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Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Camels, horses & the revolution

One video that was shown over and over again on the television during Egypt's revolution was of men on horses and camels charging into the crowd of protesters in Tahrir Square.  
Top and bottom photos are from google images.


Here's a link to a video of the chaos that ensued when the animals charged into the crowd:

Stories circulated soon after this event that these horses and camels were from the Giza pyramids.  One rumor was that these riders might have been paid by pro-Mubarak forces to attack the Square.  Other people thought they were just desperate, angry people lashing out at the protesters blaming them for the disruption of the tourism industry, their only livelihood.   

One thing that was certain was that the people serving the Giza pyramids and other tourist attractions in Egypt   were hit very hard by the 18 days of the revolution, as well as the weeks that have followed.  Their jobs disappeared, the money to buy food for their families disappeared, and the money to buy food for their animals disappeared.  

One group has been helping to feed and care for the horses and camels at the Giza Pyramids during and after the revolution:  the Egyptian Society of Animal Friends [ESAF].    When they got to the pyramids, they found many animals near starvation.  Some of the animals couldn't be saved.  Here is an interview with Ahmed, the Chairman of ESAF, talking about their work at the Giza Pyramids.  

This video is available at this link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3gebPnaqPk

Below are some photos Ahmed sent from the recent clinics done by ESAF at the Giza pyramids.



Here are some photos from the Facebook page of ESAF showing the condition of the animals when they came to start the Giza pyramid clinics.




 If you'd like to learn more about ESAF, here is a link to their Facebook page:
  

1 comment:

  1. Thank you so much ESAF staff that you are in Egypt to protect those animals. The plight of animal cruelty is just rising to its peak every passing day.thank you again for your genuine care and hard-work.

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