Mpls. woman trying to get parents out of Egypt

Dina Gad has been trying to find a way to get her parents out of Egypt, but she says the violence that broke out in recent days is making it hard to even reach the airports.

Gad, of Minneapolis, contacted the U.S. State Department, but most flights being arranged by the U.S. government are flying out of Cairo. Her parents, Nadia and Raafat Gad, who are U.S. citizens, are in Alexandria, which is about four hours away from Cairo.

"The roads to Cairo just aren't safe," Dina Gad told MPR's Morning Edition on Friday. "Even getting to the Alexandria airport isn't safe. My parents are scared, they're afraid to even make the trip."

The Gads, who moved to Minnesota from Egypt 30 years ago, are among hundreds of U.S. citizens who have tried through the State Department to get a flight out of Egypt. The State Department has been arranging flights out of Cairo and has evacuated more than 2,200 people so far.

The Gads were spending the winter back home in Egypt. Dina Gad said her parents are in their apartment in Alexandria, which is in a relatively safe building. They're also able to go out to buy essentials.

When the protests first started, Gad said her parents were excited.

"They were both pretty proud that they were there to witness this," she said.

But that changed when the violence broke out this week.

"My mom called and she told me, 'I think it's time to go,'" Gad said.

(MPR's Cathy Wurzer contributed to this report.)