Abdelrahman ElGendy
@elgendy95.bsky.social
Egyptian writer and translator from Cairo.
Author of HUNA, forthcoming from Hogarth, Penguin Random House.
https://www.abdelrahmanelgendy.com/
Author of HUNA, forthcoming from Hogarth, Penguin Random House.
https://www.abdelrahmanelgendy.com/
Pinned
The once-fantasy that sustained me through six years and three months in Egyptian prisons has come to life: my book will be released into our world. 🧵
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
I'm sharing a series of slides from @elgendy95.bsky.social's instagram account about how mutual aid works in Gaza. There are 5 slides (I will thread them) & you can see the original post here: www.instagram.com/p/DMaj16Ostyh/
July 27, 2025 at 9:28 PM
I'm sharing a series of slides from @elgendy95.bsky.social's instagram account about how mutual aid works in Gaza. There are 5 slides (I will thread them) & you can see the original post here: www.instagram.com/p/DMaj16Ostyh/
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
@ahmeddouma.bsky.social ’s “Zaytouna,” written during the author’s incarceration, is an ode to an olive tree planted by a friend in Palestine, and to the hope it symbolizes. Read the poem (tr. @elgendy95.bsky.social : wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...
July 31, 2025 at 7:30 PM
@ahmeddouma.bsky.social ’s “Zaytouna,” written during the author’s incarceration, is an ode to an olive tree planted by a friend in Palestine, and to the hope it symbolizes. Read the poem (tr. @elgendy95.bsky.social : wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...
For the @washingtonpost.com, I wrote about Laila Soueif—not only the grieving mother starving for her son’s release, but the towering icon of dissent with a legacy all her own.
No matter how this ends, Laila lives.
wapo.st/3HT3xin
No matter how this ends, Laila lives.
wapo.st/3HT3xin
June 22, 2025 at 8:03 PM
For the @washingtonpost.com, I wrote about Laila Soueif—not only the grieving mother starving for her son’s release, but the towering icon of dissent with a legacy all her own.
No matter how this ends, Laila lives.
wapo.st/3HT3xin
No matter how this ends, Laila lives.
wapo.st/3HT3xin
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
"Why I Had to Flee the United States
I was a political prisoner in Egypt. I didn’t want to become one again in America.
Abdelrahman ElGendy
The hallmark of authoritarianism isn’t the knock at the door—it’s life under the constant fear of its arrival."
I was a political prisoner in Egypt. I didn’t want to become one again in America.
Abdelrahman ElGendy
The hallmark of authoritarianism isn’t the knock at the door—it’s life under the constant fear of its arrival."
Why I Had to Flee the United States
I was a political prisoner in Egypt. I didn’t want to become one again in America.
www.thenation.com
May 2, 2025 at 4:49 PM
"Why I Had to Flee the United States
I was a political prisoner in Egypt. I didn’t want to become one again in America.
Abdelrahman ElGendy
The hallmark of authoritarianism isn’t the knock at the door—it’s life under the constant fear of its arrival."
I was a political prisoner in Egypt. I didn’t want to become one again in America.
Abdelrahman ElGendy
The hallmark of authoritarianism isn’t the knock at the door—it’s life under the constant fear of its arrival."
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
“After Mahmoud Khalil was abducted by ICE agents in front of his university apartment in NYC, I locked myself inside my home for a month… my lawyers gently but unequivocally told me that the question had likely become no longer if I would be arrested but when.”
So, Abdelrahman ElGendy fled the US.
So, Abdelrahman ElGendy fled the US.
May 3, 2025 at 10:33 AM
“After Mahmoud Khalil was abducted by ICE agents in front of his university apartment in NYC, I locked myself inside my home for a month… my lawyers gently but unequivocally told me that the question had likely become no longer if I would be arrested but when.”
So, Abdelrahman ElGendy fled the US.
So, Abdelrahman ElGendy fled the US.
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
“The hallmark of authoritarianism isn’t the knock at the door—it’s life under the constant fear of its arrival.” Critical & devastating read by Abdelrahman ElGendy
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Why I Had to Flee the United States
I was a political prisoner in Egypt. I didn’t want to become one again in America.
www.thenation.com
May 2, 2025 at 6:08 PM
“The hallmark of authoritarianism isn’t the knock at the door—it’s life under the constant fear of its arrival.” Critical & devastating read by Abdelrahman ElGendy
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
“The hallmark of authoritarianism isn’t the knock at the door—it’s life under the constant fear of its arrival.”
Abdel Rahman Elgendy, who was a political prisoner in Egypt for six years, has now fled the US.
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Abdel Rahman Elgendy, who was a political prisoner in Egypt for six years, has now fled the US.
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Why I Had to Flee the United States
I was a political prisoner in Egypt. I didn’t want to become one again in America.
www.thenation.com
May 4, 2025 at 11:34 AM
“The hallmark of authoritarianism isn’t the knock at the door—it’s life under the constant fear of its arrival.”
