year-old protester. 'It's that it was us, the people, who stood up and made him go.'

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