Welcome to Egypt

“Walk like an Egyptian.” “Trafalgar square = Tahrir Square.” Comparisons to the uprising then-underway in Egypt were aplenty at London’s anti-cuts protest in March 2011. No surprise there. For the first time since 1989, revolutionary fervor was crossing national boundaries, challenging authoritarianism in the name of democracy.

Who else would leftwing demonstrators be referring to? Though their struggles were markedly different, the courage of Egyptian and Tunisian activists was a shot in the arm for European progressives squaring off with their own austerity-minded governments. This wall print, in Berlin’s Neukoelln district, is but one example.

Photograph courtesy of Joel Schalit