Being born in Europe came at the expense of my parents separating and losing contact with my

dad. My mom wished to give me all the possible opportunities, modernity, and European
citizenship, whilst my dad could not bear the thought of me being baptized as a Christian,
outside Egypt, even at the cost of my own future. One dispute developed and at one point their
separation before I had even arrived in the world. I grew up most of my life without a father
figure. My mom was and is my superhero. She did the impossible to bring money into our
household and support my education, and be the greatest parental figure I could even imagine.

I did not understand why at celebrations other kids had two parents cheering for them, why my
friends were picked up after school by their fathers, or what was more exactly a fishing trip. I
believed that they were just older brothers that took care of their siblings, just as I did! After the
birth of my smaller brother, our family was still not fully complete, as the second marriage got
into similar complications. I needed to step up for my brother and mother, so I became the man
of the house. I started cooking, shopping, providing income to the household, and trying to be
the father my brother never had. My father never helped me or my family with any money, he
barely had any interest in wishing me Happy Birthday from time to time. Even if we had the legal
right to go with him to court, we always decided to forgive the past. We knew he now had a new
family with three beautiful girls back in Egypt, so we found it unfair that all his family would need
to suffer the burdens of his actions.