When at least 100 protesters peacefully marched around Copley Square to speak out against the now-former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 5, Northeastern University’s Omar Duwaji was one of the leaders who guided the crowd’s chants with a megaphone.
“For me, to lead the crowd is an honor. I view myself as part of a larger effort to bring to light the struggle of the Egyptian people. I’m just glad I can be part of the effort,” said Duwaji, a senior business major, in an interview in February.
Despite rain and cold temperatures, the Boston protesters held signs calling for democracy, waved Egyptian flags, beat drums and chanted for President Barack Obama to pressure Mubarak.
“I was hoping if I showed up no one would recognize me and I wouldn’t have to say anything to anybody. [But] somebody with a microphone saw me and said, ‘Here, start talking,’” said Duwaji, who is of Syrian descent, in a phone interview last week.
He unified protesters with chants that included, “Mubarak, Mubarak, you are done. Egypt, Egypt, we’ll overcome!” and “Hey, Obama, take a stand, hands off Egypt, we demand!”
“It was really interesting to see how so many people from different backgrounds came together and came out to protest,” he said. “It wasn’t just all Arabs or all Muslims or all Egyptians. It was everybody. There were so many different people.”
A week earlier on Jan. 29, Duwaji attended Boston’s first rally for Egypt in Harvard Square. He marched down Massachusetts Avenue with several hundreds of other peaceful protesters. Walking toward the back of the line, Duwaji could not hear the leaders’ chants, he said. As a result, he began shouting, and minutes later he was leading the entire back of the line.
“Eventually I got really into it and was practically screaming the chants. People I knew kept saying, ‘I never knew this side of you,’” Duwaji said. “I kept it going the entire way, even as we marched down Boylston [Street] and through the [Boston] Commons until we reached Government Center. By
then my voice was gone.”
Protesters came together in Boston to make other people attentive to the uprising in Egypt, Duwaji said.
“If we don’t get people to turn their heads, there’s no point. It’s not like we’re going to change anything in Egypt…but to bring awareness to the situation over there and the fact that America has been supporting a dictatorship for the past 30 years, that’s why I went,” he said. “At the end of the day, I wanted my fellow Americans to know the policies we had there. I’m always happy to lend a hand to fight any injustice, so that was why I went out.”
Duwaji said he regrettably has not been able to attend any of the recent protests for Libya in Boston. But this student social activist isn’t settling at the Egyptians’ ousting of Mubarak.
“Syria, my parents’ country, is heating up. I want to try to put something together from that,” he said. “The thing with Syria is, it is a police state, even worse than Egypt…Syrians are very afraid of moving against the government.”
Because of the country’s restrictions, it is a challenge for most journalists to enter Syria.
“Which is really upsetting for me because they’re probably not allowing any journalists in at any point [now],” he said. “We might lose the opportunity to get good coverage of a bad situation.”
In addition to leading protests in Boston and enjoying his last semester of college, Duwaji is also involved with the Northeastern University Students for Justice in Palestine, a social group that works to raise awareness about the plight of Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza and inside Israel.
“It’s something I really take pride in doing and working for,” Duwaji said. “We’ve managed to do a lot in the short amount of time we’ve had.”
Duwaji also teaches Arabic to children once a week for four hours at the Center for Arabic Culture in Newton.
“I like to teach kids. I grew up in the same position that they’re in now,” said Duwaji, who is a Muslim American. “I’m always there to answer their questions or give advice. It’s really rewarding because you get to give back and you benefit yourself.”
When Duwaji graduates from Northeastern in May, he plans to continue his passion for social activism by neglecting his business degree to pursue a career in journalism. Ultimately, he wants to become a foreign correspondent.
“I’m going to try to break into the field of journalism,” he said. “I feel like I have lots to bring to the table, and I think I could benefit.”
Duwaji, who speaks English and Arabic and has also learned French and Italian, said he declared a minor in journalism last year. A few months ago, he decided to change his career plans and focus on journalism. He said he hopes to land an internship with CNN in Atlanta.
“When I first got to college I thought I wanted to be a business accountant of sorts…But that doesn’t make sense for me at all,” he said.
As for the future of the current uprisings in the Arab world?
“It’s going to be unique in every country,” he said.