Beware of the archives

Those worn out of working day and night and who are attracted by what modern means of communication like Facebook and its likes provide may not find the time to read the recently published books or the fine academic-like resources and references that are different to what I once called the “Kleenex books”. By “Kleenex book” I mean those papers enclosed between two covers that once you skim through it and read its introduction, index and final, you throw it in the nearest garbage bin no matter how many papers it contains.

Therefore, and since I’m aware of this sad fact, I call upon my colleague journalists and writers, in specific those who happened to occupy supervising positions that we call in Egypt “top positions”, to read what is published of memoirs for journalists and thinkers, also for politicians and ex-officials, since not a single case of those memoirs is empty of a clear hint or considerable details of the press and those who were in charge of it in the time periods those memoirs tackle.

What may support my appeal is what we already see in reality or in the socio-political arena that we witness every day and which proves that what goes around comes around. It also proves that one cannot trust politics or authority as both of them are not guaranteed to remain loyal to their supporters.

In the memoir of prestigious journalist Mr. Muhammed Salmawi published by Al-Karma publishing house in 2017, one can find quick hints for what the Egyptian newspapers published during the uprising of Jan. 1977 as Salmawi was one of those arrested due to it. In his word during the signing ceremony of the memoir, Dr. Gaber Asfour called these hints “the revenge of the archives” as the memoir’s writer mentioned what some editors-in-chef and writers wrote and the decisions some chairmen of the board of some newspapers took at the time against their colleagues whom the authority considered as opponents to regime figures and threatening the stability and social harmony as seen by the authority.

With the long time span between those writings and decisions taken and the time when this memoir was written, both the ordinary reader and the one specialist in understanding the surrounding environment and contexts can find out that being in agreement with the regime in common goals and policies is different to justifying its mistakes and turning a blind eye to its defaults.

Usually the one who committed the sin of hypocrisy and opportunism cannot rectify his situation or correct his mistake. Also, he may receive no punishment whatsoever from the authority and may continue enjoying the gains he made whether financial, material or family ones represented in affinities and interests. However, he feels sad due to people’s looks to him and also because he knows very well that if someone had the time to open the files, look through the archives, read and analyze what he found of writings belonging to this kind of humans, the result would be devastating by all means for those who still have feelings, as to others having no feelings at all, one finds them coming back to their old deeds feeling no shame.

Mr. Salmawi mentioned what an editor-in-chef wrote in 1977, what some writers wrote and the decisions some chairmen of the board took during 1977 and 1981. The memoir’s writer made sure to annex photocopies of the published papers containing what was written lest someone accuses him of concealing the truth or being unjust to some died or others who left their positions and assume no authority now.

The one who studies and carefully reads history can tell the difference between having a national conviction with cultural and intellectual aspects and hence a broad and deep political sense to support the decision maker and stand against any attempt threatening the country and keeping its cohesion, balance, power and role, and being opportunist seeking personal gains alone. In the first case, meaning having an unshakeable national conviction, one is always ready to stay at the back, abstaining from holding any positions, not hesitating to pay the price and bear responsibility for his stance. As to the second, the opportunist hurries to jump off the boat at the sight of first danger like rats do while trying to catch up with and offer his services to the new regime.

Reading history tells us that regimes are often in deep need to servants more than partners, peers or even co-operating people working as per the rule “I work with you and not a servant for you”. However, what regimes need is totally different to respecting history.

Finally... beware of “the revenge of the archives”!

Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar

This article was published in Al Ahram newspaper on December 28, 2017.

To see the original article, go to:

http://ahmadelgammal.blogspot.com.eg/2017/12/blog-post_28.html

#alahram #ahmed_elgammal #Muhammed_Salmawi_memoir #Egypt #journalism #press

Salmawi’s braid

Mr. Muhammed Salmawi was able to weave a unique braid in his memoir titled “A day or couple of days…” as one can find him talking about his old-established family of big agriculture-land-owners, about big residences that one can say are more like palaces, about grandfathers, fathers and mothers who had their august character and long-established traditions. In the same time, he talked about contradictions, funny situations, defaults and imperfections that all humans have. The memoir’s writer was audacious and frank enough to reveal aspects of social conflict, either that between males and females in the same family or the one between traditional powers in the agricultural community and the authority that adopted a style of specific social classes’ characteristics.

