A social media campaign of mobile phone selfies quickly went viral on Wednesday after the members of the group, ‘Street Children’, were detained for 15 days on Tuesday.
The six-member group, known as “Atfal al–Shawarei” in Arabic, films mostly satirical, selfie-style videos that tackle different social phenomena. Their last video directly poked fun at the president and his supporters.
Hundreds took to social media as a means to express their support for the group, and objection to their detention. By posting the hashtag ‘Does the phone camera shake you?’ along with personal selfies, social media users and activists called for freedom for the Street Children.
Popular Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef joined the campaign by posting a picture and a video in support of the group and criticising the arrest of its members. In his video, Youssef said, “You really are not scared” in reference to President Sisi who recently said in a speech, “I don’t get scared”.
Abdelrahman Mansour, who is the admin of the well-known Facebook page “We are all Khaled Said” that contributed to the initial spark of the 2011 Uprising which toppled former President Hosni Mubarak, also joined the solidarity campaign.
“They’re witty, funny and use an iPhone… but this seemed too threatening for state security,” he wrote.
“A hashtag and selfie campaign has been launched … demanding their immediate release but also asking the current regime why it feels so threatened by children with a Camera?” Mansour asked.
Political scientist Amr Hamzawy also commented on the arrest in a tweet saying that in “the republic of fear the citizen is not but a source of noise that deserves gagging”.
Various forms of support have been exhibited over the past months for young detainees who have either been detained during protests, from cafes, from their homes or have already received prison sentences and languish behind bars.