Abdel Rahman Elgendy, who was a political prisoner in Egypt for six years, has now fled the US.
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Abdel Rahman Elgendy, who was a political prisoner in Egypt for six years, has now fled the US.
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
Two days ago, I officially earned my MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. But, for the second degree in a row, a dictatorship robbed me of a graduation day. 🧵
May 4, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Two days ago, I officially earned my MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. But, for the second degree in a row, a dictatorship robbed me of a graduation day. 🧵
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
“Let us grieve the costs we pay for being non-ideal imperial subjects, but may our grief not distract us from the real story. May it propel us into fury.”
Two days ago, I officially earned my MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. But, for the second degree in a row, a dictatorship robbed me of a graduation day. 🧵
May 4, 2025 at 2:44 PM
“Let us grieve the costs we pay for being non-ideal imperial subjects, but may our grief not distract us from the real story. May it propel us into fury.”
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
listen, listen! ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
Two days ago, I officially earned my MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. But, for the second degree in a row, a dictatorship robbed me of a graduation day. 🧵
May 4, 2025 at 2:57 PM
listen, listen! ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
This is what I keep thinking about as I digest my alma mater @swarthmorecollege.bsky.social’s response to protest. The fury and fear aimed at protesters, not a state that has erased entire futures. The willingness to play into the hands of an administration that gleefully scapegoats Arabs & Muslims.
Still, let me end with clarity: I had a university to go to; Gazan universities have all been obliterated by U.S.-funded Israeli scholasticide. I had a family that couldn’t join me; entire Palestinian bloodlines have been erased from the public record.
May 4, 2025 at 2:15 PM
This is what I keep thinking about as I digest my alma mater @swarthmorecollege.bsky.social’s response to protest. The fury and fear aimed at protesters, not a state that has erased entire futures. The willingness to play into the hands of an administration that gleefully scapegoats Arabs & Muslims.
Let us grieve the costs we pay for being non-ideal imperial subjects, but may our grief not distract us from the real story. May it propel us into fury.
May 4, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Let us grieve the costs we pay for being non-ideal imperial subjects, but may our grief not distract us from the real story. May it propel us into fury.
Still, let me end with clarity: I had a university to go to; Gazan universities have all been obliterated by U.S.-funded Israeli scholasticide. I had a family that couldn’t join me; entire Palestinian bloodlines have been erased from the public record.
May 4, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Still, let me end with clarity: I had a university to go to; Gazan universities have all been obliterated by U.S.-funded Israeli scholasticide. I had a family that couldn’t join me; entire Palestinian bloodlines have been erased from the public record.
My Arab, Muslim family also feared detention at the airport or deportation if they flew to the U.S. When Mohsen Mahdawi was arrested, they begged me to leave.
I fled ten days before my graduation, my cap and gown folded in a suitcase. Another degree. Another dictatorship. Another graduation taken.
I fled ten days before my graduation, my cap and gown folded in a suitcase. Another degree. Another dictatorship. Another graduation taken.
May 4, 2025 at 1:21 PM
My Arab, Muslim family also feared detention at the airport or deportation if they flew to the U.S. When Mohsen Mahdawi was arrested, they begged me to leave.
I fled ten days before my graduation, my cap and gown folded in a suitcase. Another degree. Another dictatorship. Another graduation taken.
I fled ten days before my graduation, my cap and gown folded in a suitcase. Another degree. Another dictatorship. Another graduation taken.
I had spent months saving up and working to make it possible to fly my family over—to finally have the moment Egypt had denied us. But U.S. authoritarianism had another curveball.
After the recent wave of ICE arrests, and having been doxxed, it grew too risky.
After the recent wave of ICE arrests, and having been doxxed, it grew too risky.
May 4, 2025 at 1:21 PM
I had spent months saving up and working to make it possible to fly my family over—to finally have the moment Egypt had denied us. But U.S. authoritarianism had another curveball.
After the recent wave of ICE arrests, and having been doxxed, it grew too risky.
After the recent wave of ICE arrests, and having been doxxed, it grew too risky.
Years later, in exile, a scholarship allowed me to pursue my three-year MFA at the University of Pittsburgh, my first real college experience. While many cringed at walking at the graduation commencement, I couldn’t wait.
May 4, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Years later, in exile, a scholarship allowed me to pursue my three-year MFA at the University of Pittsburgh, my first real college experience. While many cringed at walking at the graduation commencement, I couldn’t wait.
I graduated in 2019 without ever setting foot on campus. On graduation day, my class held up a banner with my face and a symbolic standing ovation to recognize the could-have-been friend they had never met, but whose journey they carried with them. I was released by a miracle months later.
May 4, 2025 at 1:21 PM
I graduated in 2019 without ever setting foot on campus. On graduation day, my class held up a banner with my face and a symbolic standing ovation to recognize the could-have-been friend they had never met, but whose journey they carried with them. I was released by a miracle months later.