In the memoir, there is an embroidery-like interesting narration for tiny details like a “stitch” intricately neighboring a “knot” to make a beautiful depiction decorating the cloth. One can notice this very well in the details concerning his work in the university, journalism, his engagement in the public affairs and the time when he was jailed including all personal and public scenes, as in those scenes one finds a description of the essence of complicated relations between the jailed and jailer, between the defendant and the prosecutor, among prisoners of political and cultural causes themselves, and between them and other categories of prisoners including frauds, pick-pockets, bandits, peculators, murderers, homosexuals, drug dealers and terrorists.

Muhammed Salmawi, depending on what he recorded in a small note, on his memory and the accounts of some of his colleagues, was able to make this river of scenes flood alluring the reader to keep long imagining the scenes he portrayed in his memoir. I smiled, laughed, burst in laughter, frowned, grimaced and cried during my reading for what the memoir’s writer said about his arrest and what happened in the prison of Appeal as I was directly involved in many of what happened. Perhaps I may have the time later to publish my own account of what happened which I believe will complete and detail some of what Salmawi wrote.

My addition will be about the time gap since he left the prison in the second week of March, 1977 until I left it in the second week of September, 1977 and even continuing confining me in a more ruthless way than keeping me jailed behind bars as I lost my job in the university and was banned from joining any work in Egypt for security approvals were a must. When I visited Mr. Heikal for the first time after I came out, he told me: “Sadat will make an example of you in specific… he will put you and your family into big troubles.” What he said became true.

The skillfully and intricately weaved portrayal written by Salmawi looks as if it’s a narration of life-long human incidents of an Egyptian young man, but in the core lies a profound depiction of the reality in Egypt written from the perspective of an Egyptian intellectual who has a political, ideological and social composition with liberal aspects, bourgeois background and deep inclination to humanity and social equality, as he is the one who gave his father’s land to peasants to cultivate it for a reasonable price and in installments. He also turned into a vegetarian then into a vegan for he believed man does not necessarily be a carnivorous being preying over the flesh of other beings even if it is absolutely Halal!!

Salmawi described the political, cultural and social reality of Egypt in the time from 1976 to 1981 and made no judgments of any kind, not a political or ethical one. He didn’t condemn anyone nor considered himself and his companions saints devoted to national patriotism, Arab-nationalism or socialism. He presented facts, described relations and added some kind of analysis giving the reader the chance to comprehend and make his own evaluation.

It’s also normal that some facts were absent in the writer’s narration and some incidents and roles got confused, also some interpretations for notes he recorded himself were difficult to understand for many of what he recorded was just brief quick hints and the time span between the incidents taking place and the time of writing and publishing the book was too long to recall the details of what happened.

There was a great conflict with the regime led by Sadat who firmly believed that his decision to go to the war and the glorious victory of October, 1973 were enough to forgive him for what he did. Adding to this that Sadat believed that Egypt is more like a village and he’s its mayor, and so the village’s traditions about the right and wrong protects him, for he’s the one everyone should respect and kiss his hands, he was greatly shocked by what happened in Jan. 18 and 19, 1977 and the slogans raised as they had to do with his family and wife including some words that are considered obscene in general.

I believe it’s the same shock he had at the stage six years later as at first glance he believed the military car that slowed down and stopped before the stage was because “his sons” of army men wanted to salute him. Wearing the Nazi-like field-marshal uniform– Mubarak and Abo Ghazala, meantime, were wearing the marshal uniform –he stood to salute them in return when bullets came showering him. He cried in shock for he was appalled of what happened. In both incidents; Jan. 1977 and Oct. 1981, the political conflict in Egypt along with its social, economic and cultural sides came into a climax point that severely affected all safety controls of any regime.

In Muhammed Salmawi’s memoir, there was a third climax point between Jan. 1977 and Oct. 1981. That was the arrests that took place in Sep. 1981 and measures concerning press, universities and others. In the memoir, we can see how any regime can easily find those who justify and give excuses for its measure not paying attention, either by the regime or those justifying its mistakes, that in doing so they both are writing the regime’s last funeral musical note.

We may continue later.

Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar

This article was published in Almasry alyoum newspaper on December 27, 2017.

To see the original article, go to:

http://ahmadelgammal.blogspot.com.eg/2017/12/blog-post_26.html

#almasry_alyoum #ahmed_elgammal #Muhammed_Salmawi_memoir #Egypt

Before reading Salmawi’s memoir

I didn’t write last Wednesday’s article for I felt reluctant to write about Muhammed Salmawi’s memoir titled “A day or couple of days…” published by Al-Karma publishing house in 2017. I was honored to receive his invitation to attend the book signing where the spacious place became crowded with the big audience of Egypt’s elite bunch of politicians and intellectuals.

