From time to time, I see
some writings whose writers ask with wonder and disapproval: when will Nasser
die? Or why is Nasser not yet dead? Then they volunteer to give many answers
for their questions.
Some of them think that
Nasser’s policies and stances, or even the July 23, 1952 revolution in the
first place, is the reason behind Egypt’s problems on all levels. Some others
believe that the only condition to go forward is to bid farewell to the past and
even execute it; whether regarding thought or politics. While some others think
that nostalgia to the past and Patriarchy or father-rule are symptoms of psycho-sociological
diseases the masses get inflicted with.
That is why – no matter
their answers are – they all get surprised when they see some people lifting
Nasser’s posters in demonstrations and marches and chant his name, stances and
ideology… not ending by the profuse writings glorifying him, his ideology and
stances. They even get more amazed when they find that this phenomenon is not limited
to Egypt alone but actually extends to other countries in the region,
especially Lebanon and occupied Palestine… and even in places far away from the
region like some countries in Latin America whose leaders and politicians are
proud to declare they are Nasserist.
If we put the question aside
– along with those who came up with answers to it and got busy finishing off
Nasser’s legacy using all means – we would find that the question is logical
and is strongly present right now in the political mentality; whether in Egypt
or abroad.
We can even reformulate
the question to be: why do nations get attached to certain figures and ideas
that belong to past eras? And what is the difference between negative unhealthy
nostalgia and positive healthy nostalgia? And is it a necessity that in order
to achieve the present and future’s goals we have to eliminate the past?
My answer to these
questions depends on many things. The first is the continuity, disruption or
change of circumstances faced by the country on two main aspects; one of them
is security, meaning defending its national borders, protecting it over land,
sea and air and securing people’s life, the other aspect is maintaining justice
among people. And so, if the nation is facing the same dangers on the security
and justice levels, the society remains attached to the symbol, ideology and
practices that proved to have accomplished noticeable achievements in those two
aspects and people felt their effect.
The second thing has to
do with the concept of opposition. In our case here, it means that as long as
the country enemies – meaning those who threaten its security and undermine its
stability whether domestically or abroad – declare their animosity to and keep
defaming a certain figure, the society as a whole; meaning its broad masses,
gets automatically more attached to this figure attacked by the enemies.
Living societies always
pay attention to determining who the enemy is, then they start reordering their
priorities and get more connected to the figures that once advocated their
national security, social equality and national dignity. Therefore, Nasser;
symbol and ideology, will always be living among us, as opposing to the wishes
of some who want to get rid of his ideology and policies. The Nasserite era represents
the renaissance experiment that was not meant to continue and that is not precedent
in the contemporary and modern history of Egypt; meaning since Muhammed Ali
Pasha renaissance experiment at the beginning of the 19th century
and until the beginning of the fifties of the 20th century, as Nasser
issued the two laws of determining working hours and minimum limit of wages. After
this, he issued the law of agricultural reform and the rest of the details that
affirmed his alignment to the broad masses of the society. In my opinion, that
was the most distinguished achievement in the legacy of Nasser and July, 23
revolution since there could be other common features between the two
experiments; Nasser and Muhammed Ali, on the security level.
Moreover, Egypt is still
witnessing many threats to its national security and regional role. These threats,
even if changed in some features; as terrorism, chaos, destroying the national
army and dismantling the society and its historical cohesion came atop of the
list, are still imminent, after the Zionist threat was once atop of it since it
seems to have backed a little now or it is more correct to say is postponed.
Also, Egypt is working
hard to continue maintaining justice nationwide by guaranteeing fair
distribution of national wealth and economic burdens, establishing the
community of sufficiency and justice, guaranteeing welfare of its people by
guaranteeing their main rights in citizenship and work, providing necessary
needs of education, health services, shelter and others, and not ending by providing
entertainment that became a necessity for normal life.
The more the broad
masses of society miss national security and justice, the more they recall the
figures representing national conscience, especially in the nearest ring of
history when security and justice were achieved. Then they glorify this
national symbol or figure, in this case; Nasser. This is not an unhealthy
nostalgia to the past but a way to defend their existence and to prove that
achieving security and justice is possible. Their evidence in such case is that
figure they recall from the history; Nasser.
Now I say to those
asking with wonder and disapproval: in order to achieve what you want, you have
to guarantee security and justice in higher rates and on wider areas. However, I
doubt their ability to do such thing because most of them – if not all – do not
know the meaning of the comprehensible national security. They do not consider
Egypt’s role in the region and the whole world as a priority. Also, absence of
justice is the essential condition for their existence since they will not be
able to accumulate massive fortunes except with injustice and social
inequality.
Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar
Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar
This
article was published in Al Ahram newspaper in January 19, 2017.
To
see the original article, go to:
#alahram
#ahmed_elgammal #Nasser
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