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Sports

Mubarak's Resignation Monumental for Fort Lee Family

Rany Negaida and his mother now have a story of hope and history to remember forever.

Rany Negaida, a 6’10” junior basketball player at Fort Lee High School, usually stands out for his size. But lately, the student athlete is standing out for a completely different reason.  

Rany is Egyptian.

Over the past few weeks, Negaida and many world citizens have watched intently as Egypt’s President, Hosni Mubarak, was historically removed from office by the people.

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As violent protests continued for weeks, Rany could only be a helpless spectator in New Jersey, thousands of miles from where he grew up.

“You always read about and listen about revolutions happening in the past,” Negaida said. “You can only imagine how amazing and how life-changing it would be. But, I would really like to be there and see with my own eyes how things are.”

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After Rany’s mother Mai came to America to give birth to Rany, which she did so he would be an American citizen, the family moved right back to Egypt, where he has lived until the summer of 2010.

During his childhood, Rany and his parents have seen Mubarak’s reign firsthand.

“There was a full dictatorship,” he said. “No one had rights to anything. It was kind of like the Russians and Nazis. If you said anything bad about the president or the leader, you would disappear overnight.”

As many people lived in fear for their own lives, Negaida’s movie-producing celebrity of a mother openly spoke out against the country’s ruler.

“She really wasn’t scared of anyone,” Rany said. “[My mother] wasn’t even scared of the President. She said anything she wanted and nothing happened to her because she had the respect of the people.”

As one of the top ten professionals in her craft, Mai’s family was fortunate enough to live in a cozier part of Cairo away from the streets where the recent protests were unfolding.

But that did not distance them from the disputes over the past few decades. As the people became more and more upset as the years passed, the future became more and more unclear for many Egyptians, including Rany.

Negaida had his own ideas about his future should look like, and it was a lot different from what Mubarak’s Egypt had to offer the young man.

He wanted an education. He wanted to attend college, and he wanted to play basketball.

So in the summer of 2010, Rany and his mother made the drastic decision to leave Egypt. They moved to America and started their new life in Fort Lee, New Jersey near where Negaida’s grand-aunt lived.

“We chose to stay somewhere close to her for my mom,” Rany added. “She really doesn’t have anyone here.”

But the opportunity for Rany to succeed was all he ever needed to be forever grateful.

“My mom proved she cares about me,”Negaida said. “She left all her work behind for a couple years so that I could pursue a future…I only hope that I can make her happy.”

And Rany has done just that. He has plenty of friends, many “brothers” on the basketball court, a coach in John Ziemba who looks out for him, and a school that he loves.

“She is extremely happy,” Rany said. “She is happy that we found the perfect school to go to.”

But as they grow happier in their new country, their concern continues to grow for their former country as well. Rany and his mother would routinely watch the live footage of riots and protests in Egypt where they still have many friends and family, including his father after a 2010 divorce.

After weeks of disagreements and upheaval, Hosni Mubarak officially stepped down as President on Feb. 11. Much of the Egyptians of the world rejoiced, including Rany and his mother.

“We thought a Civil War was going to break out,” he said. “We enjoy that the people are all working together to make a new government and that Mubarak has left.”

Leading up to that point and continuing to this very day, Rany has explained the situation to history teachers and fellow students at Fort Lee High School.

“The [students] all ask me, and my teachers ask me what I think and if my family is ok,” Rany said. “It’s like a joy talking to them and hearing their questions.”

Rany has come to appreciate the symbolism behind this rise of the people and is honored to tell his side of the monumental events.

“Religion plays a big part on the people and they don’t come together for that,” he said. “On the news, I saw Christians coming with Muslims. I’ve never seen that before. Normally they would fight. They came together as one people under the same country and wanted the same thing for each other.”

However, if Mubarak never stepped down to the people’s demands, Rany’s mother may have been on her way back to Egypt.

Mai’s visa was set to expire soon, and  she would have to return home to renew it. But with the stepping aside of the country’s leader, all offices ceded to the moment and stopped business.

“I was scared to death,” Rany said. Asked if he would let her go, Negaida added, “Not if I can help it.”

So with the family’s quick maneuvering, they were able to schedule an appointment in Canada and successfully renew Mai’s visa for five more years.

“I wouldn’t be able to survive without her,” Rany said. “I am extremely happy that she will not have to leave everything and go back to Egypt.”

So now Rany’s mother will be able to stay in America, watch her son play basketball, see him graduate high school and someday attend college.

As Egypt is looking forward to what the future has in store, Rany and his mother are doing the same in Fort Lee, New Jersey with a new outlook on a brighter tomorrow for everyone.

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