By Heba Fahmy
CAIRO: Families of the martyrs who were killed in the revolution gathered in Tahrir Square last Friday carrying their fallen children’s pictures, calling on Egyptians not to forget those who sacrificed their lives for freedom.
In the middle of the square, a large memorial with the pictures and names of most of the martyrs was set up.
Mahmoud Abou Ghaneima, 16, was shot in the head on Jan.28. He had no political affiliations and was working that day with his father in their workshop, when he decided to join the thousands of protesters calling for toppling the regime.
Abou Ghoneima’s family didn’t know his whereabouts until Jan. 30, when they identified his body at a hospital. They didn’t know where he was killed.
“It’s not enough that [ousted President Hosni Mubarak] left; we want him to be prosecuted and hung,” Abou Ghoneima’s mother, 45-year-old Firial Hashem, told Daily News Egypt. “I don’t want any money, shedding my son’s blood must be compensated with blood.”
“My son had no weapons whatsoever on him that day and he and the others were chanting ‘Long Live Egypt’,” Hashem said.
Ahmed Amal Mohamed, 19, was shot dead with two bullets in the head and heart on Jan. 31.
“He was out with me and his younger brothers protesting because we love Egypt and we want Egypt to be better,” Mohamed’s father, Amal Mohamed Gaber, 47, told Daily News Egypt.
“[Habib] El-Adly and the old regime are the ones who killed my son,” Gaber added.
“I want the people to remember those who sacrificed their lives for them,” Gaber said. “I want the people to fight for their rights instead of celebrating … people died for this day to come.”
Moustafa Youssef, 37, worked in a coffee shop in Hadayek El-Kobba district on Jan. 28, when a child was wounded at the coffee shop. Youssef attempted to carry the child to a hospital, when he was shot in the heart with a bullet by a sniper, according to his brother.
Youssef died before he could make it to the hospital.
“I saw Moustafa and more than 15 other martyrs in the hospital,” Youssef’s brother Mahmoud, 37, said.
“I want a hospital to be built in the name of the martyrs of Hadayek El-Kobba instead of the police station that is there. We want the people to be prosecuted here … in this square,” he added, referring to Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the 18-day long protests.
“I felt like I died along with him; Moustafa was my friend, brother and father … he was my everything,” Youssef said. “My mother is heartbroken and cries everyday; she couldn’t even be here today.”
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Ahmed Amal Mohamed was protesting with his father and younger brothers when he was shot.
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