New chapter for Mohamed Fahmy » Fahmy returns to Vancouver after two years of imprisonment in Egypt Mercedes Deutscher News Editor © news@theotherpress.ca n October 15, Mohamed Fahmy arrived home in Vancouver with his wife to a warm greeting from friends, family, strangers, and supporters. Fahmy, along with two other journalists from abroad, have spent the last two years incarcerated in Egypt after being accused of spreading false news and broadcasting terrorism, particularly regarding their coverage of the Muslim Brotherhood. Despite international outcry and all three journalists maintaining that they were just trying to cover a story, they were convicted in Egyptian courts. Fahmy originally received a seven-year sentence. However, after he renounced his Egyptian citizenship, his sentence was reduced. He was still expected to spend three more years in prison before being pardoned in September. On his way home to : Vancouver, Fahmy made a : stop in Toronto on October 11 : to speak at a news conference : about his experiences. He was : particularly excited to be back : in time for the federal election. : Fahmy met with Liberal leader : Justin Trudeau on October 12 : and NDP leader Thomas Mulcair } : on October 13. “I think it’s a very fierce and exciting campaign, and I’m so : : proud to be here to witness it. I’ve : : been working in the Middle East : for 16 years—covering Syria, Iraq, : Libya—that’s a democracy I was : hoping to see, and it’s not there,” Fahmy said in an interview with Photo via Huffingtonpost.ca : CBC’s Andrew Chang, upon his : return to Vancouver. Stephen Harper’s Conservative government has > received consistent criticism from : : Fahmy. “Unfortunately, Mr. Harper : did not understand the urgency : of the situation the way others : did. Amnesty International, : Human Rights Watch : and CJFE wrote open letters : to Harper saying, ‘You need to : make that phone call. Also, Mr. : Mulcair and Mr. Trudeau wrote : open letters and questioned Mr. : Harper in Parliament about his : mild approach.” However, Fahmy did express gratitude to Harper, who : eventually made a phone call to : Egyptian president Abdel Fattah : el-Sisi to help secure Fahmy’s : release. Still, Fahmy will continue : to fight for the release of other : journalists incarcerated around : the world. Fahmy is expecting to start readjusting back to normal life : starting next week, already taking : a position as a professor at the : UBC School of Journalism. Some : of Fahmy’s future students went : to YVR on Thursday evening to : greet him on his return. “Tm just so excited to just : be able to go to Stanley Park, : walk the streets and have some : good sushi,” Fahmy said to CTV : reporters. “It’s just a whole new : beginning.” Raising the Roof: Changing the conversation about homelessness » A heartbreaking look into homelessness on a personal level Aaron Guillen Staff Reoorter (Cf home is where the heart heartless?” That tweet, read by Cheryl—a homeless woman of seven years—brought a devastated look across her face. Through falling tears and a weakened voice, she cupped her mouth and quietly said: “Far from it.” A couple months ago, Raising the Roof, a Canadian non-profit organization fighting homelessness, posted a video titled “The homeless read mean tweets”. Unlike common “mean tweets” videos which usually cause laughter, this one instead brought tears. People from between the ages of 3 and 47 who had experienced homelessness read tweets from strangers who expressed their negative viewpoints on homeless people. “I was enjoying a latte when I saw a hobo girl across the street. | almost vomited. Get back to your side of the bridge. No one likes you.” : feel bad for homeless people. : Each individual is in control of > their life and future so it’s their : fault” is, then are homeless people : Having amassed over 1.3 : million views, this message has : been heard by people across the : country. However, one video isn’t : : enough to change the hearts of: : Canadians nationwide. According to The Homeless : Hub, over 235,000 Canadians : experience homelessness in a : year, with an average of 35,000 : each night. While some couch- : surf, others find emergency : shelters to stay in for the night, : whereas the remainder find : themselves unsheltered. Raising the Roof raised awareness to the issue again, : posting another video last week : titled “A homeless shelter shakes : : up a neighbourhood.” In the : video, the organization posted : a fake sign for one day in the : suburb of Leaside, Toronto, : revealing a plan to implement : a homeless shelter before : Christmas. Without hesitation, : multiple people called the organization expressing their : concern and dissatisfaction : regarding the false plans. “In all honesty, I kinda don’t : “This will affect my : business... [and] my livelihood. : How did you possibly get : the permission to ruina : neighbourhood by putting a : homeless shelter here?” “You know they are all : drug addicts and drunks. : You're ruining a perfectly : good neighbourhood. This is : absolutely absurd.” “There must be some other : place where a homeless shelter : can be opened up. Let’s move : them somewhere down South or : up North.” The next day, the Photo via nationofchange.org : the experiment. It said, “You : told us you don’t want a shelter : here. Neither do we. Support us : in creating long-term solutions. : Let’s end homelessness.” : To become a part of this : conversation, check out : organization removed the sign to : : reveal the true message behind: RaisingtheRoof.org