Tamer Shaaban, Saudi Arabia/Egypt

Activists under 30

Chapter 11

Human Rights Activism

Hala Kamaliddin

lthough he was born in Buffalo, New York, Shaaban spent most of his life Ain Saudi Arabia with frequent visits to his parents’ homeland, Egypt. At the age of 16, Shaaban visited the Egyptian pyramids, where he shot his first experimental film with his father’s old handycam. Ever since then, he’s been intrigued by the idea of combining technology and film to create thought-pro- voking stories. Born to a software engineer (father) and an agricultural engineer (moth- er), Shaaban decided to study computer science. In May 2011, he completed a bachelor’s degree in computer science at the Georgia Institute of Technolo- gy, in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A., during which he studied film and spent a year in Cairo studying physics and psychology. During his studies, Shaaban also founded Mantis Films, where he created independent films that earned him multiple awards and international recog- nition. He was named one of YSA and the Huffington Post’s 25 Most Powerful and Influential Young People in the World, nominated for a Forbes’ 30 Un- der 30, and was an Honorary Speaker for the Amnesty International Annual AGM and a Microsoft Thinkweek published author. At the age of 22, Tamer Shaaban became a global activist for publishing a video on the 2011 Egyptian revolution. Backed with technical expertise and a passion for positive change, 80 Hala Kamaliddin

Shaaban is an award-winning filmmaker with projects on gender equality and human rights.

Activism Ignited On January 25, 2011, tens of thousands of people marched to Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, demanding the then-president of the republic, Hosni Mubar- ak, to step down. Mubarak, who ruled the country for 30 years, deployed the army to crush the protests, only to drive more Egyptians to the streets. People set up camp in Tahrir Square. Clashes ensued between government forces and protestors. Thousands were injured and arrested. Eighteen days later, on Feb- ruary 11, protesters marched to the Presidential Palace, forcing Mubarak to fi- nally step down, granting the Egyptian people what they had so long desired. It was on that ‘Day of Revolt’ that 22-year-old Egyptian-American filmmaker, writer, blogger, and actor Tamer Shaaban dove into news footage of the uprising. “I remember those streets in Cairo, where it all happened,” he says. The result was a 2:15-minute video montage that reflects Egyptians’ frustrations with the ruling regime. Moved to tears by their plight, Shaaban decided to post his film online. It went viral. Over two and a half million people watched the film. It was shared on YouTube, Reddit, Facebook and Twitter. News organizations around the world featured the film, including the Huffington Post. People wanted to know the activist behind the video. It was through his film, amongst the many efforts of other Egyptians, that carried the voices of the uprising in Egypt, and helped them echo across the globe. Shortly after the publication of Shaaban’s film, the video was banned in Egypt. He was prohibited from entering the country, a ban that was lifted after Mubarak’s resignation. The young filmmaker never spoke out against Mubarak, though; he merely showed the struggles of the Egyptian people under the dictator’s regime. Shaaban’s focus is to give those problems a ‘face’. “We can connect better with the individual than the mass,” he says. Three days after the Egyptian uprising, one of Shaaban’s friends and a relative, a 27-year-old Egyptian, was leaving a hospital after a lengthy illness when he was caught in the line of fire and shot at point-blank range in the street. “He’s my hero,” says the filmmaker. This incident inspired Shaaban to shoot his next film, The World Calls for Peace. This 2:20-minute video shows people from different ethnicities voice their support for Egypt and the desire for peace in their native languages. Ever since its inception, The World Calls for Peace has been viewed over 264,000 times.