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It was a bit like the fall of the wall or at least like a football world cup victory. Ute Reimer witnessed the peaceful revolution in Egypt. Yet her joy, the employee of the Goethe-Institut Cairo reports, is mixed with fears.

Following the toppling of the regime in Tunisia, the Egyptian people also rose up to send their rulers packing. Did it come as a surprise to you, or was this event foreseeable after the Jasmine Revolution?

“Foreseeable” would be saying too much – but it didn’t come as such a surprise. Egypt claims a leading role in the Arab region. It was clear that such an event in Tunisia would also have effects on Egypt. The speed with which it all happened was a surprise.

The Goethe-Instituts in Cairo and Alexandria were closed in late January and many German staff were flown home to Germany. You stayed. How did you experience the weeks of demonstrations?

I did not take part in any of the demonstrations on Tahrir Square. But, we live on Zamalek, that is a Nile island with an unimpeded view of the other side of the river. We had a direct view of a street that leads into the centre and to Tahrir. A good deal happened there, especially at the beginning. The first Friday we could observe the fighting between security forces and demonstrators from our house. The security forces attacked the protesters with tear gas canisters, who, to my great surprise, picked them up and threw them back. But the wind was favourable for the protesters. The tear gas swaths always blew back towards the security forces. We also observed as people dressed in civilian clothes attacked protesters with sticks, in addition fires broke out in many places.



Were you frightened?

No, I never felt personally threatened. Zamalek was safe the entire time. There was some looting and in the evening a neighbourhood defense troop patrolled the streets.

At the beginning, it seemed very uncertain how Mubarak would react. Did you have any doubts that the demonstrations would be successful?

No, it was merely a matter of time. But, I was afraid that until then there would be more fatalities.

What was it like the evening after Mubarak officially declared his resignation?

It was a huge celebration. The mood was as if the country had won the football world cup. Our television wasn’t running when the resignation was announced, but a sudden cry of joy went up throughout the city that you could hear through closed windows. That was followed by an endless concert of honking horns, flags were waved and all of the people were on the streets.

Now, parallels are often being drawn to 1989 in Germany. Can you relate to that?

Yes, there are certainly parallels. In the peaceableness of the protesters, for instance, which was absolutely awe inspiring here in Cairo. They did not allow themselves to be nonplussed by the provoking of the Mubarak supporters and remained peaceful and reasonable the entire time. That sometimes brought tears to my eyes.

How is the mood in the country now, almost three weeks after Mubarak’s resignation?

On the one hand the mood is very hopeful and positive and the will for change is perceptible everywhere. On the other hand, we are following what is actually happening politically with great apprehension. A little too little is happening for the Egyptians’ taste. The people are very watchful right now and are following developments very closely.



Has your work changed now?

Not really. We have even taken up our normal language course operations again. But we are thinking about how we can accompany the democratization process in the country with projects. For example, we will intensify our publishers’ advanced training courses. We could also initiate a new series of translations – with titles on subject matter like civil society, democratization and party systems.

How was it before? Was the Goethe-Institut’s work impeded under Mubarak?

We were aware that the secret service was very well informed of our activities. In my section – Information and Library – I never had any problems with that, though. It was a little different for the cultural programmes. Very complicated approval procedures had to be complied with for activities in public spaces. In most cases, approval was granted then, but at the last minute. For the play Radio Muezzin by Stephan Kaegi for instance, which had a very successful run in Germany, the people responsible here at the institute had to hold very lengthy talks with the Ministry of Religion. It was not allowed to play in Cairo. Then, at a more or less closed performance, there really were people in the audience who wrote down the entire text.



The jubilation about the end of the Mubarak regime is mixed with sceptical voices: What if the Islamists now take over power? Or if the military doesn’t allow as many freedoms as it is now promising?

In my opinion, the military is the bigger problem by far. The military has ruled here since 1952, when the Egyptians drove the king from the country. Back then, it was supposed to be only a transitional government – but it never was. All of the ensuing governments came from the military. There is justified doubt that the military will support a transition to real democracy as it has promised. Then again, even the military leadership must realize that there is an entirely different awareness among the population now: It knows what it wants and particularly what it no longer wants. The danger that is said to come from the Muslim Brotherhood is, I think, highly exaggerated. In my opinion, at the moment at least they have no ambitions to take over power here and wouldn’t be capable of doing so on their own. It is ultimately an Islamic country, so why shouldn’t there be a Muslim party?

Should politicians in Europe and the United States have behaved differently? Should we reproach ourselves?

Of course, but there are very many similar cases all over the world that we could reproach ourselves over. In hindsight, we are always very clever. This goal oriented western policy is a far cry from the politicians’ Sunday sermons.

The interview was held by Anne-Kathrin Lange