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Metro Detroit's Arab-Americans: Democracy in Egypt will Take Time
The celebrations continued Saturday among Arab-Americans in Metro Detroit. Dozens gathered in Dearborn in front of City Hall to celebrate the toppled 30-year autocratic regime of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak after protests erupted in the country nearly three weeks ago.
A group of men held a large vinyl banner that read “Let Freedom Ring” while standing in front of the crowd.
Amal Khafagy, 37, raised an Egyptian flag high in the cold air as she cheered with friends. She’s been rejoicing since Friday when her brother called her as he stood in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.
“I was screaming, praying, crying, everything in one moment,” Khafagy said. “There will be more freedom!”
Tarek Beydoun, a 26-year-old lawyer of Lebanese descent, said he expects similar uprisings in other parts of the Arab world and credits the Internet with making it possible.
“This is a celebration, but it’s not a finale. We have a lot of work to do and our work here is in relating the situation and aspirations of our people back home and the American narrative -—the American aspirations and rights that we hold dear,” Beydoun said.
“I don’t think most of the governments will survive even if they reform, because people have lost their fear,” he said. “The young students who led this revolution are constantly connected throughout the day and it’s kind of hard to stop them now.”
Many in the crowd, though excited by the swift changes taking place in the Middle East, said the transition to democracy will take time.
Imad Hamad, a Palestinian and regional director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, a national nonprofit civil rights group, said he believes any new government in Egypt, once the heart of the Arab world, would remain friendly with the West and honor the peace treaty with Israel, but he said relations between the two countries would likely change to reflect the political will of the Egyptian people.
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Metropolitan Detroit issued a statement Friday saying it hopes Egypt elects a “moderate, secular, democratic government” that maintains Egypt’s 30-year peace with Israel.
Micki Steele
The Detroit News