There is no secret behind this reluctance except for the abundant feelings, information and memories I share with what Mr. Salmawi wrote and which I lived during my lifetime as I belong to the same age group of the writer for he was born in 1945 while I was born in 1946. I said the same age group and not the same generation lest I fall in the trap that my late great friend and mentor Kamel Zoheiri used to mock as he detested that silly talk about “conflict of generations”, “experiences of generations” and “idiosyncrasy of a generation”. He used to say “We now have generations’ investment like we once had capital investment.”

Throughout my old friendship with the memoir’s writer, I had other common things to share with him regarding geography, history, thought, politics and also finance! For “financially” I still owe Mr. Salmawi a 150 Egyptian pounds that I borrowed from him in 1978 to collect the money needed for the first installment of a small apartment in Ahmed Esmat Street as I had no home to accommodate my little family at that time. Whenever we meet, I apologize for not paying, adding that the sum reached thousands of pounds now as a gram of 18 karat gold in 1978 was worthy of ten Egyptian pounds; however, it now reached about 550 pounds, meaning the 150 pounds in 1978 became more than 8 thousand pounds now, not to mention that I and many others are indebted to the man and his great wife, artist Nazli Madkour, for the fancy meals she used to send us in the appeal prison. The kind lady used to supply us with food enough for thirteen hungry men and not only one. Along with the meals, I saw for the first time in my life– I was then 31 years old –plastic spoons, forks and knives since cutlery were not allowed into prisons.

As to the common geographical aspect we share, it’s the connection to the city of Dessouq and the neighboring villages where Salmawi’s family came from Mahallat Malek situated 5 kilometers north to Dessouq while I was born and living in Ganag situated about 20 kilometers south to Dessouq.

Then we come to the common intellectual, political and historical aspects as both of us belong to the same political ideology; nationalism that has an Arab-national root and a socialist essence. We also had common political struggles that led us once to get jailed, another time to get fired from our jobs and also to be mocked and ridiculed by the rulers and their filthy servants.

For all this I mentioned in that long introduction, how could one like me be objective and unbiased in discussing or reading the memoir of that old time partner?

This time I will not write about the book itself. Otherwise, I will talk about what I think is inseparable of Salmawi’s memoir although it was not mentioned in it, that is how could people from different social backgrounds with different standard of livings and who had dissimilar upbringings, compositions and cultures have a common intellectual and political belief?

It’s a recurring case in our contemporary life, for example, sons of the rich well-off families of the high class holding civil ranks of Pasha and Bek united with sons of the middle class families, and both of them; sons of high and middle classes, united with the struggling poor in the Egyptian communist movement, as examples like Muhammed Sayed Ahmed, Saif an-Nasr, Sabri Abdalla, Khaled Mohie ed-Din in addition to so many names of those descending from families of high and middle classes were members of political groups that included craftsmen, laborers and striving peasants and wage earners.

Also, how could those having an almost complete intellectual and cultural composition and equipped with historical awareness and disciplined understanding enabling them to seriously interpret phenomena and protecting them from getting deceived accept to continue and actually defend an era or economic socio-political experiment that was hit in the heart? Not only did they continue believing in and defending this experiment, they also paid the price for that by getting jailed, losing their source of income and denying them their basic rights in life. Moreover, they were ready to abandon their high class and sacrifice no matter the price was in a system that promises nothing, whereas the system of sectarian and religious loyalties and ideologies promises eternal paradise, herds of gorgeous women and seas of honey and wine.

Going up in the social classes from poor to middle then to high class became common. We also knew – actually we know every moment – those whose grandfathers benefited from the plan to fight bare-footedness and whom rough reeds of Hasir rugs along with its biting insects used to leave their marks on their wasted bodies, and suddenly – through corrupt and malicious means – they became wealthy. On the other side, choosing by your own will to replace luxury life with the luxury of belonging to and fighting for the poor and deprived is really the paradox that does not happen a lot in the society.

Those were some questions I wanted to ask before trying to give my opinion about the memoir of the big writer Muhammed Salmawi which I wish to be objective.

Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar

This article was published in Almasry alyoum newspaper on December 20, 2017.

