Mina Daniel in Tahrir Square during the 18-day uprising (Photo: Eduardo Castaldo)
In a campaign called “Martyrs in demand...write your will against the military,” activists on Twitter encouraged all revolutionaries to post their will on the social networking site Monday and Tuesday.
The activists, who began the campaign, said they drew their inspiration from young activist Mina Daniel who was killed during the violent attack on demonstrators at Maspero, which left at least 25 dead. Speaking to friends in the wake of the 18-day uprising, Daniel stated that if he was do die, his “will” is that his friends march his coffin to Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the Egyptian Revolution. And so, his friends decided to do exactly that after his funeral last week.
“Death has become so near and we are all ready to die for Egypt,” the group wrote on Twitter. “You need to publicly speak out against the repression of the military, not just their army trucks and rifles, but also their hypocritical use of the media. Write and write...so that the world can see how ‘martyrs in demand’ record their wills. This is an open invitation for everyone to document their will.”
Activists began the campaign, writing their will to, among other things, donate their organs to medical research or to sick people who need them. They also demanded that if they were to die, other Egyptians continue the path of the revolution and punish those who killed them, so their deaths might not be in vain. Furthermore, many echoed Mina’s wish and asked that a funeral march be held for them in Tahrir Square, while others went further and asked to be buried there.
“I ask you to do evil to the [military] council and good for Egypt,” one revolutionary wrote. “I also want to be buried in a mixed Muslim and Christian burial site.”
“Do not trust the military and do not think that any good will come from the Muslim Brotherhood,” one of the revolutionaries wrote in his will. “And never give Tahrir Square up; it is the only guarantee that the revolution will succeed.”
“Bury me in the grassy island in the square,” another wrote.
“Do not be sad when I die and always be happy so that you may be able to continue,” stated another will. “And please donate my eyes to those who were blinded during the revolution so that they can see the future for me.”
“I want a funeral march around Tahrir Square especially in front of the Egyptian Museum because I almost died there during the Battle of the Camel (2 February), and I want you to tie the Egyptian flag on my neck,” wrote another ‘martyr in demand.’
“Do not put my photo on Facebook so that my mother doesn’t cry and write on my grave that I died fighting for a country that has justice, freedom, dignity and mercy,” another activist wrote.
While most of the comments were sombre, others took a lighter tone.
“If I die crushed (by an army truck), don’t forget to get vengeance for me and there are LE200 in my drawer, please take them and buy Ice Cream for all my followers, because they are good people,” joked one.
“I want a funeral march in Tahrir Square and I want to be buried anywhere except my hometown, because I hate my relatives and don’t want to be buried with them,” joked another.
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