GIZA - Life has returned to normal in the populous district of Imbaba in Giza. Most of the schools there, other than two, have held final exams. “The heavy presence of the Armed Forces and the Police has calmed the residents. We were able to send our children to the schools to sit the second-term exams,” said Hanan Fadl, a mother of four. Last Saturday, Copts and Muslims exchanged gunfire, Molotov cocktail and stones in Imbaba, as two churches were set ablaze, following rumours that a convert to Islam, Abeer Talaat, was being held captive in the Mar Mina Church. The ensuing violence left 12 dead and 240 injured. “We have taken on financial burdens in the aftermath of the January 25 revolution, said Hassan Sami, a local resident. “Our children have studied in private classes and we have paid the fees to the teachers,” he complained. However, the parents of students at two governmental schools prevented their children from sitting the exams. “In fear of the unrest in Imbaba, we didn't allow our children from going to schools. So the exams were postponed,” said Sawsan Ramez, another Imbaba mother. “The students will sit the final exams later on.”
