I will try to write about two things
in this article; the first is about the debate – and I won’t say the fight –
over the position of the president of the republic … the second thing has to do
with an issue that is relatively old; that is pre-symptoms of revolutionary
action in Egypt.
As to the first, I believe that the
main idea in any political ideology, whether liberal, Arab-national Nasserist or
communist, is loyalty to the nation… meaning to be nationalist first and then
comes anything else… In this regard, I remember when I once disagreed to my
master and dear friend late Mr. Kamel Zoheiri in a matter of political and
intellectual nature… I remember when he got angry and said: “first, I am
Nasserist because I am nationalist… and not the opposite…“. And so, we can say that
the nation’s interests, future and all its fundamentals are the factors
deciding where you stand in the current and future political scene…
First, I admit it’s really very
difficult to resist personifying stances… especially if there were many –
including me – who know one of the presidential candidates very well… and most
of us know what adds more to the negative assessment of that candidate… I even
heard severe criticism about him from some who occupy top positions in
al-Karama party and I participated with them in a discussion over “the
individual - the cinematic phenomenon”… however, the interests of the nation –
and nothing else – require that we let go of such personification… but in the
same time, not to take risks regarding our country; land, people and role.
Here, we shall say that our country figuratively
has been subjected to turbulent earthquakes and storms exceeding those of the
Atlantic tornados… and if our heritage has depicted the country as a ship
co-owned by those aboard its deck… then, if this ship is going through a
turbulent sea and someone wanted to scuttle it claiming he has the right to do
whatever he wants… in such case, others shall prevent him from doing such
thing, since they will all die if they let him.
Also, as to the tale of “military
men”… that alien tale to our country falsely claiming that those dressed in
military costumes; meaning military men, are not competent enough in intellect,
knowledge and eloquence to graduates of civil universities… especially if those
civil graduates were once political leaders whether as students or MPs…
Such tale reminds me of my master and
centuries-long old friend Jalal ad-Din Rumi as he told a story saying that
there was once a knowledgeable man in language and Fiqh, that man went to the
sea shore to take a boat crossing him over to his destination on the other side
of the sea… at the shore, he asked the sail man if he masters the language and
knows about Fiqh… the sailor answered: “no, Sir”… the man then said: “then you
missed half the joy of your life”… Then the man went on board the boat and sat…
the boat went deep into the sea and a very raging storm stroke… the man started
yelling and shouting… then the sailor asked him: “can you swim, Sir?”… the man
answered: No… the sailor then said: “then you lost all your life!”.
What I want to say is that our country
needs a president or captain who masters sailing among dangers and battles… but
once the weather is clear and all storms in Sinai, Upper Egypt and in the West;
source of those storms, abate… and when that captain can secure the course and
supplies for this ship… then, it’s possible for any sail man to take command of
that ship after that…
As to the second matter, it occurred to
me while I was commenting on one of the speakers participating in a conference
held by Alexandria Bibliotheaka… that conference debated over the Arab world
and the call for freedom, equality, dignity and nationalism… the speaker was
one of our Emirati fellows… He talked about the mutual effect between countries
of Arab Spring and Gulf countries…
What occurred to me is that Egypt has
witnessed a massive revolutionary uprising in January 1977… and masses pouring
into the streets from Aswan to Alexandria… and from al-Arish to as-Salloum
chanted slogans that revealed a deep social, economic and political awareness… I
participated myself with others in those days… I also was accused in the case bearing
no. 100; high state security of inciting on this uprising…
After this, we had a very long calm
period of time that lasted to the beginning of the second decade of the twenty
first century… meaning about three decades and a half…
The question is: why was that all long
calm time?... and why hasn’t this angry popular revolutionary moment continued
to topple the regime before January, 2011?
I believe the answer is that this
period was the time when the Egyptian labor flooded to Gulf countries, Iraq and
Libya… and the Egyptian middle class was one of the most important categories
that was part of what I call “migration to oil-rich countries”… The cash – or Liquid
money – kept flooding to Egypt in massive quantities… whether from savings of
millions of Egyptians who travelled to those oil-rich countries… or from aids,
donations and loans that showered Egypt from those countries as well and that
were looted and smuggled…
That cash that didn’t come from
productive sources… and most of it turned into cemented chalets and asphalt roads
in the beach resorts stretching from al-Arish to as-Salloum on the Mediterranean
Sea… and along the Red Sea, lakes and Suez Canal…
Moreover, that labor came back loaded with
different values, traditions, thinking styles and cultural interests different
to ours… most important of those is the philosophy of individual solution or
salvation stating that “as long as I have my savings in my pocket, I can buy
whatever I want; shelter, clothes, food, Air-conditions, moquette….”…“I don’t
care about others and they have nothing to do with me”… also, we had
governments supporting such philosophy and encouraging it; those of the corrupt
officials… cabinet after another…
Then, everything started to collapse…
as Iraq fell down… and Gulf countries started to nationalize the jobs or prefer
the Asian labor to the Egyptian and Arab ones… and matters worsened in Egypt
because the cash coming from the oil-rich countries was squandered… and young kids
are still in need of the cash; to get educated, to get married…etc.… also, the
governments kept applying policies of despotism and corruption… and so another
wave of what happened in January, 1977 stroke…
I’m just trying to put things together…
however; a deeper and broader analysis is needed.
Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar
Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar
This article was published in Al Ahram
newspaper on April 10, 2014.
To see the original article, go to:
#alahram #ahmed_elgammal
#presidential_elections #Egypt #sisi
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