celebration and inspiration - saturday 22nd october - occupy lsx (part 1)

A week ago, St Paul's Occupy LSX camp was visited by the brilliant author and life-long activist, Dr Nawal Al Saawadi, one of the outstanding voices and faces of the Egyptian revolution.  She came to share her own experiences, and words of encouragement.  She urged the campers not to be moved, to stay for as long as they needed to, and to believe the struggle would not be in vain.  Visiting the camp on her 80th birthday, she refuted that this was a movement of the youth - it is, she stated, 'everyone's revolution'.  

As she moved about the camp, she was followed like a sage dispensing wisdom to adoring followers.  Which , I guess, is almost exactly the case.  What was also lovely was how she was also inspired by the existence of the camp, and the Occupy movement around the world - she motioned to the camp:

"To me, this feels like Tahrir Square...being here is like living a dream"

Rather than try to reproduce her simple but totally rousing words of encouragement and inspiration here, i'll post the videos and photos i shot (some videoing was secured with the help of kind and willing people nearby, as i went crazy with my other camera).  i also point you to the first edition of Occupied Times, which features an interview with the doctor ('this is not a revolution').  

I got the chance to chat to Dr Nawal a little, which was at once awe-inspiring but also somehow normal as she just spoke to everyone with such ease and not a bit of remove.  She said she may use a few of my photos in an article she was going home to write (if i believed in being nonchalant about stuff, i'd apply that here - but i totally don't, so i am super-excited at this possibility).

Right, I'll leave the rest to the photos and videos (more videos will follow once they've finished uploading to photobucket. flickr - sort it out, with your 1.30 limit on videos!), though with the final word to Dr Nawal: 

"Hope is power...we will win!"