Mariam Makram Nazir
Mariam was her parent’s only daughter and had two brothers, Milad, 19, and Kurules, 12. She was the spirit of their house according to her parents as well as a diligent student and a decent human being.
The story of her murder was a bit different as her father tells it, “On the ‘Friday of Anger,’ the family was watching the events unfold on TV. As the demonstrations were happening we were hearing the sounds of bullets being fired from outside of the house as we were living in front of the El-Zawya El-Hamraa police station.” Mariam and her mother went up to the roof of the house since Mariam wanted to take a video of what was happening outside with her phone to show her friends at school and in church. Her father went out to look for his elder son and described the scene as a “…battlefield. Security forces were shooting, shooting everywhere indiscriminately. I started helping the wounded and injured with the help of my son. At seven o’clock I heard screaming coming from my house. My son and I ran to the house and went to the roof of the building to see what happened, then I saw the most difficult scene of my life—my wife was embracing Mariam who was lying on the ground covered in blood.
Her father screamed at the his wife asking what happened. “A bullet hit Mariam in the face while she was standing next to me,” her mother cried.
Mariam’s father looked around and found security forces were stationed in the surrounding buildings. The family rushed Mariam to Demerdash Hospital only to find that there were no rooms available and no doctors available to operate on Mariam and remove the bullet from her face until 2 am the next morning. Finally a “nose, ear and throat” doctor came and started operating on Mariam to extract the bullet from her jaw. The bullet entered from the right cheek and cut off two arteries which led to partial paralysis and severe bleeding.
After the operation on Mariam’s face she was moved to the intensive care, accompanied by her mother who said, “I knew my daughter wouldn’t survive this. I(?) had known this since the incident at the Church of the Saints” Mariam’s father replied, “What should I do?”
At 6:00 am on January 29th, Mariam passed away and her family returned home without her for the first time having to face the fact that life will never be the same for them.
“Mariam was where I kept my secrets, whenever I was not in a good mood she would come close and tell me that a better tomorrow will come,” said her father.
Mariam’s engagement party was scheduled three months later, in April 2011. She was planning to invite all her colleagues, but unfortunately her colleagues came not to congratulate her for her engagement, but came to offer condolences to her parents.
After Mariam’s father buried her he returned to the hospital to obtain the autopsy report. According to the autopsy her death was caused by a shot to the head. Her case was transferred to a prosecutor, but was closed as there was no specific defender.
In January of 2012, just before the revolution’s anniversary, her father said in an interview that he can’t see any point in celebrating the revolution since the murderers have not yet been punished. “The government will honor the martyrs and their families on the anniversary of the revolution—what is the point? Is Mubarak being tried? Will he be acquitted? There is no sign of justice at all,” he said.
Her mother added, “Our home has become a prison without her. I cannot sleep. Every corner reminds me of her—she did not leave me.”
Mariam’s father is a construction worker. He recalls Mariam saying to him, “Father, I wish that you will construct ten buildings so you will become wealthy. He replied, “You are not happy with how our life is?” Mariam told her father, “You are the greatest father in this world!”