London - It was very cold weather and my very first day in the foggy city of London. For the first time in my life, I felt what it was like to be a foreigner. I was searching for something to eat and a very familiar smell assailed my nostrils and reminded me of home. I followed the smell, until I came across a young man, whose black hair looked like an Egyptian's. He invited me to try a piece of falafel (taamiya), a very traditional Egyptian delicacy. As I wondered how English people could know how to make it, I told him I was Egyptian and he said, ‘El-Salamo Aleeko'. Mohamed Shaaban 28, and his colleague, Ali Sadeq 28, both Egyptians just like me, were standing in their small tent in Lower March Street, near Waterloo Station, selling their hot, tasty falafel sandwiches, under the supervision of their boss Ibrahim Abdel-Fattah, a Jordanian man in his forties, who has been living in London since he was 14. Like millions of young, depressed Egyptians, Mohamed and Ali felt that they would hardly achieve their dreams if they stayed in Egypt, because of the corruption that was main reason for the Egyptian revolution. "We came here only five months ago, mainly to complete our chemistry studies, and we're working to cover our expenses," said Mohamed. He and Ali worked in the pharmaceutical sector in Egypt for two years, but they faced many obstacles. "I discovered that, unfortunately, most pharmaceutical companies forge the patents, writing on the label of the medicine that it contains twice the active ingredients it really does," said Mohamed, who refused to carry on working in these circumstances. He and Ali decided to travel just before the Egyptian Revolution erupted, but didn't travel to London until after the revolution. “The conditions in Egypt were harsh before the revolution and they still are. Thank God we witnessed such a great revolution before travelling. We really think Egypt's future will be much better, but it will take some time,” Ali told the Egyptian Mail. Mohamed and Ali have done an English course in House College in Oxford and they're now saving up to do another course. “Our dream is to open a big factory in Egypt, using our applied chemistry skills, and that is what we're trying to work on. We want to do something in the chemistry field to benefit Egypt,” Mohamed explained. The two Egyptian friends faced a lot of trouble when they arrived in London, but they've now managed to get their act together. The best part has been getting connected to Ibrahim, who set up his falafel project five years ago, with the help of some friends. “We were happy to meet an Arab man and are happy to work with him. At least we're sure that we won't have to sell things like wine and pork [prohibited in Islam],” stressed Mohamed. According to Mohamed and Ali, English people liked falafel very much, since they are very attracted to Middle Eastern food and also because it is vegetarian. “Almost all the week long we have a long queue, in addition to our regular, daily customers,” explained Mohamed. These two Egyptians long for their country and they will return when they are ready. “We follow the news about Egypt through the news channels and social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. We are very sad about what's going on there right now, but God will put things right,” he stressed.
