20120119
Reuters
CAIRO (Reuters) - Thirty-one-year-old protester Ahmed Harara lost his sight fighting for the end of autocratic rule in Egypt but he still has a clear vision of the kind of democratic country he wants to live in.

A foot soldier in the uprising against Hosni Mubarak, he lost his first eye to birdshot pellets fired at him during the early days of the protests that unseated the Egyptian president nearly one year ago.

His other eye was destroyed months later in demonstrations demanding the removal of the military rulers who replaced him.

"Now everything is pitch black," he said in an interview at his Cairo home. "But I have no fear, either of dying or being disabled."

Harara has come to symbolise the struggle of Egyptians trying to keep alive a revolution many see as faltering. He says he is willing to go to the street again to press for the democratic change he says has yet to happen.

"Until now, none of the revolution's demands have been accomplished. The revolution was for social justice and respect of the citizen. Yet things have gotten worse," he said.

Harara talks today about the need to hold to account those responsible for killing and wounding protesters. No members of the security services have been convicted in connection with the violence.

Bringing them to justice will be one demand of protests planned for January 25, the first anniversary of the eruption of the revolt centred on Cairo's Tahrir Square.

"I call for another revolution. We will go to Tahrir and other public squares and wait until justice for the martyrs is served," said Harara.

A poster hanging on the wall of Harara's living room shows him wearing an eyepatch inscribed with "January 28", the fourth day of the uprising against Mubarak, when he lost his first eye.

X-rays presented by his mother show dozens of spherical birdshot pellets lodged into Harara's head, chest and eyes.

Before he was blinded, Harara worked as a dentist. Now he has learnt that his sight cannot be recovered, he will start learning how to live without vision. He plans to learn piano.

TENSION WITH MILITARY

Describing themselves as guardians of the revolution, the military council that replaced Mubarak has promised to surrender power to civilians by the end of June - a pledge many activists do not believe they will fully see through.

In a conciliatory gesture, the council is set to issue a statement honouring "the youth of the revolution", along with the army soldiers who manned the streets in the past year, sources in the army told Reuters.

Among those who may be honoured are AbdelRahman Mansour, an underground activist who helped mobilise the January 25 protests, and Mohamed Adel, a leading member of the April 6 movement.

Mansour and Adel are among a number of Egyptian youth who have been conscripted into the army in the past 10 months, which some analysts say is the army's attempt to keep tabs on young men at a time of upheaval.

The military has called on Egyptians to celebrate on January 25 and avoid trouble. But Harara said he and his fellow protesters would not shy away from fighting if they are attacked while protesting.

"We always go down to the street peacefully but we defend ourselves if needed," he said. "The revolution will continue either way. Whether two million go down to the street or just 300."