[mhashim]

I'm Mahmoud, the guys at 1000memories are referring to.

I think that Rudy, Jonathan, and Brett had the right intentions with this post, but it backfired without having provided the proper context (which they tried to add in the comments here).

I contacted the guys yesterday with an idea for a project they can help execute with me and a group I'm working with. The idea was basically to setup individual pages for each individual that has lost his/her life during the Egyptian revolution. I thought having their families see the whole world's supporting messages could give them comfort and some closure.

The one thing that was missing was a front page that would combine all their profiles that would be a group memorial for visitors to land on first. I fired off the email and went to bed. I woke up 5am in the morning with 3 emails from Jonathan and an initial page already designed. I can't tell you how appreciative I was for the quick response and immediate action on their part. With this post specifically, the guys acted in the best interest of moving the project forward, but they just missed providing the proper context. It happens...so lets move on

This is an early project that needs all your help to improve it and promote it to something that makes these families proud.

I hope I brought some clarity to the situation.

[nlwhittemore]

I lived in Cairo on and off for up to 6 months at a time between 2004 and 2009. The whole situation has been somewhat surreal to watch. The places are all the same, where I lived and spent time, but the context is so radically different that it's hard to imagine this - even watching the videos on Al Jazeera.

But there is something about the quiet of this memorial and the simplicity of the names and ages of these people who I was in classes with just a few years ago, or riding the metro with, or practicing Arabic with, juxtaposed with the brutality of the way in which they died, that really hit me.

I'm glad you took the time to email 1000memories and I'm glad that they responded like they did.

[mhashim]

Thanks for your support. When I saw a picture and a name in my news feed on facebook I had the same feeling as you describe. I believe as people we have come desensitized to hearing massive numbers of people being killed all over the world, but when a face is put to a name, and in this case when a whole profile is put to the name, the world might really feel the magnitude of the loss and its every individual.