Egypt Revolution

I have quite a few Egyptian friends. They're either here from Egypt, were born in Egypt but raised in Australia, or they're half-Egyptian. They're all taking part in the demonstrations here, and they're not just attending, they're organising the protests.

They've even made the news. Ahmed Huwait (purple shirt and sunglasses) is my study circle leader and appears in this SBS News coverage of the event in Melbourne. He's an Egyptian citizen in Australia on a work visa

Another study circle member is Mohamad Elmasri. His parents are Egyptian and he was raised in Australia. His wife was born and raised in Egypt though. His family name, Elmasri, means 'The Egyptian' in Arabic. This is him speaking at the rally in Melbourne:

Both of them are around 30 years old, which means the only Egypt they know is the one under Hosni Mubarak. They've always talked fondly of the people of Egypt but never spoken fondly of the government. Insyallah, they'll get their country back from the dictator, and then maybe they can build a country that they can be prouder of.

UPDATE: On Friday night (04/02/2011) Ahmed Huwait flew back to Egypt. He is now currently in Tahrir Square with his fellow revolutionists as they prefer to be called. His wife and 2 young children are still in Australia.

Most people ask 'why?'. If you need to ask, then you will never really understand. I think the rest of us left behind here are a bit envious of him now.

We're all hoping he comes back in one piece, but it's quite clear that whenever he leaves Egypt, he leaves a piece of his heart behind.