CAIRO - They were the candles, which lighted the way, opening a new window for freedom and a new tomorrow for all Egyptians. Like many institutions in Egypt, the Pharaonic Village wondered how it could honour the Egyptians brutally killed by police during the January 25 revolution and it came with the idea of creating a special museum inside the village for the martyrs, especially those who lived in Giza, where the museum is located on the Nile. “The idea came to me two weeks ago. The young people working in the village have been helping by collecting photos for the museum,” says Abdel-Salam Ragab, the Chairman of the Pharaonic Village. The museum, which displays photos and videos of the martyrs, is often visited by their mothers who proudly talk about their dear sons who died for the country they loved. “My son died before my very eyes on January 28, the Friday of Anger. My heart is grieving over my son and I won't be at peace until all the corrupt elements are tried in court,” says the mother of Ahmed Moustafa, one of the martyrs. “I can't understand the unreasonable slowness of these trials, while some of the policemen who shot and killed our sons have even been promoted.” Unlike Ahmed's mother, the mother of Mohamed Ashraf, another victim, still doesn't know how her son got killed. “I went to the morgue and my son's body had clearly been tortured. I was shocked when I saw the report, which gave the cause of his death as concussion. Whom were they covering up for? Where is the justice?” she asks. Some of the martyrs died without even participating in the revolution. “My son was killed on January 29, while protecting his home and his family when the Armed Forces asked people to form popular committees to guard their neighbourhoods,” says the mother of Sherif Hossam, who was only 23. “I still don't know who killed my son, whether it was the policemen or the thugs.” Ali Hashim's story is similar to Sherif's. Amr says that Ali, his 37-year-old brother, was killed on January 30, when the streets of Egypt were full of thugs, taking advantage of the security vacuum. Ali, who worked as a company secretary, was married with two children. He was guarding his street with his local popular committee, when a sniper shot him. According to eyewitnesses, a car then drove up and whisked the sniper away to safety. A heartbroken housewife called Azzam Abdel-Latif recalls how her only son died while seeking the freedom and dignity of his country. “His father and I used to worry about him, which was why he participated in the revolution secretly; he only told his uncle.” “The day he died, I rang him and he told me he was at work. He said he'd be coming home soon and I told him to hurry, as his father needed him. I had a feeling that something dreadful was about to happen.” “Abdel-Latif died because he was snapping photos just as the policemen emerged from the police stations looking for revolutionaries to kill. As soon as they saw him with his camera, they shot him dead,” according to his uncle. “I don't know why those policemen are allowed to carry on living freely with their families, although we have filed a complaint to the Prosecutor General,” he adds. “We don't want any financial compensation; we just want these policemen to hang.” These policemen have tried more than once to sit down with the martyrs' families to discuss the possibility of reconciliation, something which is impossible, according to some of martyrs' families. In the meantime, will the martyrs' grieving families ever get the compensation promised them by the Government? “Money won't compensate for my son's blood. They won't even pay it anyway,” says the grief-stricken mother of another martyr, on condition of anonymity.
