Chaos of covering an ever-changing#Egyptaljazeera.com/news/middleeas…
 |
| As violence escalates in Cairo's Tahrir Square, reporting the news is a challenge [AFP] |
It is past nightfall in central Cairo, and the air is heavy with the smoky haze of tear gas that scours the senses and makes each gasp for air feel as though it may be the last.
The piercing wail of ambulance sirens is ever-present, and the angry chants of several thousand protesters demanding an end to military rule is near-deafening. The intermittent popping sounds of what could either be gunshots or exploding tear gas canisters form the chaotic symphony of sound in today’s Tahrir Square.
In the midst of this backdrop, I am searching for my next story idea when hundreds upon hundreds of panicked Egyptians turn and charge directly towards me. My instinct is to run, but my feet remain rooted to the ground as my brain tries to insert logic in an otherwise illogical situation.
The few seconds that it takes for my instinct to overpower my logic feels like an eternity, but I join the masses and run from the same unknown threat. In front of us are thousands of people, hands outstretched and faces panicked as they scream at us to stop. Inexplicably, we do. While it may have been a false alarm this time, often the encroaching danger posed by the security forces is real.
This scene will repeat itself dozens of times throughout the course of the evening, in a strange dance of two steps forward and a terrified near-stampede backward.
When calm prevails, I find myself standing among wounded protesters, just returned from the front line of clashes with Egyptian security forces.
'Beyond my control'
