Open for Business

Protests Enter 13th Day

Banks and businesses reopen.

Though protesters continue to occupy Tahrir Square in Cairo and call for Mubarak’s immediate resignation, banks and businesses reopened Sunday, many for the first time in 13 days. There were long lines at ATMs and bank employees took names for waiting lists as people tried to withdraw money. Egypt’s financial system was infused with $854 million in cash in response to individuals withdrawing money—and each day, customers can take out up to 50,000 Egyptian pounds and $10,000 a day. The protests have raised the prices of some goods and are expected to hurt the Egyptian economy—especially tourism, a major source of income in Egypt. "We have to have some order around here. People are anxious to get paid and pull money out. It has been almost two weeks and life is at a standstill," said Metwali Sha'ban, a volunteer taking names for a bank waiting list. In Tahrir Square, army tanks tried to push protesters aside to make room for traffic in the usually busy intersection, and the commander of the army visited to ask protesters to leave. They refused to do so until Mubarak steps down.