For thirty long years, Hosni Mubarak has been the President of Egypt. After three decades of ruling the same nation that is home to the Great Pyramids, the people began to lose faith in him.
For eighteen long days, the people of Egypt have protested in the streets. The protests quickly turned violent and what began as demonstrations turned into a full-fledged revolution.
At first, Mubarak was willing to get a new government and began the process of transitioning to a democracy with fair elections. But that was not enough for the people.
The people wanted Mubarak gone and out of office, but he claimed that stepping down without a new system in place would cause chaos. The people still wanted him out.
Finally on Friday, Mubarak realized what was truly best for the people of Egypt and the future of the nation and he resigned as President, ending his thirty-year rule.
In a short report to the nation on live television, Omar Suleiman, the Egyptian Vice President, told the people of the state that Mubarak has decided to step down and has given power to the Armed Forces Supreme Council.
The protestors who have filled the streets of Cairo for days instantly burst out in joy over the announcement.
As flags waved and fireworks were ignited, the people screamed, “God is great” and “Egypt is free.”
The excitement was so great that according to the Middle East News Agency, some Egyptians passed out while other were hospitalized with heart attacks.
According to Egyptian politician Mohamed ElBardei, “It was a sense of liberation for me, for every Egyptian. For the first time, Egypt has a chance to be democratic, to be free, to have a sense of dignity, of freedom. So it’s amazing. It’s just like something we never experienced in our lifetime.”
Now comes the hard part for Egypt. Now they must construct a new government and put into place a new set of laws that would appease the needs that the now modernized Egypt demands.
What has happened in Egypt is quite amazing. No Arab or Muslim state has ever modernized in history. In Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States and other Western powers have tried to usher in democracy and liberalism by force, but modernization cannot be forced. In Egypt, the people finally had enough of not having their voices heard and instead of waiting for another power to intervene and bring reform, the people brought about exactly what needed to happen: revolution.
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