January 25 revolution

Egypt: Soldiers planted flowers in Tahrir Square

CAIRO — Tahrir Square has been cleaned up. One day last week soldiers laid new turf in the central traffic island, and the next day they planted flowers. A day after that they erected a huge banner that confirmed the army’s commitment to the people and the goals of the revolution, but when I returned…

By Lisa Goldman April 24, 2011

Cairo metro map with the station name "Mubarak" scratched off

Removing the Mubarak name from public places

Egypt is gradually entering the post-Mubarak era. Yesterday I photographed this route map on a Cairo subway: the name of Mubarak Station had been scratched out, and someone had scrawled over it the word “martyrs” in green ink. Since the January 25 revolution, this type of defacement has been a common sight in Cairo public…

By Lisa Goldman April 21, 2011

Shebin textile factory worker

Egypt: Revolution’s benefits passed over factory workers

Forty percent of Egyptians live below the poverty line; and many of them are factory workers like the ones in Shebin, a town two hours north of Cairo by car. Despite having played an active role in the events leading up to the deposing of Hosni Mubarak, they are still working full time for a…

By Lisa Goldman April 20, 2011

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This man said he voted for the first time in 30 years because 'this time, it means something.' (photo: Lisa Goldman)

At one Cairo polling station, voting ‘because it has meaning’

On 19 March Egyptians voted on a package of constitutional amendments. There was a sense of exuberance on the streets, with total strangers smiling and asking each other how they had voted – ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ For many, it was their first experience in participatory democracy; for others, it was the first time they bothered…

By Lisa Goldman March 19, 2011

Egyptian license plates (photo: Sarah Carr/Flickr)

Update on crowd-funded journalism for Egypt reporting trip

Last week, I initiated an experiment in crowd-funded journalism with this blog post. In it, I described my first trip to Cairo in 2009, my feelings at watching the revolution from afar, and the obstacles that freelance journalists face in finding enough commissions to pay for journalism that involves traveling abroad. I ended by announcing…

By Lisa Goldman March 15, 2011

Revolutionary graffiti on a Cairo wall (photo: Sarah Carr/Flickr)

How to send a +972 reporter to Egypt via crowd-sourced funding

My first visit to Cairo, as described in this post, was a memorable experience. Not being there for the uprising that toppled Mubarak was a painful one. The revolution is ongoing, though, and it’s an amazing story that I would love to write about for +972 Magazine. But ours is a self-financed media shop, staffed…

By Lisa Goldman March 7, 2011