As a persistent religious minority in Egypt, Christians have faced persecution for centuries. However, in the last few decades there’s been a spike in the number of attacks on Christians. In 1998 my father received a call from a terrorist group threatening to kill him if he didn’t pay them off. The police force in Egypt is notorious for its corruption as well as its apathy towards crimes committed against the Christian minority, so my dad didn’t have many options. Rather than fund terrorist activities he decided to go to America where he knew he’d be safe.
A few months later my mom received a similar call complete with a “final warning”. By then my dad had made enough money to pay for our tickets to America, so we all got on a plane and left our home country with hopes of a land where we could worship without fear. A couple of years ago my church in Egypt was bombed right after New Year’s Eve Liturgy. I would have been there that night. I could have been injured, or worse. But instead I was here in the US, safe and unaware of the horrors of life in Egypt.
My family and I came here in 1999 looking for a place to call home, a place where we could live without fear, and I’m glad to say that we found it. Life in New York City isn’t perfect, it has its own challenges and its own problems, but I found in America a place willing to accept me for who I am.
While today I can’t see myself living anywhere other than New York City, my city, my first impression of New York was one of indifference. I was young; I didn’t understand that I was safer here. I remember looking around and saying, “ O those trees are just like the ones we have in Egypt” and, “This is America? What’s all the hype about?” But then my father took us site seeing in Manhattan and I started my life long romance with the island. I saw all the lights and all the splendor and I knew, this definitely wasn’t “just like we have in Egypt”.
As I grew up I was exposed more and more to the wonders and opportunities of NYC and I grew to love it. Manhattan became my playground, where I went to have fun. Manhattan became my dining room, where I went for good-eats. And today, after achieving my dream of one day living on the island, Manhattan is my bedroom, where I go to rest my head after a long day.
After living in New York for over a decade it has become not just my new home, but my only home. The old memories of Egypt slowly slip away as I embrace those of America, not in a reluctant manner, but rather in an accepting one, full of hope and optimism for the future. I’ve now been a citizen of the United States for about a year and I look forward to spending the majority of my life, not only in America, but specifically in New York City, the city that took me in, sheltered me, and made me into the person I am today. I literally owe this city my life, and I don’t ever intend to forget that.
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