To see the original article, go to:

http://ahmadelgammal.blogspot.com.eg/2017/12/blog-post_20.html

#almasry_alyoum #ahmed_elgammal #Muhammed_Salmawi_memoir #Egypt

What Amr Moussa wrote “3”: the greenhouse

If it wasn’t for the promise I gave to the readers to make this article the last about Mr. Amr Moussa’s memoir, I would have written ten or may be more articles about it, for the memoir is really rich in what is worth mentioning and commenting over, either in agreement or disagreement. In addition to the necessity to tackle what was written about it, either the constructive or destructive criticism.

In the beginning, I have a question to ask that some may think is essential: when should we put limits between the subjective opinion and the objective one?... should we tackle issues that seem personal and relate to the upbringing and social composition or not? I believe the answer is not easy, for as long as the text being discussed contains what is closely related to the personal side, it is likely to discuss what came in the text, since it is known that the upbringing, social composition along with the cultural composition are crucial factors directly and strongly influencing man’s character, behavior, choices, decisions and ambitions.

Here, I believe what Mr. Moussa wrote about his upbringing, family, social composition and life path until he graduated from university is the main key to understand his character, behavior and ambitions, as the man was haunted by “as-Saraya[1]” and its surrounding environment, perhaps until this moment as he’s now in his eighties, may he enjoy long healthy life.

The heir of as-Saraya did not mention a single word about the social environment surrounding the palace of his maternal grandfather Mr. Hussein al-Harmeel having Bek title. He provided not a single brief footnote about “Mahallet Marhoum”, where the palace situated, and its people, nor did he mention anything about the relation of the people inhabiting the palace with those inhabiting the village, except for a few words about the man who was teaching him memorization of Quran, as Mahallet Marhoum – its real name is Mahallet El-Marhoum – is neighboring another village called “al-Gawharieya”. In al-Gawharieya lies the shrine of the pious man Sidi[2] “al-Gohari” whom people believe can cause winds to blow and grant them good. In times of crises, they always raise their voices in supplication saying “Send us help, Gohari”.

Mahallet Marhoum is a village lying a few kilometers north to Tanta where women selling local Feteer or pies, milk, cottage cheese, butter and Gella or dry discs of dung used as fuel for primitive furnaces set out to sell them in Tanta. There, one can find the best tailors of Baladi or local Galabiyas and gowns. In that village, there were not big possessions of agricultural land like it was the case in other places in Delta, especially in northern Delta and Upper Egypt.

Here, as-Saraya – or the palace – looks like a closed greenhouse that contained the grandson who gave speeches at the masses of al-Wafd party’s supporters while he was still six years old!! Ironically, I remembered the late great satirist Mahmoud as-Sa’adani, whom Moussa was a friend of him, when he commented over what some media people used to say describing the Egyptian television that “It was born giant”. Al-Sa’adani said: “Born giant means it was born distorted, coz the normal thing is to be born a baby, then turn into a kid, afterwards a boy…etc.” I don’t know if it is true that the six-year old Moussa delivered an eloquent political speech, or he just sang a melody and chanted the name of an-Nahhas Pasha and al-Wafd party like it’s usually the case in some families when a child is being introduced to the guests and his folks ask him to reiterate the English alphabet, short verses of Quran or a melody he learnt at school in front of the guests.

In as-Saraya, there is no Tableya[3] of course. There is a dining table. The difference between the two is reflected upon the character of the person who sits to them as I will declare… perhaps I should say, as the memoir’s writer declared. As forTableya, it’s round where those eating sit next to one another, shoulder-to-shoulder with their hips neighboring. Sometimes, due to the many sitting to Tableya, some sit cross-legged with one knee bent to the chest and one arm stretched, mostly with the fingers and occasionally with the spoon, to reach out for the big plate containing food. Consequently, in sitting to Tableya one doesn’t feel superior or distinguished since it has no heading position, unlike sitting to the table or the square dining one that is different.

The difference became clear when Fathi ed-Deeb was sitting at the head of the table while Moussa, then a young attaché in the foreign ministry, was sitting at its far end, whispering to himself: when will I sit at its head? Trying time after time to reach towards the head, he finally said it in public after he became old in age and did his service in the ministry and the Arab League: “I want to be the president of Egypt...,” meaning I want to be the biggest head in this country. Unfortunately, he came forth in order in the presidential elections as I can remember. I believe he felt sad for this, for he depended on being Amr Moussa alone, with no clear electoral platform or new idea.

In as-Saray, the character of the father– the university lecturer whom the son did not say anything about his scholar discipline except that he was in the faculty of arts and that’s all –was missing. It’s important to mention the father’s specialty as it usually affects the composition, character, culture and orientations of the son who, unlike his father, didn’t join the faculty of arts, rather he chose the faculty of law.

