Local Egyptian community reacts to Mubarak's speech

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced Thursday that he will transfer his powers to the Vice President Omar Suleiman, but he won't step down until September.

"I express a commitment to carry on and protect the constitution and the people and transfer power to whomever is elected next September in free and transparent elections." Mubarak said in his speech.

The announcement came seventeen days after protests in the country that have been televised throughout the world, including here in our city.

Edmontonians of Egyptian decent have been watching the events in their home country on television and social media websites.

"This revolution has been ignited and triggered by internet, and that's really something we should be proud of." Ahmed Farag said Thursday.

Farag and members of the Egyptian Students Association gathered at the University of Alberta to watch Mubarak's speech.

While initially optimistic that Mubarak would announce his departure, it soon became clear that the crisis in their home country is not yet over.

"This speech is really stupid and it's insulting to people." Mohammed Ahmed said. "We were all extremely optimistic that this was the moment, and his speech was extremely disappointing for us."

As the crisis continues, those in Canada are left to worry and wonder about friends and family back home.

"It's so stressful." said Nermeen Youssef. "We're all on Egypt time, we wake up on Egyptian time, we sleep on Egyptian time, we're glued to our laptops or the news."

The students have already organized several rallies in support of democracy in Egypt, and plan to continue demonstrating.

With files from Ryan Ellis.