The Real Samia Fahmy

Many people are currently watching the Egyptian TV series “Samia Fahmy : The Spies war” which is based “badly” upon Saleh Morsi’s book “Samia Fahmy” which was based by its turn on a real GIS file in 1970s just like the rest of Morsi’s spy books. I know for sure that those people are trying to guess who the real Samia Fahmy is in our press in the same way those who read the books have guessed in vain on who was that daring young lady who did not give up her country for love or for money.
Well do not guess anymore because Ladies and Gentlemen I present to you the Real Samia Fahmy.



The real Samia Fahmy is Journalist Laila Abdel Salam who went to buy an old car from Italy and brought back a whole Mossad Spy ring with her :)

The real story of Laila Abdel Salam is far too simple than Samia Fahmy which is a classical art of work by the real Godfather of espionage literature in Egypt Saleh Morsi. There was no Nabil nor a love story in the story of Abdel Salam.
Simply in early 1970s you could buy an old car from Italy so cheap and so young journalist Laila Abdel Salam decided to travel to get for herself a nice old car , she was not the first one to do so , others did before her and recommended an Egyptian car dealer there who lived in Italy long enough to become a dealer. That dealer who was known as Alexandrian Mario “it was his nickname then”, was a Mossad spy spying on the Arab and Egyptian community in Rome. As soon as he knew she was a journalist working in Egypt ,he informed his superiors in the Mossad whom immediately followed Laila and thought she would be a good spy. Mario told Laila that he had a job opportunity for her with a news agency and introduced her to a Mossad agent as the representative of that agency. The Mossad agent offered Laila a very attractive package , she would report and write specific reports about specific stuff in Egypt to get a big sum of money.
Mario and the Mossad were dump enough to believe Laila was naive to believe them ,she was clever enough to understand something was not right at all. She did not wait to return to Cairo to report  to the GIS , she went to the Egyptian Consulate asking for the Egyptian Consul himself to inform him about that too generous offer and from here was the start of Mario and his ring in Egypt’s fall. Laila had to play along with the Mossad till she got from them a transmitter. The story ended by arresting Alexandrian Mario when he came along with the rest of his ring in Egypt. There were not much details revealed.
Laila used to work in Rosa Al Youssef then Al Ahram where she wrote by herself the case of Mario and friends in the crime page as her first report in the famous and old newspaper, it was her reward :) 

I do not know if she is still working in Al Ahram or not but I know that the identity of Samia Fahmy was a riddle or rather an Egyptian X-File for many reporters with rumors on who she is for real , Saleh Morsi knew how to attract all those who read the novel and wondered on that girl who did not sell her country for her love.
Strangely Nabil Farouk had written before the real story in Al Dostor from two years ago and I swear I felt that this was the true story of Samia Fahmy, may be it is not complicated or dramatic as Saleh Morsi made for security and creative reasons yet this does not mean that what happened to Laila or what she had done was too easy , it was too great and too brave.
Samia Fahmy as a book affected me too much , it was a real my favorite book and Samia was and is still my favorite heroine  and knowing Laila Abdel Salam’s did not change that because I know that may be an Egyptian girl like Samia was put in choice between her love and her country and that girl made that choice was her country.  Laila Abdel Salam is a true Laila who should speak more to the media about her experience in that hard time, she was silent too long.
For the record both photos and info are from Sawt Al Oma weekly, bravo for this scoop

Technorati Tags: Citizen Journalism,Egyptians,Women,News,National,Spy,Mossad,Israel,Italy,Samia Fahmi,Samia Fahmy,Laila Abdel Salam,1970s,espionage,Al Ahram,Media,Politics,Egypt,Mideast,Middle East,National security