By: Sara Khan Wayne State University
On January 25th in Metro Detroit, a protest was held, entitled “March in Solidarity with the Egyptian Revolution.” Wayne State Alumni, Occupy Detroit, and members of the Arab community got together to organize this event. With a turnout of almost 100 people, the march began at Grand Circus Parkand ended at McNamara Federal Building where several speakers gave a small talk. The purpose of the protest was to stand up against the United States providing military aid to the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), the Egyptian military dictatorship. As many of us know, Egypthas been in the hands of its military ever since the fall of Hosni Mubarak last February. The way SCAF treats their people is very inhumane and violent. A protest in Tahrir Squarefor a civilian-led government resulted in 30 to 40 protestors dead and thousands injured. Many protestors ended up blind due to the rubber bullets that were purposely aimed at their eyes by soldiers. The United State srecognized SCAF’s actions as out of line, and recently called for restraint. However, the S.military continues to provide aid to SCAF. They justify their actions by claiming that the U.S.is an important ally for Middle East’s economic growth and political stability. General Dynamics Land Systems is a factory here in our very own city of Detroit that produces parts of tanks that are sent to the Egyptian military. One of the major concerns of the protestors was the large amount of money that goes to General Dynamics Land Systems to support the Egyptian military when that money could instead be used for the betterment of Detroit. The question basically boils down to whether the money should go towards helping an army to suppress its people or towards providing a needy city with the necessary sources it needs to rise out of poverty. This was all mentioned during the speeches at McNamara Federal Building. Some notable speakers that attended are the president of the Arab Student Union from Wayne State University, members of Occupy Detroit, and others of the Arab community. The organizers of the protest made videos and took pictures to send to Egypt to show Egyptians that we are supporting them. This was a very unique and bold move that showed how much these people are dedicated. Hania Ghazi, a student of Wayne State University who attended the protest, said, “I think it’s important that, as Muslims, we should show solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters in Egypt because we have the opportunity to do so.”With that, I encourage everyone to open up their eyes and acknowledge the horrors happening all around the globe to our fellow Muslim brothers and sisters. Families, women, and children are needlessly being killed and are in desperate need of help. The least we can do is spread awareness. Protests like these are what can start change, and protests will only be successful when people boldly step forward to join the fight.Photo Credit: Hania Ghazi
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