In Boston, Egyptian Students Celebrate Far From Home

Egyptian students in the Boston area — many of whom have lived their entire lives under the rule of Hosni Mubarak — celebrated the resignation of the Egyptian president on Friday.

In Harvard Square, students from Egypt chanted misr, the Arabic word for Egypt, and sang their national anthem, unable to contain their excitement at the political events unfolding in their home country.

"This is a new dawn in Egyptian history, and we are all very proud of our country and very proud of what the Egyptian people have done," student Hasham Hamoda told WBUR's Monica Brady-Myerov. "I think this is one of the happiest days in everyone's lives."

WBUR's All Things Considered host Sacha Pfeiffer spoke with two more Boston-area Egyptian students — Ena El-Hadidy, 25, from the University of Massachusetts Boston, and Fady Samaan, 19, from Northeastern University — about what it's been like to watch the dramatic events from afar.