mid-term 2011 pictures

Yuri Kozyrev: My Year On Revolution Road

In 2011, Yuri Kozyrev traveled to seven countries covering protests and uprisings for TIME  including Egypt, Bahrain, Libya, Yemen, Russia, Greece and Tunisia. Here, he writes about the remarkable experience and what all the revolutions had in common. Its unique that I’ve been able to cover all these uprisings and revolutions during the year. I’m lucky its incredibly complicated to understand where you need to go when you are  on the ground  and I was lucky to have a lot of help. The protests were well under way when I got to Tahrir Square in late January  and their size and scope took my breath away  in two decades of covering the Middle East I had never encountered anything like this.

 There was huge fighting between the pro-government supports and revolutionaries. Some of the journalists were beaten. Some of them lost their cameras. They kicked me out but I managed to get back in the next morning. I saw a lot of families not just young men or revolutionaries and everyone was helping each other  praying together.

 It was a great time. Everybody was waiting for Mubarak to make the right decision and suddenly it happened. And it was so emotional people crying shouting screaming  it was incredible. The next morning it was over. The army was kicking everyone out. They weren’t friendly there was a feeling of You got what you wanted. Now get out.

 Of all the revolutions I covered Egypt was the most special. 

The mood at the Pearl Roundabout in Bahrain was very different from Tahrir Square. In the first days I saw men in white robes approach police with flowers offerings of peace the response was tear-gas and live rounds. There was a huge difference between this army and the Egyptian army. People from Bahrain there was no way they could even talk to the army who had arrived from Saudi Arabia.

 There was no way for me to get to Pearl Square, so a few journalists and I watched what was happening from the hotel. There was one hospital where all the protesters were gathered together. And then the doctors did something incredible. Not all of them supported the protesters but they gave them shelter at the hospital and saved a lot of lives. I had a chance to go back to Bahrain after they demolished Pearl Square and again a few weeks ago and I saw young people who'd lost one eye to rubber bullets. It was just so sad and I just saw some of them. I know there were many more.

http://lightbox.time.com/2011/12/14/person-of-the-year-2011-revolution/#8

And if u would like to know anymore bout it just watch this