Ahmed Salah, like many in Egypt, didn鈥檛 think the protests called for Jan. 25, 2011, would be big. But he was wrong. As the protests turned into an uprising, he quit his job at Egypt鈥檚 stock exchange and devoted his time to the movement. Even after Mubarak was toppled, he kept coming to Tahrir Square. He helped form a group that has tried to unite the revolutionary forces. But the fight is still far from over, he says.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 an anniversary,鈥� he says of Jan. 25. 鈥淎n anniversary is for something that has ended. We started the revolution, but we鈥檙e still completing it.鈥�
When Army tanks rolled into Cairo鈥檚 streets after the police force collapsed during the revolution, Salah says he feared the military would become the next dictator. 鈥淎t the moment people said, 'The people and the Army are one hand,鈥� I knew the revolution would take a long time,鈥� he said, referring to a popular slogan during the uprising.
Despite this, he鈥檚 optimistic that Egyptians 鈥� hundreds of whose fellow citizens lost their lives in the revolution 鈥� will eventually succeed. 鈥淚 am a believer," he says. "I believe that God is fair.鈥�
