BEFORE REVOLUTION

00:00:30:05 There comes a time when a man, confronted by a police charge does not retreat. At that precise moment the threshold of fear is crossed and a revolution is born. This was written by a journalist called Kapuscinski with reference to the Iranian Islamic Revolution in 1979. 00:00:48:16 (voice over)

00:00:55:03 In November 2010, a few months before that threshold was crossed, we were in Cairo to report on the hopes and frustrations of a people that had been in front of a junction for years: to change everything or never to change. 00:01:10:11 (voice over)

00:01:14:07 We could not have known that they would have chosen so suddenly which path to follow. Maybe even they could not imagine it. 00:01:22:06 (voice over)

00:01:26:10 Before Revolution 00:01:29:23 (title)

00:01:32:06 I truly love working class areas 00:01:38:08 because you feel life and festivities

00:01:43:12 more in such areas 00:01:48:03 For example during Ramadan 00:01:53:12 if you go to afluent areas 00:01:56:09 such as Masr el Gedida, Nasr City and so on, 00:01:59:10 you cannot feel that it is Ramadan. 00:02:06:05 If you want to go out in the street after the iftar 00:02:05:05 or during the suhur, 00:02:06:15 and see the people and the children 00:02:08:09 play in the street 00:02:10:05 the best thing to do is to go to Sayyda Zeynab 00:02:13:03 or to Helmya el Gedida; 00:02:14:24 to Sharia Muhammed Ali, 00:02:16:24 where there are ful sellers 00:02:19:18 or other vendors during suhur. 00:02:22:01 That is life 00:02:22:15 not like in the rich quarters 00:02:28:23 like Masr el Gelida or Zamalek. 00:02:32:01 Here you find 00:02:33:23 everyone indoors 00:02:36:22 and that is it. 00:02:39:00 While in the less 00:02:41:07 affluent areas 00:02:43:19 you find all the people 00:02:46:21 in the street. 00:02:50:03

00:03:15:23 In order to tell the story of the city, we had chosen to speak with taxi drivers, who could describe the country better? 00:03:23:11 (voice over)

00:03:25:14 In Egypt the rate of unemployment is close to 20% and even people in employment have trouble getting by 00:03:33:03 (voice over)

00:03:37:05 so the taxis are a lifeline of extra earnings. A lifeline that costs at least an extra 6 hours of work to be added to the normal 10 hour day. 00:03:46:22 (voice over)

00:03:47:22 Every taxi driver has a story to tell, loves to talk about the world and its problems to kill the long hours spent in the traffic. 00:03:55:21 (voice over)

00:03:57:15 Cairo is a city of 00:03:59:24 14 million people. 00:04:01:22 I love my job 00:04:04:04 The fact of knowing people, 00:04:06:09 of listening to their stories. 00:04:08:07 Swapping opinions 00:04:10:08 on a subject. 00:04:13:12 In the end it becomes a place 00:04:14:21 in which to pass the time. 00:04:16:12

00:04:18:08 Their voices, a mixture of naivety, poetry, discontent, sarcasm, alienation, told us about a people stuck at the junction, blocked by a resignation that in a very short while would turn into anger. (voice over) 00:04:33:00

00:04:33:10 My dream was to finish a secondary technical school and go to Germany and to marry a blonde girl, blue eyes, yellow hair, white face and work in a company like Mercedes, Wolkswagen, Opel, any… and have part-time study in a technical institutes, and a small house, one kid, even a boy or a girl, small car, that’s it, this was my dream 00:05:10:10 (taxi drivers voice)

00:05:19:00 Thank God 00:05:21:08 One day we eat ful and tameya, 00:05:23:14 one day potatoes 00:05:25:00 one day we go hungry, 00:05:28:05 we get by. 00:05:29:18

00:05:30:16 There are a lot of Egyptians 00:05:33:12 that die to reach Italy. 00:05:36:22 The lads, who drown at sea, 00:05:40:21 have paid to get to Italy. 00:05:43:15

