29 Aug, 2011
Al-Ahram Weekly | Front Page | Flagging real change
The demonstration continued with zeal in front of the Israeli embassy. As protesters unsuccessfully targeted the flag on top of the embassy building with fireworks one young man took matters into his own hands. He decided to climb up the building, remove the blue and white symbol of Israel and replace it with the Egyptian flag.
By the time he climbed down safely “flagman”, as he had been dubbed on Twitter and Facebook, was a national hero. His name, Ahmed El-Shahat, was suddenly everywhere. The 24-year-old carpenter later told the hysterical media fighting over him that he has no political affiliations and was acting simply as “an Egyptian”. At home millions of his compatriots related to his words; across the Arab world millions more cheered. El-Shahat, as the Lebanese daily Assafir succinctly put it, had “scored a victory for Arab dignity”.
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