In a fight for rights, we are all Egyptians

While it may seem a bit overstated, maybe even a bit lame, I 100 percent loved my study abroad experience. Now I know everyone’s heard (and cringed) at those same stories — “I mean you’ve never really had pizza until you’ve been to Italy,” “I felt that I was a real Spaniard, honestamente.” It’s annoying. Believe me, I am fully aware, and have joined in the eye rolling just as much as the next guy. However, it wasn’t until Jan. 25 that I realized Egypt was much more to me than a semester-long vacation.

Full disclosure? Cairo isn’t for everyone. It’s polluted, insanely crowded and the taxis are speeding metal deathtraps. But it’s living, and it’s fun, and God knows I miss it.

The events in Cairo over the last couple of weeks have been monumental on the global stage. People have been glued to their computers and TVs, have tuned into Al-Jazeera for the very first time and have witnessed every minute of the despair, passion and drama that is the Egyptian revolution.

However, the fact remains that many people have yet to take notice.

While walking through campus on Wednesday, I overheard a conversation during class change: “I mean seriously, I’m so tired of hearing about that stuff in Cairo. We are in America, CNN, come on.”

With the theme of “Untold Stories,” I am expected to report on individuals in our Chapel Hill community, so it may seem like I’m getting a bit off topic with this particular column.

Nonetheless, while I sit watching the scenes of eyes red with tear gas, of people protesting for days, waving their red, white and black kafaya banners, I can’t help but think this is community journalism in the fullest sense.

What many people, including that guy downing CNN, fail to realize is that Egypt isn’t just some random desert nation, conveniently located thousands of miles away.

The reality is that events in Egypt have had a direct effect on people you and I see every day. For some, the Egyptian revolution hits very close to home.

Mohammad Saad is a junior at UNC and an Egyptian-American.

“I had often heard my folks complain about living under such a regime and about the corruption our family members faced each and every day. However, the recent uprisings are the first time I took notice and wished that I could do something about it,” he said.

“Although I’m not there experiencing it firsthand, that is my home. Those are my family members and friends being oppressed.”

Even our tiny Chapel Hill bubble, as isolated and idyllic as it may be, has felt the shock wave from this massive world event.

Now let’s for a second pretend that Egypt wasn’t halfway around the world. Maybe we can pretend borders are just something that’s arbitrary, a nation-state is just a made-up word.

As a global community, we have a responsibility to support those neighbors in the streets fighting like hell for their basic rights. We have a responsibility to disapprove of a thirty-year reign of corruption, and help bring real democracy to one fantastic country.

Now do Tar Heels need to fly on over to Cairo, and start riding tanks through Tahrir Square?

No. But we do need to care. We are all UNC students, and right now, we are all Egyptians.

Troy Smith is a columnist for The Daily Tar Heel. He is a junior public policy and Arab cultures major from Deep Run. Contact him at tgsmith@email.Unc.Edu