I have been blogging, texting, skyping, twittering, gmail-chatting, fb-chatting for 72 hours now. I have not slept. I do not intend to– as long as my many friends– are out there in the streets of Cairo not daring to sleep either.
Now I am getting messages from folks who have missing relatives in Cairo’s chaos.
FB friend: My sister-in-law has a sister in Egypt, her sisters husband went out to protest & has not been seen in almost 36 hours. There has been no word from him & police claim to not know where he is. She has asked me to pass this along to you, she does not want to post it on her page because she is afraid that they will retaliate against her sister & other relatives there. His name is Maram Eid he is 29 years old, he is 5 feet 8 inches tall, he was last wearing jeans, a black shirt, & a brown jacket with a patch sewn on it, the patch is of the Egyptian flag. He is married & has a 3 month old son. He is a graduate of the University of Alexandria.
Me: Can i use the real names?
FB friend: From what I know yes you can. They have asked several other family members if Maram has been seen & no one has seen him. I know Maram & there is no way he would ever up & leave with no word. No one knows where he is, & the police told the wife’s father & Maram’s father that they have no information on him & told them to leave or they would be arrested. My sister-in-law & brother attempted to get into Egypt but were informed that no flights were entering or leaving. I am not sure if this is true or not. I myself am scared for Maram & my in-laws.
FB friend: The patch on his jacket is about the size of a 3×5 flashcard, & it is on his right upper shoulder of the jacket.
I have tweeted this out into the ether. Please do re-tweet so we can find him?
#Egypt #Jan25 Missing. 36 hours. Maram Eid. 29. 5 8 jeans, black shirt w/egyptian flag patch Has 3 mth old son Contact me @parvezsharma to reach his family
This below is a timeline of my tweets from the last five or six hours–it serves I hope as a very good indicator and timeline of how exactly things have unfolded. I have tried very hard to only tweet/write on current and accurate information. Forgive me if I have made any mistakes.
I have tried hard over the last few hours to not be emotional and just be clinical. I have not succeeded. (Maybe this is why I left TV news journalism, many years ago)
The top and most recent tweet is one of the main reasons why the ouster of Hosni Mubarak is so personal for me.
Text from survivor of #Cairo52 profiled in #ajihadforlove. He was raped and tortured by #Mubarak thugs I HOPE HE DIES TONIGHT #Egypt #Jan25
#AJE dont analyze #Mubarak lies. He said nothing new Leave that to the whitemen on US cable Show us the #Egypt not sleeping tonight #Jan25
12 minutes ago
#Egypt Itisalat cell service is working now. What about Mobinil and Vodafone? Has #Mubarak gone to bed or for a nice long bath now? #Jan25
20 minutes ago
If you are thinking why I am doing this so obsessively pls read some of my writing #Egypt #Jan25 Fi Amanullah those who dont sleep tonight
24 minutes ago
Is this Hosni #Mubarak last speech? Will the #army join the people or will they use their brutality? Where is #GrandSheikh? #Egypt #Jan25
35 minutes ago
#Mubarak MY government is stepping down BUT I AM NOT. The long night of misery is just beginning #Cairo #Egypt #Jan25 #Jan28
44 minutes ago
#Mubarak My Government is resigning BUT GUESS WHAT I AM NOT. THE SHAME OF THE people of #egypt is complete tonight #Jan25
45 minutes ago
Is he imposing Emergency? #Mubarak
48 minutes ago
#Mubarak “Course of reform we have set”? #Egypt my heart bleeds for all of you out there tonight-really #Mubarak? What now? #Jan25
48 minutes ago
#Mubarak “My fellow citizens” “We will continue reforms” What is this guy smoking? I want some #Egypt #Jan26 #Jan28 His fellow citizens?
50 minutes ago
#Mubarak looks rather well slept & freshly scrubbed This dictator will need to be pushed out How much more blood does he want #Egypt #Jan25
53 minutes ago
#Mubarak the despot has no intention to leave. This is horrible. #Egypt #Jan25 He sounds arrogant and defiant and he is LYING
#Mubarak speaking. I am monitoring situation. Stand and take a pause #Egypt #Jan26 #Jan28 I regret casualties
#NileTV saying #Mubarak to speak shortly #Egypt #Jan26 #Jan28 #breakingnews
1 hour ago
Matters in #Mubarak safe hands? Is this what #Speaker just said? Reuters says yes. Surreal! #Egypt #Jan28 #Jan25
1 hour ago
#NDP fire just meters away from #NationalMuseum. Is it true that #Mubarak palace in Heliopolis is surrounded? Confirm? #Egypt #Jan26
1 hour ago
What will #speaker say? Is #Army taking over?Where is the #AlAzhar Grand Sheikh? Has #Mubarak left? #Jan25
1 hour ago
#Egypt 3 private jets leave #cairo airport #Egt speaker to make major speech Has #Mubarak fled? Who will control chaos now?#Jan25
1 hour ago
#Egypt military chief rushing back from US #parliament #speaker to speak soon #statetv showing burning wideshot live #Jan25 #Jan28 #Mubarak
1 hour ago
Good piece on #CNN that “seems” to misquote me ever so “slightly” http://bit.ly/fjHcyV #Egypt #Jan25 #Jan28 #Mubarak
1 hour ago
#Egypt Al Arabiya saying that #Mubarak audio speech to be broadcast soon? #Jan25 #Jan28
1 hour ago
#Egypt rumor created by #Israel ? #Mubarak on a plane to Switzerland? #Jan25 #Jan28
1 hour ago
#AJE reporting a #breakingnews tweet? We reached the presidential palace in #Egypt go go. #Jan28 #Jan25 Proxy servers #tweetdeck working?
