Egyptians in Boston Rally Support For Friends And Family

BOSTON/Copley Square - For the second time in a week Egyptian nationals Egyptian-Americans and supporters living in greater Boston will gather Saturday February 5th to show solidarity with their friends and family protesting for democracy in the North African nation. Details were still being formulated at press time but the location Copley Square and start time 12 noon was announced on a Facebook page earlier this week. On Saturday January 29 hundreds of supporters marched through Cambridge and Boston echoing the hundreds of thousands of activists in Cairo and throughout Egypt calling for President Hosni Mubarak to step down and allow negotiations for a new government to proceed. According to various news sources and a United Nations report at least 300 people have been killed since Egyptian citizens took to the streets on January 25th to protest rising food costs lack of jobs and an oppressive government with close ties to the military and a domestic security force known for harsh and often tortuous treatment of political prisoners. Many of the deaths have been linked to attacks by counter-protesters most of whom allegedly are in the employ of the Mubarak administration. Soldiers seen in news photos and videos standing on and near their tanks so far have not intervened against the peaceful protests nor the violent clashes. Communications including wireless and the internet have been disrupted by the government but not made impossible as citizens and journalists continue to use social media such as Twitter feeds as well as more traditional telephone technology to reach beyond Egypt's borders. OMB was unable to reach a spokesperson at the Egyptian consulate in New York. In Boston some of the organizers of the rally in Copley Square this Saturday come from the ranks of a social networking group Egyptians in Boston. Many are students at area colleges. On Friday February 4th OMB spoke with two Egyptians Amira Hussein a graduate student studying bio-mechanical engineering at Boston University and Tamer El Khouly a grad student who studies astrophysics at MIT. OMB Audio Amira Hussein (21:40) OMB Audio Tamer El Khouly on WMBR Radio's "What's Left" program (18:23) Bookmark/Search this post with: Delicious Digg StumbleUpon Reddit Newsvine Facebook Google Yahoo Technorati