Mohamed Samir Ghanima

BY MARAM SHALABY

He was kind, supportive, and always there when needed. This is how Mohamed Samir, a mechanical engineering senior, killed in July after being shot by an unidentified armed group, was described by the people who knew him.

Family, friends and faculty all gathered to pray for Samir and sharing a few words in honor of his memory in a memorial service held at AUC on September 18.

“Samir is one of the most precious people you can come across in your life. He prioritizes people over himself, he never did harm to anyone, and everyone who knew him used to love him,” said his friend Tarek Akmal who was with him at the time of the accident.

President Lisa Anderson spoke at the memorial highlighting the giving nature of Samir.

“He was the kind of student all teachers would want to have,” Anderson said. “He not only knew how to learn but he knew how to share and how to teach.”

Mohy Mansour, a mechanical engineering professor, addressed Samir in his speech, saying, “Missing you is a terrible feeling for your family at home and for your small family here at AUC, but knowing that you are in a better place is a relief to all of us.”

Samir’s father delivered a speech leaving attendees in tears. “When [Samir’s] friends called each other to deliver the terrible news, they said: ‘Samir’ passed away; at this moment I really hoped that this was true, and that the person who actually died was Samir [me] and not Mohamed [my son].”

Samir and four of his friends — Tarek Akmal, Paula Shoukry, Kareem Hossam and Abdelrahman Ghaly — were on their way home after trying to photocopy papers for their mechanical engineering final exam when the accident occurred. They were all wounded, except for Akmal.

“A black car with masked and armed thugs appeared and cornered us. After we were cornered, they started shooting at our car,” said Akmal.

Akmal added that at this point, Shoukry was already shot beneath his heart, Samir was shot in the head, Hossam in his waist and Abdelrahman got a superficial wound in his head.

Akmal does not believe the rumors that went around alleging that Samir was specifically targeted because of his father’s position in Egypt’s General Intelligence. He said that if this were the case, the armed men would have shot Samir while he drove to Paula’s house alone that morning.

He expressed his deep sorrow and grief about what happened, especially that Samir, whom he had known since he came to AUC, was more than just a friend to him.

“Samir was the kind of person that encouraged you to improve yourself and not pull you backwards. He is the best person I have ever met,” Akmal said.