Uma Ramiah Photos
More than 50 Yale students and New Haven residents gathered at Beinecke Plaza on the Yale Campus at noon on Monday to demand government action: They want President Obama to cut off all foreign aid to Egypt.
“Brick by brick, wall by wall, we will see Mubarak fall!”
That was one of the chants Yale Law student and protest leader Yaman Salahi taught the audience in preparation for a protest march around Yale’s campus. They called for an end to ongoing human rights abuses and violent response to demonstrations in Egypt, where citizens are pushing for an end to President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule.
“We’re hoping to start a movement on campus and in the community,” said Salahi, still holding the bullhorn he’d used five minutes ago to start up those chants. “It may seem like a distant, foreign issue but Americans actually can take a stand by paying attention and calling for government response.”
Holding signs and singing scattered chants, they pulled off the rally, but not planned the march around campus — students had to get to their next classes. The group nonetheless managed to stir up excitement.
“We’re not calling for an end to U.S. intervention,” he said, “but we do want the U.S. to cut off aid and take a stronger stand against Mubarak.”
A small group of students met last week to organize the protest. “We were troubled by the lack of discourse on the campus, and we want to engage New Haven, too,” said Omar Mumallah, a Yale undergraduate student and one of the organizers. “We tried to bring in local activists and engage local business, too.”
They’re not sure what will come next, said Mumallah, but the organizers hope to shed light on U.S. involvement in Egypt. “We want to educate our peers about the nature of the Mubarak regime, and the fact that the US has given Egypt more than $70 billion in aid over the past 30 years.”
“If Americans knew about this, they wouldn’t stand for it,” he said, hopefully.