Mohamed Zaki Ahmed
Mohamed took on the responsibility of caring for his family after his father and brother passed away 3 years ago. He was employed at a chicken shop and would spend all his earnings on his family. When his mother had asked him to tell his younger brother to quit school and start working to help him with the family’s expenses Mohamed refused and said: “I will be the one working so my siblings can continue their education.” He hoped that his siblings would continue their education and that their lives would take a different path; maybe one of them would become a police officer or a doctor.
Despite his own struggles, he could feel the suffering of those around him. He would often tell his mother stories of the people who would come to the chicken shop and buy chicken feet since they could not afford chicken meat. He would rage about the injustice he saw around him, the corruption and forged elections—he hoped for a better day for Egypt and the Egyptian people.
10 days before the Revolution Mohamed went with his mother to get her identification card, he said, “Our country has so much injustice and good fortune does not belong to the poor. Things must change!” His mother replied that if Allah desires it, things must change.
“Tomorrow we’ll be living in better conditions,” he replied. Mohamed’s mother recalls his last time at home, it was the 27th of January and with immense heaviness, in his chest, he sat and watched television with them. He told his mother he had something to take care of and she asked if he was going to join the protests. He kissed her hand and told her to trust Allah.
He phoned later that night to inform her he wouldn’t be coming home. The next day they assumed he had gone to work at the chicken shop, but the family learned of the shootings and clashes that were taking place at Tahrir Square. Mohamed’s mother refused to let any of her other children leave the house to look for their brother. At 2 in the morning, a friend of Mohamed’s phoned to tell them he was in the hospital. This friend thought it was wise not to inform his mother of his death until she arrived at the hospital. She received his forensic report indicating that he was shot with live bullets. She took her son’s body to bury him next to his father and brother.