Exactly four years after his release in Egypt, on December 8, 2021, Patrick Zaki's son was born.
"I thought that date would forever be tied to a heavy memory, marked by an experience difficult to separate from the pain. I believed that day's meaning would never change... until Wedd arrived ," the Egyptian activist said on Instagram, posting a photo with his partner Reny and their newborn.
On December 8th, "our son was born, and in an instant my memory was transformed. The day that bore the weight of the past became a day of light . It became both the day of freedom and the day of birth. As if fate wanted to remind me that even memory can heal when it comes into contact with a new love, when life intertwines with the deepest meaning of things."
Wedd, Zaki explains, means "sincere affection." "Everything I had experienced before was transformed the moment we held Wedd in our arms—a name carefully chosen, because the world suffers from a lack of kindness, and we wanted him to bring a little of it into his destiny. May his presence remind us every day that sweetness is strength, and that love is a value that cannot be replaced. That day I didn't just find freedom... that day I found myself again. And Wedd's birth made everything more possible, brighter, more real."
Patrick Zaki, a postcolonial comparative modern literature student at the University of Bologna, was arrested in Egypt shortly after landing at Cairo airport on February 7, 2020. He was charged with threatening national security, inciting illegal protests, subversion, spreading false news, and promoting terrorism. After nearly two years in detention, he was released on December 8, 2021, but his trial continued. On July 18, 2023, he was sentenced to three years in prison, and the following day, Egyptian President al-Sisi pardoned him.
(Unioneonline/D)
