Whenever I recall that scene, I regret and promise myself not to
do it again. That was long time ago when we used to spend the summer vacation
in our village in the heart of Delta, coming from the cities where we stay in
Tanta, Dessouq, Alexandria and Cairo. First, we were being welcomed then we go
on our plans for the vacation; dressing in the ironed clean white Galabeyas,
eating the delicious food that included meat or poultry, cooked-in-milk rice,
fish, local pies or Feteer Meshaltet, soft bread, backed-with-milk-and-butter
buns, eggs, cream, cottage cheese and honey.
Then evening sittings follow; those settings that extend until
dinner – main meal in the countryside of Egypt – is due. Then some of the
elderly people take seat over the elevated desk softened with cushions while
the rest sit on the colored weaved rugs or Hasir. The Primus stove,
meantime, is always on non-stop holding the teapot above. Also, hand-rolled
tobacco cigarettes are distributed. Then discussions, which varied from current
events, to Fiqh issues, agriculture and sometimes jokes and unusual situations, start.
At sunset, meaning at the evening, those used to wake up before
sunrise and who were knocked out of exhaustion at the end of the day start to flock;
those who spend their day in picking the cotton leafworm; implanting rice seedlings;
breaking corn stalks for feeding the cattle and ruffling the dry forage before
them; irrigating, ploughing and leveling the land; and moving the dry mud and
locally-made fertilizers; dung mixed with dry mud and hay. Putting the cattle
into the barns, they come to sit at the edge of the talking assembly. Every
time they join, unfair derogatory comments, which I later realized how rude and
inhumane they were, used to shower them. First comment was usually a rhetorical question saying: “Have you washed your hands, X?!”… or “Have
you had your prayers today, Y?!”… “Pay attention to Bilharziasis and don’t go often
into the water canal”… “Don’t forget to give water to the buffalo or cow every
now and then even if it’s tied to the water wheel”. Afterwards, dinner trays
holding fancy feasts of food were served. Here, knocked-out hard working people
favor those of the talking assembly and ask them to start first, outstretching
their hands feeling shame for their hands are cracked or “work-roughened harsh”
and their nails thick and filled with dirt.
I can see the same scene almost repeating now, as one sees the committed
hard working people stuck behind lines of sandbags and in trenches, other hard
working people working in factories, laboratories, fishing boats and all places
of arduous work and efficient production, diligently working in silence and
paying souls, blood and strenuous physical and mental efforts to defend the
country and build it.
Meanwhile, those fake so-called gentlemen, activists and those
who call themselves experts giving their opinions in everything, in addition to
those talk-shows’ presenters paid in millions, dressing in their most elegant
suits, wearing expensive watches, necklaces, Bally-brand shining shoes, cravats
of well-known brand names, appear on the screens to tell those productive hard
working people how awful they are, then they start to bla bla bla with their “expert”
opinions in every field.
I still remember that incident that was live broadcasted recently
when an expert in human rights – that was after the second terrorist attack of
Rafah – kept stressing the necessity for postponing enforcement of the
sentences handed down against members of muslim brotherhood terrorist group for
three years. He kept detailing and analyzing until a phone call from a father
of the martyred soldiers interrupted him. The father talked in great pain and
sorrow about his martyred son who had just completed his military service and
had come back to deliver his military stuff and cash his reward to get married when
he and his colleagues were killed while taking off the bus.
The bereaved father asked that famous “Mr of human rights”
whether he or anyone of his sons enlisted in the army or even produced any
effort for the country equal to what he, his martyred son and the rest of his
sons gave to the country, or he just took a good afternoon nap following his sumptuous
lunch, had his shower and came to talk, not only about how to give up the rights
of our martyred sons, but also to pervert the course of justice by his appeal
to postpone enforcing the sentences for three years; time left for president
Sisi in the presidency.
Afterwards, the bereaved father cursed human rights using a word
some consider as obscene. At that time, I wrote an article here about this, the
thing that severed the relation between me and that mister for long time as he accused
me of being downright rude.
For years, I have been burdened with this issue or dilemma concerning
the gap between the hard working people, who present their souls, blood and
strenuous physical and mental efforts in defending and serving the country, and
those “chic-looking” people good at delivering fluent eloquent speeches mostly
void of any essence that can help revive the nation’s renaissance and praise
the striving hard working people, for we have to bridge this gap.
In such regard, I do feel awfully sorry to cite the example of
what the Zionists did prior to their occupation of Palestine and establishing
their state. They used to distribute the emigrants in kibbutzes and moshavim. Everyone
was working in cultivating the land while rifles were hanged over their shoulders,
including university professors, doctors and everyone no matter their prestige,
status or occupation was. The lesson was that the one who devotes effort in farming
the hard granular land and protecting it will never let it go.
For all this, I do wish that shifts of guarding and grueling
work can be set for all those “talking people” so that they can know what it
means to be knocked out of exhaustion out of cultivating land, working in factories
and fishing in boats; what it means to fall into sleep feeling worn out of
working hard, not even able to eat.
God bless all those who pay their lives, blood and physical and
mental efforts for defending the dignity and freedom of this country.
Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar
This article was published in Al Ahram
newspaper on November 16, 2017.
To see the original article, go to:
#alahram #ahmed_elgammal #Egypt
#hard_working_people
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