To my left, in front of the luxury hotel, I see people throwing stones towards police cars. The police are answering with shots that produce smoke – tear gas.
To my right, I see a Nile boat where young girls are dancing happily, accompanied by loud music.
A few minutes later, a father is showing off with his boat, drawing wide circles in the water at high speed. Yeah!
Suddenly, there is panic to my left. People are fleeing; the tear gas has reached the other end of the bridge. More police cars have arrived and are chasing away the protesters.
To my right, a young man has climbed to the top of a street lantern and is dancing on top of it. Suddenly, I hear a splash, and the lantern dancer has fallen into the Nile. To my surprise, he seems to have enjoyed the fall. He is laughing, and one minute later, he is climbing out of the water.
On my left, the protesters have returned again. More stones, more shots, more tear gas.
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Cairo, 14.9.2012, first posted on Facebook. Foto: Lorenz Khazaleh. Context: Of Stupid Men and Smart Machines