00:05:45:14 the middleclass has been swept away. 00:06:00:07

00:06:03:01 When was there a middle class? 00:06:06:12 A long time ago. 00:06:08:13 In the times of Abd el Nasser, of Sadat. 00:06:11:21

00:06:15:03 And what has happened today? 00:06:16:12 It’s not there. It is finished. 00:06:17:19 Why? 00:06:19:02

00:06:32:03 I used to be an accountant. 00:06:34:07 I have a degree in economics and business. 00:06:41:07 I worked for a variety of private companies, 00:06:46:09 but there was little work 00:06:50:15 and the pay was low. 00:06:56:15 So I bought this taxi 00:06:58:08 and started working. 00:07:01:08 You know, I have come to accept it. 00:07:04:10 I am a well educated person, 00:07:07:09 but education is useless now. 00:07:12:21 It is only useful for talking to people, 00:07:16:01 or when you go 00:07:17:16 and ask for a woman’s hand in marriage. 00:07:19:17 They ask you if you are educated. 00:07:20:24 “Yes I am educated” 00:07:23:06 “Do you have a degree?” “Yes I have a degree”. 00:07:25:10 But in the end do you know what I do with it? 00:07:27:19 I hang it on my wall in a nice frame. 00:07:31:22 And then in the end what job do you do? 00:07:33:04 Anything. 00:07:34:16 But there is nothing to be ashamed of. 00:07:36:09 Better than doing nothing 00:07:39:09 or waiting for a government job 00:07:43:14 that is barely sufficient to survive on. 00:07:47:21 While today 00:07:49:14 I am prepared to take on any job. 00:07:53:14 Not only taxi driving, also carpentry, 00:07:57:12 meccanic, electrician…anything. 00:08:00:15 The important thing 00:08:03:05 is to stay afloat. 00:08:05:13

00:08:06:22 In Cairo it was forbidden to film the streets and even more so the people that inhabited them. Preventive censorship. A government authorisation was required but even then freedom remained very limited. The police, with their white uniforms and black moustaches were everywhere, ready to intervene at the sight of a camera that was not pointed towards the Nile or the pyramids.  We pretended to be tourists, but frequently, while we were stuck in traffic people in neighbouring cars shouted at us to stop filming. (voice over) 00:08:40:22 

00:08:40:24 He thought you wanted 00:08:42:11 to give the country a bad image 00:08:45:16

00:08:47:07 Filming anything other than the tourist destinations was an act of which to be wary, a threat, a sign of insubordination. (voice over) 00:08:55:07

00:08:58:08 I was talking about my private life 00:09:03:19 and that guy hadn’t understood… 00:09:07:07 Didn’t you ask me what my job was? 00:09:10:07 And what did I answer? 00:09:13:01 That I am a teacher! 00:09:15:13 And then you asked me 00:09:18:02 why I work as a taxi driver as well 00:09:20:21 and I told you for the money…its not enough 00:09:24:15 and so I have to have another job 00:09:26:09 to be able to survive, is it not so? 00:09:27:22 Because I have two children, 00:09:29:05 and I have to pay for the school, private lessons. 00:09:31:12

00:09:36:08 The weight of Islam has increased progressively since the 1970s when the project of a

society based on secular values had failed to result in widespread prosperity. Denouncing

rampant corruption is one of the main policies of the Muslim Brotherhood. For them “Islam is

the solution”. For decades the regime has held an ambivalent attitude towards the brotherhood,

at times inviting them to elections, other times violently repressing its activists. Some people talk

about them with suspicion others with great admiration. Everyone agrees on one thing though:

