Image: Jonathan Rashad
People in Toronto are celebrating the news that Hosni Mubarak has stepped down as president of Egypt. Hundreds of anti-Mubarak protesters gathered in Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square last Friday to celebrate.
When Egypt’s vice-president, Omar Suleiman, told the people on Friday that the president would step down and end his 30-year ruling, everyone got very excited. Many people in Egypt had been gathering in the streets of Cairo to ask Mubarak to quit as president. They felt that Mubarak had been keeping much of the country’s riches for himself. While many people in Egypt are poor, Mubarak has billions of dollars and many houses around the world.
People in Toronto were happy for the Egyptian people. Egyptian flags were waved, songs were sung and posters with slogans were held high as people from all over the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) gathered in celebration. One woman was weeping tears of happiness, knowing the people of Egypt would no longer be held down by Mubarak.
The celebrations were not just in Toronto. People throughout the Canada and the rest of the world also celebrated. The once-angry protestors in Egypt turned jubilant, because the people of Egypt were free from Mubarak.
Even Barak Obama, the U.S. president said, “Egypt will never be the same.”
News that Mubarak was stepping down came as a surprise, since he said in a recent speech that he would remain president until the country’s elections were held in September. After that, Egyptians became very angry, demanding that he leave office right away.
With President Mubarak now no longer in control, power has been shifted to the Egyptian military and Mubarak’s vice-president, Suleiman.
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
Writing/Discussion Prompt
People in Toronto and around the world are celebrating the fact that Mubarak is stepping down as the president of Egypt. Why do you think people that don’t live in Egypt are so interested in this event? How do you think this event affects the lives of people living outside of Egypt?
Reading Prompt
This article focuses on all of the people who are happy that Mubarak stepped down. How would this article change if it was told from another point of view?
Primary
identify, initially with support and direction, the speaker and the point of view presented in a text and suggest one or two possible alternative perspectives (OME, Reading: 1.9)
Junior
identify the point of view presented in texts, ask questions to identify missing or possible alternative points of view, and suggest some possible alternative perspectives (OME, Reading: 1.9)
Grammar Feature: Pronouns
Pronouns such as he, she, it, they are used in place of nouns (people, places, things).
For example, pronouns are used in the following sentence: Mr. Staford went to his school. He set up his classroom and got it ready for his students. When his students arrived, they were very excited to see that the classroom was re-decorated.
Identify all of the pronouns in the article and then write five sentences in which pronouns are used.
