Vol. 75/No. 6      February 14, 2011

Some 1,200 people gathered outside the United Nations in New York January 29 carrying signs in English and Arabic. One sign read, “Bread, Freedom, Dignity.”

“This is coming from the people,” demonstrator Ahmed Soliman told the press. “I left Egypt 18 years ago, and I have been dreaming of this day since then.” The day before about 60 people demonstrated in a neighborhood of Astoria, Queens, known by many as “Little Cairo.”

More than 500 people marched in downtown San Francisco January 29. Demonstrators came from throughout the region. Many chanted in Arabic, “We don’t want Mubarak, we don’t want Suleiman. It’s not the person, it’s the system.” Omar Suleiman, head of Egypt’s spying operations, was named vice president by Mubarak in an attempt to cling to power in the face of growing opposition to his rule.

In Boston, hundreds marched from Cambridge’s Harvard Square to downtown Boston. “This is the beginning of the end” of the Mubarak regime, said Fatma Naib, who was born in Eritrea but grew up in Egypt. “We are looking forward to a new Egypt.”

One group of youth chanted in Arabic, “No cell phones, no Facebook, no TV—we will still communicate.”

Egyptian-born Adam Suly said, “The U.S is sending tear gas to Egypt, the same tear gas used by the police to support the regime.”

Buchanuddin Alawali, from Bahrain who is currently a student at Northeastern University, joined the march to show “total support for human rights and in opposition to tyranny.”

“This is a chance to bring the tyrant down,” said Hisham Hegazy, an Egyptian immigrant who runs a taxi and limousine business.

The Egyptian Student Association held a rally at Iowa State University in Ames January 29. One of the signs carried by some 75 students and professors was a row of pictures of Mubarak next to every U.S. president since Ronald Reagan to show his close relationship with Washington and the large U.S. aid his government has received.

“Brick by brick, wall by wall, we will make Mubarak fall!” was chanted in English and Arabic at a protest in front of the Egyptian Consulate in Chicago. Called by the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, participants included Arab-Americans and immigrants from Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Morocco, and Palestine who live in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan.

Young Egyptians led chants at a rally of 100 people in Auckland, New Zealand. “Protest is not a privilege, it is our right. Our voices are meant to be heard,” said rally chair Mohamed Hassan. The action was sponsored by Students for Justice in Palestine and Global Peace and Justice Auckland.

Eric Simpson in San Francisco; Helen Meyers in Des Moines, Iowa; Laura Anderson in Chicago; Patrick Brown in Auckland, New Zealand; and Laura Garza in Boston contributed to this article.
 
 
Related articles:
Mass protests shake dictatorship in Egypt
Economic, social crisis fuels upheaval
Tunisian gov’t fails to quell protests
Solidarity with workers of Egypt
Washington has backed Mubarak for decades  
 
 
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