I was arrested from a protest the day before my freshman year at the German University in Cairo. A year in, my scholarship was revoked and I was barred from exams. I transferred to Ain Shams University, and over six years in prison, I studied for my mechanical engineering degree.
May 4, 2025 at 1:21 PM
I was arrested from a protest the day before my freshman year at the German University in Cairo. A year in, my scholarship was revoked and I was barred from exams. I transferred to Ain Shams University, and over six years in prison, I studied for my mechanical engineering degree.
Two days ago, I officially earned my MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. But, for the second degree in a row, a dictatorship robbed me of a graduation day. 🧵
May 4, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Two days ago, I officially earned my MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. But, for the second degree in a row, a dictatorship robbed me of a graduation day. 🧵
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
Today in @thenation.com: After 3 yrs of carving a home in U.S. exile, I fled again fearing an ICE arrest. The risk wasn’t just deportation, but life in prison back in Egypt.
What myths does the US empire uphold about itself? When does fascism stop "descending"?
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
What myths does the US empire uphold about itself? When does fascism stop "descending"?
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Why I Had to Flee the United States
I was a political prisoner in Egypt. I didn’t want to become one again in America.
www.thenation.com
May 2, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Today in @thenation.com: After 3 yrs of carving a home in U.S. exile, I fled again fearing an ICE arrest. The risk wasn’t just deportation, but life in prison back in Egypt.
What myths does the US empire uphold about itself? When does fascism stop "descending"?
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
What myths does the US empire uphold about itself? When does fascism stop "descending"?
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
“Our persecuted fled to the US from prisons, wars, and bloodshed, the belly of the beast a refuge from its claws tearing at our homelands. But today, we relive the very realities we fled.”
@elgendy95.bsky.social on political imprisonment, from Egypt to America. www.thenation.com/article/soci...
@elgendy95.bsky.social on political imprisonment, from Egypt to America. www.thenation.com/article/soci...
May 4, 2025 at 11:25 AM
“Our persecuted fled to the US from prisons, wars, and bloodshed, the belly of the beast a refuge from its claws tearing at our homelands. But today, we relive the very realities we fled.”
@elgendy95.bsky.social on political imprisonment, from Egypt to America. www.thenation.com/article/soci...
@elgendy95.bsky.social on political imprisonment, from Egypt to America. www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
“The hallmark of authoritarianism isn’t the knock at the door—it’s life under the constant fear of its arrival… It wasn’t just a departure I was weighing; it was the abandonment of a life I had painstakingly built against the conditions of my exile.” www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Why I Had to Flee the United States
I was a political prisoner in Egypt. I didn’t want to become one again in America.
www.thenation.com
May 4, 2025 at 11:15 AM
“The hallmark of authoritarianism isn’t the knock at the door—it’s life under the constant fear of its arrival… It wasn’t just a departure I was weighing; it was the abandonment of a life I had painstakingly built against the conditions of my exile.” www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
May 2, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
“Our persecuted fled to the US from prisons, wars, and bloodshed, the belly of the beast a refuge from its claws tearing at our homelands. But today, we relive the very realities we fled”
I am enraged and heartbroken and I am sure Abdelrahman’s story is only one of many.
I am enraged and heartbroken and I am sure Abdelrahman’s story is only one of many.
Today in @thenation.com: After 3 yrs of carving a home in U.S. exile, I fled again fearing an ICE arrest. The risk wasn’t just deportation, but life in prison back in Egypt.
What myths does the US empire uphold about itself? When does fascism stop "descending"?
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
What myths does the US empire uphold about itself? When does fascism stop "descending"?
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Why I Had to Flee the United States
I was a political prisoner in Egypt. I didn’t want to become one again in America.
www.thenation.com
May 2, 2025 at 6:22 PM
“Our persecuted fled to the US from prisons, wars, and bloodshed, the belly of the beast a refuge from its claws tearing at our homelands. But today, we relive the very realities we fled”
I am enraged and heartbroken and I am sure Abdelrahman’s story is only one of many.
I am enraged and heartbroken and I am sure Abdelrahman’s story is only one of many.
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
An important, eloquent and deeply upsetting piece by @elgendy95.bsky.social who I was lucky to teach while he worked on his upcoming book. After years as a political prisoner in Egypt, he faced the same risk in the US and had to flee. Such an enraging loss.
"After Mahmoud Khalil was abducted, I locked myself inside my home for a month." Why @elgendy95.bsky.social, a former political prisoner in Egypt, decided he had no choice but to flee Donald Trump's America.
Why I Had to Flee the United States
I was a political prisoner in Egypt. I didn’t want to become one again in America.
www.thenation.com
May 2, 2025 at 5:43 PM
An important, eloquent and deeply upsetting piece by @elgendy95.bsky.social who I was lucky to teach while he worked on his upcoming book. After years as a political prisoner in Egypt, he faced the same risk in the US and had to flee. Such an enraging loss.