Diaries of an Online Activist

The Arab spring and the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Syria and Bahrain turned me from a spectator into an activist. As I was following news of the Tunisian's uprising which turned into a revolution and spread to the rest of the Arab world, my Arabism, patriotism and zeal grew which got me hooked to the TV and laptop for endless hours, following events,  engaging in debates and expressing my views. My days suddenly turned into nights and I wouldn't realize it till the first rays of sun crept on me announcing the arrival of a new day.


I became an online activist, initially overtaken by the Egyptian revolution when I started my activism on Facebook. As the revolution in Yemen started to evolve and was filling the news along with the Libyan one, I shifted from the Egyptian revolution, since Mubarak was ousted and besides there were so many other hundreds of thousands covering it, and I started focusing instead on the rest of the Arab revolutions, but mainly Yemen's and hence I shifted from Facebook to twitter, which I felt was more dynamic and powerful.


Twitter transfered me to many places at once. I felt I was in Tahrir in Cairo, in Benghazi in Libya, in Change square is Sanaa, in Hama in Syria and in Manama in Bahrain. Just by following a certain timeline I heard the chants and the explosions and I felt the pain of the wounded and the loss of the martyrs.


I was actually apprehensive at first and worried when Yemen's revolution started. Yemen has the highest gun per capita ratio after the US and I thought it will turn into a blood bath from day one, but was pleasantly surprised, and so was the rest of the world. It turned into the most peaceful revolution of the Arab Spring due to the protesters commitment to peace, despite the regimes violence and killings. I never imagined the revolution would drag this long, nor for the suffering to be this severe. I pray for a peaceful resolve soon, although I doubt it will be a peaceful one, nor soon. 


I was taught to stand for what is right and fight for what I believe in and was fortunate enough to travel the world and have a good education. I hope all the people in Yemen will soon enjoy this right. Therefore I used all my knowledge and skills to speak out and advocate for the freedom and democracy of my country, and so did many other Yemeni activists in Yemen and abroad. We joined our efforts and collaborated to support Yemen and the revolution and together we will persevere, despite anyone or anything. 


Before the Arab Spring started I was a wife and a mother of four (one is in heaven) and that was my main job. I suddenly became a full time online activist, an addicted twitter and a blogger besides all my other duties. I can't wait for all this chaos and violence to end, for everyone to enjoy safety and stability, to move on and start rebuilding. We all want and need peace and stability in our lives and soon.

I salute all online activists and stand in awe for the freedom fighters who suffered and struggled, advocating for change in their country, I pray for the ones who were in the front lines and paid the price with their lives, blood, sweat and tears. May God bless all the revolutionaries in the Arab spring and beyond and have mercy on those who sacrificed their lives for all of us to live a better life. We will win and we owe it to them to make our countries better.

Peace