Egyptian Freedom is a Dream Come True for Seminole Heights Mechanic

Ahmed Elmunaier spent his childhood playing on the streets of Cairo, Egypt. He grew up in a happy middle class family. Known as a trouble maker in high school, he listened to the Beatles, Abba and Elvis Presley.

Today, the 55-year-old lives and runs Autoland Service, a garage repair shop in Seminole Heights. 

Lately, life has not been the same for the Egyptian man. 

After 18 days of protests in his homeland, the 30-year-long rule of ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak came to an end this month. 

Recently, Patch sat down with Elmunaier in his garage on 4602 N. Florida Ave. 

Here is what he had to say about the Egyptian revolution, the ousted President Hosni Mubarak and the future of Egypt. 

Patch: The last time you visited Egypt was three years ago. How was the general atmosphere at the time of your visit? 

Elmunaier: I was shocked by the way I found Egypt since the previous time I visited six years ago. I saw such a difference. The prices have changed, things that I could buy for $1 were $3 or $4. Also, what I found out that surprised me was that people had a lot of money. When I went to the streets, the most expensive and beautiful cars were there. But I also heard something that broke my heart. Some people couldn’t even found the necessities for living.

Patch: Who were the people driving the expensive cars? Were those people working for the Mubarak’s regime? 

Elmunaier: The Mubarak’s regime opened a lot of doors for other people to steal and be corrupted, such as tax breaks in exchange for electoral votes. So, buying people’s souls; but if you didn’t accept to sell yourself, then you became an enemy. So it wasn’t really just Hosni Mubarak. Hosni Mubarak planted the seeds of dictatorship and he watered them with the blood of the people. And the people around him were a shield. He really managed to buy a lot of people ... paying people around him to protect him.

Patch: Where people discontent and complaining about the government when you visited three years ago? 

Elmunaier: They complained from under the table, they couldn’t raise their voices. When I went there that time, I found something that was very awful; there was no freedom whatsoever and there was disrespect. And I felt it whenever I went and I was shocked.  “Where is your ID? Where is your ID?” the police would ask me, just because I have an English accent or because I have a beard and it looks like I practice Islam. Even people without uniform would ask to see my ID. The loss of freedom that I had, and that Egyptian people suffered. People would be put in jail just for saying they didn’t like Mubarak or didn’t like the system. The poor guy couldn’t talk, he couldn’t even say that he was hungry because he didn’t have the freedom to say it. Police stopped people at checkpoints and asked for their IDs all the time, and if you replied or objected, you would have gotten beaten.

Patch: Have you ever imagined that such a revolution would have happened in Egypt? Have you ever hoped for it? 

Elmunaier: It was like a dream that would never come true. I was shocked! It was such a limitation to dream or even ask Allah to get rid of this murderer. Especially for people my age, we had lost the hope; we felt sorry for our children. 

Patch: When people in Tunisia started protesting on the streets and Ben Ali was forced to step down and flee the country last January, what was going through your mind? Did you think that Egypt was next?

Elmunaier: I have to say something here, not to take the credit from the Tunisians for starting the spark, but the spark had already started in Egypt in April 2008.

Patch: Why? What happened in Egypt in April 2008? 

Elmunaier: A group that called himself the Egyptian Youth Movement went out protesting in the streets on April 6th, 2008, but the government controlled it.  So it started in Egypt, then it went to Tunisia, and when it worked in Tunisia, the Egyptian people said “ok, let’s go.” I hate to say the word, but it’s like monkey see, monkey do. No matter what, the moment was coming. We just didn’t know when. 

Patch: And then January 25th, 2011 came ... 

Elmunaier: You know something, I didn’t even bother to listen to the news at first, because I did not believe it. And I didn’t wanna feel sorry for those young courageous people who were gonna get killed and hurt. 

Patch: So, how did you first hear about the protests going on in Cairo? 

