When I was 21 years old, I was crying over boy bands breaking up, obsessing over making new friends in college, just passing midterms and finding true love. I made countless mistakes, easily influenced by anyone. My ego meant the world to me, so I always tried to prove I was right. I had so much energy in me, but I had no purpose in life because I didn’t know who I was yet.
There was nothing to be passionate about; life was monotonous and hopeless, so I became numb to everything that mattered around me, whether it was the quality of education in Egypt, the horrific state of hospitals, the poverty and illiteracy or the horrendous corruption in every establishment and university. I just kept moving like a zombie because I knew Egypt needed something bigger than life to change and I accepted it and loved my country nonetheless.
Then years later, the young generation suddenly felt that change is possible and everyone excitedly became vocal about their feelings, disappointments and dreams. They felt the urge to leave the comfort of their couches and scream in the streets, “We deserve more!”
As a mother, it literally breaks my heart and aches my soul to see people paying so profoundly for mistakes made at only 21 years old. I cannot imagine that my child will be judged for the rest of her life for being reckless at such an age. I’m trying to understand what Ayman Moussa did other than take part in violent protests.
I’m not only sympathizing with him because he came from a certain social background and was an engineering student at the British University in Egypt. The real issue is that this young man had potential to be a successful athlete or engineer or businessman, and now it’s all gone. This is not just some random thug or student with no care in the world about his career. He could have been of real value to our country.
Now that I am a grown woman and a mother, I realize how ridiculous and misguided I was 10 years ago. I was practically a child. I feel awful for every single young soul who was driven by adrenaline in the past four years, easily manipulated and ended up losing not only 15 years, but his whole life in Wadi Natroun Prison for misjudging the bigger picture and being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Ayman Moussa’s father passed away and his family is pleading for the Egyptian authorities and the Ministry of Interior Affairs to allow him to attend his father’s funeral. The hashtags #FreeAymanMoussa and #سيبوا_أيمن_يدفن_أبوه are already going viral and there are numerous online campaigns supporting him.
Ayman missed the burial, however the funeral is on Friday and everyone remains hopeful. Social media is an extremely powerful platform that we can all use to shed light on causes we care about and show solidarity. It’s a heartbreaking situation for any mother to lose her child and husband at once.
There must be hundreds out there going through the same ordeal, but not everyone is lucky enough to get enough attention. To Ayman Moussa’s mother, from one Egyptian mother to another: I only hope for the best for your family. Stay strong.
WE SAID THIS: An Open Letter to Reham Saeed.