that the regime must fall. (voice over) 00:10:17:07

00:10:19:09 Last Thursday someone in front of me 00:10:22:14 stopped suddenly and I crashed into him. 00:10:26:00 I had to pay the damage from my own poket. 00:10:30:14 And a couple of weeks ago, 00:10:33:01 a policeman made me pay 00:10:34:18 1000 lira for having reversed a bit, 00:10:38:20 and there was even a chance of going to prison, 00:10:42:24 but thank God in the end they didn’t arrest me. 00:10:45:12 And what had you done that was so bad? 00:10:47:18 I had reversed a bit 00:10:49:16 and he fined me for driving the wrong way. 00:10:51:24 Lets say there is a bit of oppression around here. 00:10:54:01 I told him, 00:10:54:23 “you only saw me reverse 00:10:56:00 a few meters” 00:10:57:03 and he said 00:10:58:21 “go forward”, 00:11:00:02 but that would have meant a huge detour. 00:11:02:04 So, for God to assist me, 00:11:05:09 I pulled out 20-30 lire to put them in his pocket. 00:11:08:20 But instead he took 1000 lira. That’s it. 00:11:10:18 Now there is a lot of corruption in Egypt. 00:11:16:02 The conditions of people are difficult. 00:11:21:00

00:11:24:14 Perhaps the Muslim Brotherhood 00:11:27:01 wants to change this 00:11:29:04 and give greater freedom. 00:11:33:05

00:11:35:15 Corruption is the other face of poverty. Taxi drivers have taught us that “rashwa” means bribe. A murtashi is someone who takes bribes. From the top to the bottom of the social pyramid there are bribe takers large and small. Victims and in turn executioners of those lower down than them. The police is identified as the greatest oppressor, the ultimate murtashi, the shadow of the government on the streets of the country. (voice over) 00:12:04:00

00:12:10:01 Isn’t the father responsible for his sons? 00:12:20:00 The government is like the father: 00:12:23:06 he is responsible for the people 00:12:25:17 that are like his sons. 00:12:28:03 Who are you going to tell? 00:12:30:14 Did you go to vote? 00:12:33:15 Honestly 00:12:35:12 I have nothing much to do with the elections. 00:12:38:16 I have never had the opportunity 00:12:39:23 to go and vote. 00:12:41:20 Elections are generally organised 00:12:43:12 by the same people. 00:12:44:22 Today the country is ruled 00:12:47:07 by them not the people. 00:12:50:01 In Iran the elections were rigged, 00:12:53:15 in Kuwait as well. They cheat everywhere. 00:12:56:21

00:13:23:11 Thank God 00:13:25:08 I stay well away from elections. 00:13:28:07 I don’t even think 00:13:29:20 about getting a voting card. 00:13:32:03 Because I know how it would end. 00:13:33:21 Whether you vote or not it’s the same thing. 00:13:40:23 Nothing changes. 00:13:45:22

00:13:47:20 Not one step forward or back. 00:13:50:02

00:13:53:02 But something must change 00:13:58:07 Nothing in the world is immutable (Quranic citation) 00:14:01:11

00:14:12:19 A new law has been passed 00:14:14:19 to introduce taxi meters. 00:14:16:22 But no taxi meter is going 00:14:20:05 to feed the taxi driver. 00:14:23:01

00:14:31:18 I ask for a certain sum 00:14:35:01 depending on the customer 00:14:40:01 I am dealing with, and based on politeness, 00:14:42:24 respect and what means 00:14:45:07 he has to compensate me. 00:14:47:20 If someone doesn’t pay he must take it up with God. 00:14:52:19 Never argue. 00:14:54:06 Because then a fight will only lead 00:14:56:04 to rudeness without earning a lira. 00:15:00:10 You will probably end up at the police station 00:15:02:22 because it is known that the taxi driver 00:15:04:17 belongs to the dishonest class. 00:15:06:20 How can you know 00:15:07:21 if the customer is an army official, 00:15:10:16 an official, a managing director, 00:15:12:04 a judge, 00:15:13:16 a police lawyer, 00:15:15:02 a policeman? 00:15:16:17

00:15:47:16 Young people were the most forthcoming in telling us foreigners about their lives and the

desire for change. Young men, grown up under the thirty year Mubarak regime, were ever more

restless in front of the intolerable economical disparity between the elite and the rest of the country.

