Cheers of silence in Egypt .. From Grafite revolution to the walls of toilets

Mohamed Mansour - Cairo

After his eyes were examined by all those around him in a subway vehicle in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, in an unsafe attempt to reassure himself from the eyes of censorship, whether by officials or volunteers, Salah opened a roll he was carrying in his hand and began inspecting and reviewing its contents.

They are stickers and pens with thick lines that Salah is supposed to carry at this time of year, as the Egyptians were supposed to celebrate the eighth anniversary of the revolution of 25 January 2011.

But because of the security pressures, Salah decided to celebrate his own way. He uses his pens and posters to record positions, spread ideas and criticize what he sees as "falsification" on every wall that is sure to be free of censorship.

The walls of any governmental institution in Egypt are almost devoid of expressions of public discontent with the authorities. The Egyptians resorted to this old method after they were sure that censorship extended to their pages on social media sites, and that there was no yard or field outside censorship.

Egyptian law criminalizes writing on the walls of interests and bodies, as a form of sabotage of public money, and is an incitement to violence, if it contains revolutionary terms.

Escape to the toilets
To escape from the legal and security pursuits, the Egyptians have come back to an old invention: the use of toilet walls as the most remote walls of censorship and follow-up to the eyes of whistleblowers or "honest citizens", as well as those who volunteer to report political activists, especially young people of the January revolution.

Once you enter one of these latrines, you will notice the paradox between what you see harshly critical statements, and what the media reports about the stability of economic and social conditions, and the happiness of the citizen to what Egypt has reached in the current era.

According to the psychiatrist Mohammed Mahmoud al-Hawari, the Egyptians resort to writing on the walls of the toilets to express their views and criticism; reflects one of the positive effects of psychological pressure on the Egyptian citizen. Through these writings and posters, the Egyptians make a mechanism for venting and treatment of social and economic pressures.

He pointed out that this effect can be seen more clearly among adolescents in schools, as their age makes them more vulnerable to control from the family and school, so they are the first to use the walls of latrines to criticize censorship.

Graphite Revolution
The phenomenon of graffiti was one of the manifestations of the revolution of 25 January, through the art of "Graphite", which became part of the free expression during the events of the revolution, and was the weapon of expression of freedom of opinion during the events, expressed the voice of the opposition is not heard, every graphite had a meaning and message Specific, rapidly spread, to become an art trading so far.

After the death of the young Khaled Said - Sharara January 25 revolution - torture by some police, there were calls to demonstrate "against injustice," and began to sympathize with his image filled the pages of social networking sites, and then the walls of the streets, to document his face with pictures, Words that reject tyranny and ignite the enthusiasm of citizens.

After the revolution, the graphic became the most important art that expressed the revolution in the Egyptian streets, especially the pictures of the martyrs. The artists documented on the walls the most important stages of the revolution and the political events that followed, and the slogans of each stage, especially the multiple clashes with the police and the army.

Today, after eight years of protest, eight years after the January 25 revolution, the Egyptian authorities have been barring revolutionary drawings and writings. They have also sought to erase ancient cartoons through the "cleanup" of streets and squares, but many of these monumental murals on the streets of Egypt have witnessed the January revolution And chanting, although the chants now under the security pressures to the walls of toilets.