Elmunaier: Believe it or not, I first heard it form the street, from my community. Not from Egyptians, but from people coming here to my business and asking me if I have heard of what was happening in Egypt. I was taking it lightly but when President Obama and Hillary Clinton spoke about it, it got my attention. So I called my family in Egypt, my brother and my cousins, and they told me that it was true, the entire country had gone out, the younger people had gone out and nobody was able to stop them. Until this minute, I still don’t believe it; until this minute, Hosni Mubarak’s ghost is between my eyes. Is he gonna come back?

Patch: Did you wish you were back home protesting in the streets of Cairo with your people?

Elmunaier: When I saw the success of the dream coming true, yes, I wished that I was there. 

Patch: How did you live the almost three weeks of unrest in Egypt prior to Mubarak’s ousting? 

Elmunaier: You know when someone falls in love, he cannot see anything except the person he loves, that’s what it was like. I couldn’t even run my business, my mind was not focused, every time I walked underneath the lift, I would bump my head. All my attention was on the computer watching Al Jazeera and calling Egypt constantly. In those two weeks, I did not enjoy sleeping, I had to be awake to see what was happening. When the revolution came, it built hope, but at the same time, I was so concerned. If this youth lost the battle, it would have been finished, we would have see just murder all over. 

Patch: Were you calling Egypt everyday?

Elmunaier: Not every day, but every hour, every two hours.

Patch: What were your feelings after Mubarak’s last speech on February 10th, 2011?

Elmunaier: I felt victory, I felt the shark had lost its teeth. 

Patch: But Mubarak didn’t resign that night...

Elmunaier: He spoke in a soft way, and tried to touch people’s hearts. What it means in Egyptian culture is that he had lost the power in his hands. But still, he didn’t say I am going. 

Patch: So his official resignation the following day did not come to you as a surprise?

Elmunaier: It was a surprise because it came earlier than I thought. And I cried for victory. I really cried for victory, like any other Egyptian. 

Patch: What’s the future of Egypt now? 

Elmunaier: I think Egypt is going to be such a wonderful country, a very democratic, peaceful country, very advanced again and knowledgeable. As a matter of fact, lots of Egyptians will go back home to build the country. 

Patch: What about the relationship between Egypt and Israel? 

Elmunaier: Peace needs to be done no matter what, but not with a shield over my shoulder and a gun in my hand. Show me your heart, don’t show me your gun. This will be Egypt’s behavior and attitude in the upcoming years. 

Patch: How is the current volatile situation in neighboring Libya reflecting in Egypt?

Elmunaier: We are going to open the borders for the Libyans to come in for protection, but Egyptian military will never leave the Egyptian border for nobody. 

Patch: What are the factors that could jeopardize the democracy process in Egypt?

Elmunaier: If any country in the world tries to go show the Egyptians how to do democracy, that’s a huge jeopardize. 

Patch: Do you think Egypt is now a vulnerable area for extremists to plant their fundamentalist seeds? 

Elmunaier: When you hold somebody hard, he is going to scream; when you let him go, he is going to calm down. I wanna pray, but you tell me no. So I become extreme, you make me extreme. The more you push me out, the more I push myself in to the point that I am so extreme to something I wasn’t even thinking about. In Hosni Mubarak time, the extremes and fanatics came out, people wanted to have their freedom, it was a reaction.  Are they going to be extremists now? No, it is over because Hosni Mubarak is over. The man who was always stubbing me and pocking me with a needle is there no more, so I don’t have to scream anymore.

Patch: Was Mubarak restricting people from practicing their creed? 

Elmunaier: In an indirect way, yes.

Patch: When will you go back to Egypt next?

Elmunaier: As soon as I can.

Patch: What changes and improvements do you wish to see in your country once there?

Elmunaier: I can’t wait to go back to Egypt because I want to be able to walk again to any place without any checkpoints or police asking me where I am going, just because he doesn’t like my face. I wanna breath the real freedom there that I’ve missed for so long.