“He was a bit worried about going to Egypt because of what happened to other Egyptian students studying abroad,” says Souheila Yildiz.
Her fiancé, Ahmed Samir Santawy, had been studying for a masters degree at the Central European University in Vienna, focusing on gender and religion. Like many international students, he hadn’t seen his family for a long time. And so, in December, he flew home. And, with the campus shut down and courses online, he stayed there for the winter term.
She was supposed to visit him there, but because of COVID-19, kept postponing the trip. Finally she managed to book a ticket for 1 February, but it was already too late.
