The Egyptian uprising started on January 25, 2011. The opposition to Hosni Mubarak’s dictatorial rule started with people gathering in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Janne Hopsu was on the scene two days later. He reported live via satellite from a television studio in Cairo.

On the morning of Friday, January 28, 2011, mobile and Internet communication was cut off. The Friday prayers began in the afternoon. Crowds started to gather and join the procession from different directions.

‘From the hotel, it was three kilometres through the centre of the city to the TV-studio,’ says Hopsu. ‘There was loads of people everywhere in the early evening. I must have walked through tens of thousands of people. Some were peaceful, others clashed with police firing tear gas and wielding batons. I got my work done in the studio and walked back to the hotel in the evening. There was gunfire in the streets and buildings and cars were on fire. Despite the revolution, people were not panicking – they were being friendly. There was some kind of exhilarating sense of freedom, a loss of fear because of the popular uprising. It was an unreal atmosphere in the midst of violence – not your usual bread riots.’

Working in a crisis situation sometimes takes courage, but more than anything else it calls for anticipation, judgment, caution and a sense of perspective.

‘Army tanks had moved into the centre of Cairo on the 28th January,’ says Hopsu. ‘A curfew had been imposed and by the night of the 29th the streets were dark and desolate. I still had to make it back on foot from the studio to the hotel. On the way I saw a group of boys playing football on the street. One of them started walking toward me with a stick in his hand. He told me to give him a dollar. I said that unfortunately I didn’t have any at the moment. I was lucky that nothing came of it. On the previous day, the police had attacked reporters in Tahrir Square. I actually had to run away after the police started assaulting demonstrators and firing tear gas.’

It was on the Cairo assignment that Janne Hopsu realised that not only his history studies, but also his knowledge of Arabic culture and language were useful. They helped him understand the mindset of the people and put the events in context.