Angry and frustrated young men without a specific religious or ideological connotation, claim

above all the recognition of their role within society. (voice over) 00:16:15:13

00:16:41:17 Here we are denied our right 00:16:44:05 to a dignified life. 00:16:46:21 The powerful have

a huge amount of money. 00:16:54:09 So much money 00:16:56:00 that if they spent their entire life

00:16:59:09 tearing it up and throwing it away 00:17:02:17 the money would still not finish. 00:17:10:01

This is what has exhausted us in this country. 00:17:13:02 The people in power are terrible. 00:17:15:16

00:17:43:01 Today people are afraid of revolting. 00:17:47:11 Today if there is a mobilisation anywhere, 00:17:53:12 lots of police arrive with armoured vehicles: 00:17:56:18 its called the Central Security force. 00:17:59:05 So if someone gets the idea of organizing 00:18:00:19 a demonstration or anything similar 00:18:04:05 he can’t…he can’t even think about it. 00:18:09:17 Do you understand? 00:18:11:00

00:18:12:10 They make barriers everywhere, 00:18:16:01 preventing people from meeting. 00:18:20:12 Then they block them 00:18:22:00 because if the demonstration moves, 00:18:25:16 all the people in the street would join it. 00:18:29:22 And it would grow. 00:18:31:05 And if it grows we will ask for our rights and… 00:18:36:20 and they don’t want that. 00:18:40:16 They don’t want you to think. 00:18:45:19 Survive, eat, drink, and that’s it. 00:18:48:20 You can do nothing else. 00:18:50:19

00:19:09:02 I have never been to a demonstration, 00:19:10:17 but once I saw one. 00:19:12:07 At the University of Cairo, 00:19:16:23 once I had a customer that 00:19:18:24 I dropped close by and I found a demonstration. 00:19:22:24 Kids coming out of the university 00:19:27:02 wanted to demonstrate. 00:19:29:07 I saw the security cutting them off 00:19:32:09 to stop the demonstration growing. 00:19:35:09 Then I saw a young man 00:19:38:04 throw a rock at them. 00:19:42:23 The rock could have broken my car so I left. 00:19:48:16 If I had got out of the car 00:19:51:13 I could have suffered a lot of problems. 00:19:55:09 That is not my car and 00:19:57:09 I must look after it above all 00:19:59:12 because it is not mine 00:20:01:03 and because it is my source of income. 00:20:04:10 That is why I did not join the demonstration. 00:20:06:22 But if I were to find one in the street while 00:20:08:10 I was on foot I would join, I would not say no. 00:20:11:03 I would not be scared. I would go. 00:20:13:16 There are plenty of people with the same idea 00:20:17:20 but the way they live makes them say 00:20:22:20 “enough, I will live like this. 00:20:24:04 Why should I go to a demonstration? 00:20:28:06 What if they catch me and arrest me? 00:20:31:19 I have a home and a whole family to feed. 00:20:37:08 Who will feed them? 00:20:39:05 Who will give them money to dress themselves? 00:20:41:06 So everyone says… 00:20:42:23 

00:20:46:16 until we became like this. 00:20:49:01 We did this to ourselves. 00:20:53:21

00:20:55:24 Because if we all were to stop 00:21:00:14 and say no in a great demonstration, 00:21:03:18 the government would do 00:21:06:08 what we tell them to do. 00:21:08:16 But because we remain silent, they… 00:21:11:07

00:21:13:02 they have our heads under their feet. 00:21:15:19

00:21:24:16 Having returned to Italy we were editing this report, when news of the revolt came from news channels around the world. Their words, their tone and their expressions stored in our memory cards suddenly changed value. And they taught us to have faith. (voice over) 00:21:41:03

00:21:57:18 written and directed by Lorenzo Cioffi, Matteo Parisini, Ernesto Pagano (credits) 00:22:05:03

00:22:09:08 director of photography Lorenzo Cioffi (credits) 00:22:14:16

00:22:22:02 edited by Matteo Parisini (credits) 00:22:28:15

00:22:44:05 interviews by Ernesto Pagano (credits) 00:22:49:10 voice Roland Daguerre 00:22:55:22 produced by LADOC 00:23:00:02