When you’re young and living in Cairo during a state of emergency with a military-enforced 7 p.m. curfew, how do you cope? The answer: lots of tweeting. We took a closer look at what Cairene social butterflies are talking about now that they can’t eat out at restaurants, drink in bars or puff on hookahs at cafes late into the night.
Egyptians have created a curfew community on Twitter to share their soundtrack to the country’s latest uprising, along with recipes, tips on relieving boredom and occasional selfies of being out on the streets past 7 p.m.
During Curfew: Watching movies..Check Chatting..Check Reading..Check Eating..Check Eating..Check EATING..Full can't even write Check.
— Yara (@Yara_Abdelhady) August 19, 2013
The #egycurfewplaylist is trending on Twitter, as Egyptians use songs to tell the world how they feel about the curfew. Spoiler alert: They don’t feel good about it. Check out our curfew playlist below with the most mentioned songs.
The songs are depressing. 30 Seconds to Mars is the top artist, and Egyptians added the band’s songs “Do or Die” and “Hurricane” to the list. Lana Del Rey came in second with “Summertime Sadness.” It doesn’t get any more optimistic—third place goes to Coldplay’s “Yellow.” Egyptians also gave a few shout-outs to Queen with “I Want to Break Free” and “Don’t Try Suicide.” But even in lockdown, some Egyptians refused to lose their sense of humor. REM’s “Losing My Religion” made it on the list, as did ABBA’s “SOS.”
But not every Egyptian is at home making the 21st-century version of a bad mix tape. Some brave souls simply refuse to obey the curfew. The country is in deep political turmoil, and leaving home after 7 p.m. could mean a police beatdown and arrest. But principles matter. And boredom is a killer.
This guy spent his curfew at a cafe called Mug Shot. Hopefully General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi isn’t checking Foursquare.
To hell with the curfew (@ Mug shot) http://t.co/n67OEabOWH
— Mohamed Rashwan (@Rashwan3) August 19, 2013
These girls are breaking curfew to avoiding gaining “the curfew 15.”
Egyptian Men: Do not worry! We're breaking the curfew for your own good! #nofats #alwaysthin @RanaEdward pic.twitter.com/9UiWFaAky2
— Menna Zahra (@MennaZahra) August 19, 2013
This journalist provided multiple tweets about his daring trip to buy iced tea.
I'm going to violate the curfew now & embark on a march of civil disobedience to the kiosk down the street. #Curfew #HouseArrest
— Jano Charbel (@JanoCharbel) August 19, 2013
Violating #curfew on Makram Ebeid Street. Feels good to break the law for the sake of a stroll & an ice-tea! pic.twitter.com/F0CD3MX6X0
— Jano Charbel (@JanoCharbel) August 19, 2013
Team members of a digital creative agency in Cairo called The Planet decided to defy curfew and invited all Cairenes to join them “just as long as he or she is against SCAF [Supreme Council of the Armed Forces], felool [remnants of Hosni Mubarak’s regime] and MB.” They planned a series of post-curfew events called #fuckcurfewnights. Monday’s event was a screening of the film Spring Breakers, and Wednesday’s was a training session on HTML and CSS. For the final night of curfew, Tarek Shalaby, creative director at The Planet, is offering a Marketing 101 class.
But the majority of Egyptians tweeting at home are spending their curfews eating, sleeping—and complaining about only being able to sleep and eat.
اكل أكل نوم أكل نوم أكل نوم أكل نوم نوم أكل #حظر التجول
— أسمـــــآ (@Asoomzabdulmtal) August 19, 2013
“Eat eat eat eat sleep sleep sleep sleep sleep eat eat #curfew.”
Check out our Egyptian curfew playlist. Cue the tears.
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