Susan and Samy Hanna moved from Egypt to North America one month before the 9-11 attacks in 2001. They brought their young son and daughter with them.
Ten years later the reason has come to fruition why they and many other educated, mobile Egyptians fled the North African nation. The Mubarak government has finally been confronted by the millions of people it has oppressed for nearly 40 years.
The Hannas arrived in Canada that August to take a one-year contract as pharmacists in the Mississauga-Toronto area.
"Once 9-11 happened, there is a very big Islamic population there and we felt we had to leave," said Susan.
They were being targeted for their Islamic background. It was not a comfortable feeling in a country that was supposedly renowned for its multicultural acceptance. It was also uncomfortable for the Hannas for another reason. They didn't want their kids, Mary and Joseph exposed to that kind of tension.
The Hannas were part of the estimated 10 per cent (Samy pegged it at closer to 20 per cent in happier times) of the Egyptian population that is Christian.
"Prince George is beautiful," said Susan, meaning more than just the scenery.
"There are many Muslims here, too, they are good people in Prince George. Everyone we know here is good," said Samy
The couple operates the Tabor Pharmacy. Mary, 27, works for Carrier Sekani Family Services and is working on her masters degree in social work. Joseph, 25, studied at UNBC and in Kelowna for his environmental chemistry degree and is now working in Whitehorse for a mining exploration company.
They have many strong bonds with family and friends still in Egypt.
"I was talking with some friends, from our generation, and they are stuck. They want to get out but they don't know how," said Mary. "My friends work in the medical field, and right now the hospitals are overflowing and they are getting paid for maybe a quarter of the work they do."
She said even as children they used to make little references on the school ground about Mubarak either dying in power or being dragged out by the people, one or the other. Now she is seeing that showdown being played out on the streets she used to play on.
