Hi everyone!
If you're looking for a book that provides an effective first-hand account of the events leading up to the overthrow of Egypt's President Mubarak last year, then Wael Ghonim's just published memoir, "Revolution 2.0" is a strong bet.
Mr. Ghonim is the Google employee who more-or-less inadvertently became the face of Tahrir Square. What is extraordinary about his story is how he was able to harness the power of social media to bring together a revolutionary popular movement that succeeded in toppling Mubarak's entrenched regime in just eighteen days. Mr. Ghonim's activism was sparked when a friend of his sent him horrific photos of a young man named Khaled Said who was beaten to death by state security outside an Internet cafe in Alexandria, Egypt in the summer of 2010. The security officials planted a plastic bag of marijuana on Khaled's body and tried to convince the public that the young man had died of asphyxiation in an effort to swallow the drugs as a means of hiding them from the police. In actuality--as the photos attested--Khaled had been savagely beaten with his head bashed-in against a wall. This event prompted Mr. Ghonim to create a Facebook page in support of determining the truth about Khaled's death. He named this page "Kullena Khaled Said" or "We Are All Khaled Said."
The page grew by leaps and bounds in a remarkably short period of time, in part as the result of Mr. Ghonim's tireless rallying of supporters through Facebook and Twitter and his (and others like him) ability to tap into a growing sense within young Egyptians that the status quo could no longer hold. This evolved into January 25, 2011 -- Jan25 -- the opening salvo in an incredible popular (and peaceful) uprising that changed Egyptian history forever.
Mr. Ghonim's memoir is written at a breathless narrative pace that is hard to put down. His voice is determined and uncompromising, yet very humble at the same time. He takes pains throughout to emphasize the fact that he did not and does not see himself as the leader of the revolution. He was merely one man acting upon a deep-seated moral belief that decades of corruption and social injustice could no longer be tolerated. The more he witnesses, the deeper his conviction.
While his portrayal of his arrest and beating by state security after January 25 and his subsequent interrogations and psychological torture make for compelling reading, what I found most intriguing was how beautifully he articulates the power of social media in uniting millions of people on behalf of a justified cause. What makes his account so extraordinarily readable--not to mention downright inspiring--is the fact that he publishes dozens of actual excerpts of his Facebook messages and Tweets that put the reader right there in the middle of the action. You feel you are experiencing the revolution as it's happening which adds to the poignancy and our understanding of the scenes in Tahrir Square that we've all seen on television and on YouTube.
This ability to utilize social media for a greater common good is what gives the book its backbone and supports Mr. Ghonim's statement at the end of the book--as well as the book's subtitle--"The Power of the People is Greater Than the People In Power." This is a worthy notion to keep in mind as we continue to watch the ever-unfolding events in the Middle East, particularly Syria.
"Revolution 2.0" is more than a memoir. It's an important documentation of the first phase of a remarkable period in world history and an affirmation that all of us have a responsibility to work toward social justice--however great, however small--in each of our daily lives. The tools are there. We just need to use them.
Ciao.
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