Students narrate ordeal in Egypt
Feb 06, 2011
OVER the weekend, the Government evacuated 40 students from Egypt following two weeks of demonstrations against the 30-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak in the north-east African country.
By Pascal Kwesga
OVER the weekend, the Government evacuated 40 students from Egypt following two weeks of demonstrations against the 30-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak in the north-east African country.
The students, who have been studying at Cairo, Alexandria and Arab Academy universities, arrived at Entebbe Airport on Saturday and Sunday aboard the Kenyan Airways.
However, over 130 Ugandan Muslim students who are studying at Azhar University under the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) sponsorship have not been evacuated.
Students who talked to New Vision said they were attacked by machete and stick-wielding rioters who invaded their residences last week.
“We were in church last Friday when the protesters arrived. The pastors told us to disperse. Youth turned up in multitudes, started burning police stations and looting shops and supermarkets,†Robert Mukiibi, an agriculture student at Alexandria University, said.
“The opposition has been organising protests but they were flopping. We expected the same this time but they were better organised,†he added.
Mukiibi also said some students on his flat were attacked and their money and phones snatched from them.
“The protesters did not know English and when they attacked the students, they only said money and phones,†he added.
Carl Wavamunno, a final year student of commerce at Cairo University said: “It has been rough because schools, banks and hospitals were closed and I was praying not to fall sick. There were no supplies and we have been staying indoors.â€
Wavamunno said his colleagues were attacked at night by the protesting youth, who burnt various police stations in Elmaadi town where he has been residing.
“The situation was very tense because everyone was holding a knife and a stick. Police officers were chased off the streets by the rioters. They were not targeting foreigners,†he said.
Ivan Aturinda a first year student of computer science at Cairo University said: “I will not forget coming face to face with rioters, two holding pangas and the other two holding sticks. They broke into our apartment on Tuesday and took our phones and money but they didn’t harm anyone.â€
Aturinda said his group comprised five Ugandan students residing in Maadi town.
Sarah Rwot-Okonya, a bachelor of commerce student at Cairo University, expressed worry that they might lose their scholarships if the current Government collapsed.
“Our scholarships were given to us by president Mubarak and he is the one they are targeting,†she said.
Uganda’s ambassador to Egypt, Umar Migadde Lubulwa, said: “We have evacuated most of the Ugandan diplomats. We have left a skeleton staff at the embassy and Ugandans working with the Exim Bank have also been evacuated to safe areas.â€
He added that there were about 300 Ugandans living in Egypt illegally. These, he said, were working as domestic servants. “Those who are in Egypt illegally cannot leave now because of the way they got there. But I know they are relatively safe.â€
Migadde said some of the Ugandan Muslim students had informed him through a telephone call that they were scared after the rioters killed some students at the university.
“The university has two campuses in Alexandria and Cairo. But movement has been curtailed and we did not have money at the embassy since banks were closed. However, we are in touch with UMSC,†he said .
The UMSC spokesperson, Nsereko Mutumba, yesterday said the students were safe, adding that there was no cause for alarm. “We are in minute-by-minute contact with the embassy of Uganda,†he said.
The group, which returned on Saturday, are on scholarships, sponsored by the Egyptian government through the education ministry. They were received by officials from the ministries of foreign affairs and education and their parents.
The students, most of them male, said they had just finished sitting end of semester examinations when the protests broke out.
It remains unclear whether the universities, which were closed, will re-open on February 12 when the students are expected to report.
OVER the weekend, the Government evacuated 40 students from Egypt following two weeks of demonstrations against the 30-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak in the north-east African country.
The students, who have been studying at Cairo, Alexandria and Arab Academy universities, arrived at Entebbe Airport on Saturday and Sunday aboard the Kenyan Airways.
However, over 130 Ugandan Muslim students who are studying at Azhar University under the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) sponsorship have not been evacuated.
Students who talked to New Vision said they were attacked by machete and stick-wielding rioters who invaded their residences last week.
“We were in church last Friday when the protesters arrived. The pastors told us to disperse. Youth turned up in multitudes, started burning police stations and looting shops and supermarkets,†Robert Mukiibi, an agriculture student at Alexandria University, said.
“The opposition has been organising protests but they were flopping. We expected the same this time but they were better organised,†he added.
Mukiibi also said some students on his flat were attacked and their money and phones snatched from them.
“The protesters did not know English and when they attacked the students, they only said money and phones,†he added.
Carl Wavamunno, a final year student of commerce at Cairo University said: “It has been rough because schools, banks and hospitals were closed and I was praying not to fall sick. There were no supplies and we have been staying indoors.â€
Wavamunno said his colleagues were attacked at night by the protesting youth, who burnt various police stations in Elmaadi town where he has been residing.
“The situation was very tense because everyone was holding a knife and a stick. Police officers were chased off the streets by the rioters. They were not targeting foreigners,†he said.
Ivan Aturinda a first year student of computer science at Cairo University said: “I will not forget coming face to face with rioters, two holding pangas and the other two holding sticks. They broke into our apartment on Tuesday and took our phones and money but they didn’t harm anyone.â€
Aturinda said his group comprised five Ugandan students residing in Maadi town.
Sarah Rwot-Okonya, a bachelor of commerce student at Cairo University, expressed worry that they might lose their scholarships if the current Government collapsed.
“Our scholarships were given to us by president Mubarak and he is the one they are targeting,†she said.
Uganda’s ambassador to Egypt, Umar Migadde Lubulwa, said: “We have evacuated most of the Ugandan diplomats. We have left a skeleton staff at the embassy and Ugandans working with the Exim Bank have also been evacuated to safe areas.â€
He added that there were about 300 Ugandans living in Egypt illegally. These, he said, were working as domestic servants. “Those who are in Egypt illegally cannot leave now because of the way they got there. But I know they are relatively safe.â€
Migadde said some of the Ugandan Muslim students had informed him through a telephone call that they were scared after the rioters killed some students at the university.
“The university has two campuses in Alexandria and Cairo. But movement has been curtailed and we did not have money at the embassy since banks were closed. However, we are in touch with UMSC,†he said .
The UMSC spokesperson, Nsereko Mutumba, yesterday said the students were safe, adding that there was no cause for alarm. “We are in minute-by-minute contact with the embassy of Uganda,†he said.
The group, which returned on Saturday, are on scholarships, sponsored by the Egyptian government through the education ministry. They were received by officials from the ministries of foreign affairs and education and their parents.
The students, most of them male, said they had just finished sitting end of semester examinations when the protests broke out.
It remains unclear whether the universities, which were closed, will re-open on February 12 when the students are expected to report.