NorthJersey.com
Ten years ago, Ahmed Abdel-Basit joined the massive crowds in Cairo s Tahrir Square to demand reform in a momentous demonstration that sparked revolution in Egypt and the downfall of longtime President Hosni Mubarak.
But events didn t turn out the way protesters had hoped. After a military coup, a new regime took the helm, and many Egyptians believe it is even more oppressive, cracking down on political activity and dissent.
Looking at photos from Jan. 25, 2011, the physics teacher, who now lives in Jersey City, said he felt devastated.
“I’m sad and sorry for all we went through,” said Abdel-Basit, 35, who was granted asylum in the U.S. in 2018. “We didn’t achieve our goal, but we are still fighting.”
Ten years ago, Ahmed Abdel-Basit joined the massive crowds in Cairo s Tahrir Square to demand reform in a momentous demonstration that sparked revolution in Egypt and the downfall of longtime President Hosni Mubarak.
But events didn t turn out the way protesters had hoped. After a military coup, a new regime took the helm, and many Egyptians believe it is even more oppressive, cracking down on political activity and dissent.
Looking at photos from Jan. 25, 2011, the physics teacher, who now lives in Jersey City, said he felt devastated.
“I’m sad and sorry for all we went through,” said Abdel-Basit, 35, who was granted asylum in the U.S. in 2018. “We didn’t achieve our goal, but we are still fighting.”
Khaled Al Samakeh escaped Syria with his wife and children in 2012 after war erupted, gunfire gripped local streets and his oldest son, Maher, was detained and tortured.
Four years later, they landed in the U.S. through the refugee program, except Maher, who had crossed the Mediterranean Sea in a smuggler’s boat to find work in Europe.
Today, Al Samakeh has renewed hope that his son will rejoin them because of President-elect Joe Biden’s pledge to revive a diminished refugee program.
“Me and his mother, the first thing is we just want to see our son,” said Al Samakeh, a former Paterson resident who lives in Oregon. “It has been five years that we haven’t see him.”