1 hour ago
#NDP HQ symbolically burn to ash #Cairo #Army surround How Army will behave in the next few hours is the most critical issue #Egypt #Jan25
1 hour ago
#breakingnews I explain why so many are so wrong on #Egypt and Fouad’s hrtbreaking testimonyhttp://bit.ly/gxU7Dy Fi Amanallah Fouad #Jan25
2 hours ago
I know what they are watching in #WhiteHouse. Its called #AJE. Not #CNN. Not #Fox. Not #MSNBC. Yo #Gibbs is #Mubarak phone working? #Egypt
2 hours ago
Obama not spoken with “President Mubarak” Still calling him that #Gibbs? Can the White House actually find a working phone in #Egypt dude?
3 hours ago
#EgyptAir suspends all flights in and out of the besieged country. Where the f is the tyrant Mubarak hiding? #Egypt #Jan25 #Jan28
3 hours ago
#Egypt #Tunisia show the way. #Syria #Jordan #Yemen then follow. End the post-colonial tyranny that was unleashed on all Arab lands. #Jan25
3 hours ago
#Cairo is burning Pls know the majority on the streets of #Egypt have never used the internet or had the $$ to buy smartphones #jan28 #jan25
4 hours ago
Frnd in #Cairo. Looters at #NDP HQ which is on fire. The bravest Arabs are taking #Egypt back from #Mubarak & thugs. His escape plane ready?
4 hours ago
Al Arabiya TV interviews young Egyptian “The NDP building has been completely gutted, some people took money that was stolen from them”
4 hours ago
Egyptian student shows Al Arabiya year gas canister that says “Made in USA”. “How can we allow this in Egypt?” http://yfrog.com/gyooazmj
4 hours ago
Al Arabiya: Egyptian Army has moved to protect the Egypt Museum #Jan25
4 hours ago
Had 2 take break. Sorry. Got on phone finally! Tanks crawling all over #Cairo and people cheering them. The bravest Arabs tonite r in #Egypt
4 hours ago
My 10 hr old piece up on Huffpo now? It feels like years ago @this point http://huff.to/hJ1KSL Pls pray for Negma Fi Amanullah #Egypt #Jan25
4 hours ago
Just turned down #Iran #PressTV request 4 i/v. How do I tell them that I dont like media mouthpieces set up by tyrants? #Egypt #Jan25
5 hours ago
Thousands of them cannot #tweet post #fb status updates or watch #AJE #Egypt tonite is giving us the biggest Arab heroes ever #Jan25
5 hours ago
Al Jazeera’s Ayman Mohyeldin: Not a single fire truck has tried to put out the fires at the ruling party’s headquarters. #jan25
5 hours ago
The brave #Egypt protesters r not sitting like us in comfort #tweeting They r risking their lives every single minute. Fi Amanullah #Jan25
5 hours ago
#Curfew?Bldgs being stormed all over #Cairo RIGHT NOW This is a people who have been in an information blackhole for hours! #Egypt
5 hours ago
Rowya Rageh – Live from Alexandria – Army tanks can be found on the streets and welcomed by the protestors #Jan25 #Egypt
5 hours ago
No more #stupidwhitemen with their silly #tweets copied from #AJE. This from #Cairo friend I just managed to find on a working phone! #Egypt
5 hours ago
Foreign ministry stormed. #Mubarak hiding. #Egypt your longest night in a generation has just begun. All of this w/o #tweets and #fb #Jan25
5 hours ago
14yrold killed. 80,000 protesting near #Cairo. Western journo’s stop looking @ #Baradei as solution. Will u ever learn realities of #Egypt?
5 hours ago
The #military joining the revolutionaries in Alex? thumbs-up! What is #Mubarak up to? Getting ready for the Isha prayer? #Egypt #Jan25
5 hours ago
Never believe anything until it’s been official denied by Egyptian state TV. #lol #jan25
5 hours ago
Eyewitnesses: Sayeda Zeinab police station burned #Jan25#Jan28
5 hours ago
#Ben Ali you ready to share your hairdye and your #Jiddah pad with #Mubarak? U guys talking on his working #mobile? #Egypt #Jan25 #egytweets
5 hours ago
#Hillary Clinton dont be “deeply concerned” Have you heard of the word condemn? What’s your ally #Mubarak doing in Heliopolis rt now? #Egypt
5 hours ago
Hillary #Clinton Shut Up! It is too late. Your friend #Mubarak can see his end. Get him on a flight out of #Egypt instead #Jan25 #egytweets
6 hours ago
Does #Mubarak know how to pray or #tweet? Has he ever #emailed Can he hear #Egypt exploding Can he smell blood flowing on the streets #Jan25
6 hours ago
Do follow me on twitter @parvezsharma is any of this is meaningful or join me on my Facebook page where I am continuing my experiment in cyber-squatting at Parvez Hussein Sharma.
Parvez Sharma is an internationally renowned New York based Indian writer and filmmaker. He is best known for the multiple award winning and acclaimed film A Jihad for Love, on gay and lesbian Muslims. The UTNE Reader named him one of “50 Visionaries changing your world” in 2009.
