The Security Officer
Feb 28, 2011
As I promised, I went to the “pro-regime” group in Tahrir Square. I accompanied a friend of mine. We decided to go just before mid-day. It is no secret that there has been a lot of criticism for the government about Tahrir. In addition to the fact that government rushed to occupy the square before the opponents do, they mainly used a group of paid people and equipped them with sticks (Sameel in Yemeni dialect) to defend the place. There also has been a talk about the swamp, the bad smell, and lack of cleanness.
We were lucky enough to find a parking spot nearby. We stopped, crossed the street and, there we were. Although there were a number of police cars, we were not searched and we walked directly towards the tents. A few men were sleeping in the side-walks, others were walking around, many with Sameels. Most of the tents were huge. They were marked with the names of some areas “Bani Hoshaish, Bani Al-Harith, Manakah…etc”. They were only a few tents. On the tents and elsewhere there was big signs talking about security and stability, and in support for the president. A number of men were either sleeping, or sitting in each tent. There wasn’t much activity.
The first gathering was around two nice horses. People were taking pictures while riding the horses. We walked around to find a man selling pictures of the president and some flags. On the west side we found a separate group of tents. We thought they were for other groups, so we walked around and entered. Small tents filled with small things were aligned. It was a fair for “productive NGOs”. Many tents were actually closed. There were only a few people. As a matter of fact it was only me and my friend walking in that area.
While I was walking I took a few pictures. I was careful not to take pictures of the equipped men, those who are holding “Sameels”… I took a few pictures of the fair. We were about to leave the handicrafts fair when a guy dressed in traditional thawb came towards us. He stopped me. “What are you taking pictures of?, show me your mobile” he said. My friend asked him who he was; he identified himself as the security officer. He asked for our IDs, and we replied asking for his ID. As we walked out of the fair area we were arguing. He said “some people take pictures for Suhail Channel”. We told him we were not here for that purpose. We criticized him telling him we came to see what is happening, and “to support” and you don’t like it… he apologized as we were leaving the square.
Before we left we passed by a small gathering. A person on the stage was encouraging dancers to continue “baraa”. Nearby men were still sleeping on the side-walk, beside one of them there was an exceptionally big Sameel. A skinny old man, who could hardly walk, passed while holding his Sameel.
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