Austin Stands with the Egyptian Revolution - Activist Analysis from Michael & Mike

Friday, 11 Feb 2011. It’s 18 days that changed the history of a country Roy Casagranda cares deeply about. “It’s unimaginable and I have a feeling it will take a long time for it to set in, to realize that this guy [ President Hosni Mubarak ] is really, really gone,” said Casagranda. Casagranda, a political science professor at Austin Community College returned from visiting family in Egypt just days before the uprising started. “I wanted to be there,” he said. During the uprising Casagranda kept in touch with family and friends in Egypt mainly via Facebook and Skype. “My younger relatives are unbelievably excited and they can’t believe this guy is finally gone,” he said. Over at The University of Texas , Milad Pournik, a graduate student from Iran, remembers the feeling he got from Egyptians when he lived there last year working at the United Nations. “When I was living there, I felt people were unhappy,” Pournik said. Pournik’s parents still live in Cairo, but were evacuated by the UN to Greece. Pournik hopes the Egyptian revolution will be contagious across the Middle East. “I really hope this is not just a victory for Egypt, but a victory for freedom and the progress toward more representation and true democracies throughout the region and throughout the world,” Pournik said. Back at ACC, Casagranda said he can’t wait to return to Egypt to see his family and to see what life is like after Mubarak. “I have a feeling that I am going to go back to a country where Egyptians feel good about themselves and are proud about who they are,” Casgranda said. Filmed, Edited & Produced for Austin Indymedia by Jeffry Zavalahttp://zgraphix.orghttp://austin.indymedia.org