In my opinion, such decision was due to being influenced by al-Wafd leaders whom most of them were law graduates. In such regard, I remember my phone call with Mr. Moussa, as he was kind enough to call me and complement my first article about his memoir, in which I told him that what he wrote about his insistence to join the faculty of law and his conversation with Sheikh Abo Zahra made me wonder why people at that time used to insist on joining the faculty of law.

I found out – perhaps I am wrong – that studying law was the closest field to the common education at that time, which was Al-Azhar, since both of their studies have to do, directly and necessarily, with the texts; texts of Quran and Prophet’s sayings in Al-Azhar, texts of Turath attributed to Sahabah, followers, founders of Madhhabs and writers of Mutoon[4] and Hawashi[5] or footnotes, texts of constitution, laws and by-laws in the faculty of law, then texts of final Cassation and Appeal verdicts and texts containing opinions of elite experts of law in every discipline, like as-Sanhouri, Sultan, Badr, al-Badrawi, Abo-Zahra and others. Moreover, dealing with the texts requires certain skills regarding the essence of the text, its philosophy, interpretation, manipulating it, making use of the gaps that legislators missed to address in it…etc.

For this reason, law people were stars in the time of British occupation and became leaders of the national movement, since pleading for the nation’s rights in independence, constitution and other things was required in facing the occupation’s bases, tanks, arms and ascendancy; whereas in the time of post-independence, an orientation for development and construction prevails. Therefore, technicians of engineers, people working in scientific fields and all their likes are required in post-occupation times.

The memoir’s writer talked about his maternal grandfather. He reminded me of the story our folks in the countryside of Gharbia governorate used to tell about the man who got married to the sister of the village’s mayor and had a son from her, and when people used to ask this son about his father, he answers: “My uncle is the village’s mayor!!”

I briefly searched about the origins of al-Harmeel family in what Ali Pasha Mubarak and al-Gabarti wrote in their books. I didn’t find enough literature except that Ahmed al-Harmeel appeared in the time of Muhammed Ali Pasha. As to the other two big families that I heard about them along with al-Harmeel, they were al-Khadem – literally means the servant – and ElBaradei. As to the first family, al-Khadem, they got their title from serving the shrine of Sidi Ahmed el-Badawi, and so they collected their fortune from the box of donations of religious vows. Whereas the second one got their title from the most thriving industry before mechanical means of transportation, like trains and cars, came to exist, that was making saddles – called Barad’a in Arabic – for donkeys and horses.

I don’t want to go on mentioning what I wrote about years ago regarding Muhammed ElBaradei; relative and colleague of Amr Moussa, as he was one of those who recommended the nice lady he got married to, and how ElBaradei dared to forge the documented recent history when he claimed that his father; the lawyer and once head of the syndicate of lawyers, was an opponent to Nasser. At that time, I published part of the minutes documenting the popular conference that recognized the National Charter of 1962 in which ElBaradei Sr. exaggerated in his hypocrisy toward the regime by asking to turn the syndicate of lawyers into a labor union.

The space allowed to me is about to come to an end. Unfortunately, I have a lot more to say, but I promised to make this article the last over this subject. I hope what I wrote does not affect the good relation I have with Mr. Amr Moussa.

Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar

This article was published in Almasry alyoum newspaper on November 1, 2017.

To see the original article, go to:

http://ahmadelgammal.blogspot.com.eg/2017/11/3.html

#almasry_alyoum #ahmed_elgammal #amr_moussa_memoir

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[1] As-Saraya (Arabic: السرايا): in this context, it means the palace where the memoir’s writer was raised. There is a more direct word describing palace in Arabic; however, the writer is quoting the same word the man used in his memoir. In addition, this word in specific – as-Saraya – was used in the past by people to denote the palace or palatial residence of high-class people.

[2] Sidi: (Arabic: سيدي) transliterated for word meaning Master in Arabic. It’s said before calling names of figures people revere, especially those having religious or spiritual significance.

[3] Tableya (Arabic: طبلية): a low-elevated wooden table used for serving food in the past but not widely in use right now.

[4] Mutoon: (Arabic: متون) the Arabic plural word for muton (متن) which is the text containing the main idea.

[5] Hawashi: (Arabic: حواشي) meaning annotations, the Arabic plural word for Hashyia (حاشية) which is a brief marginal notation of the meaning of a word or wording in a text. It may be in the language of the text or in the reader's language if it is different.