You agree or disagree , you hate him or you you love him but you have to admit that after 60 years many Egyptians look to Gamal Abdel Nasser as a benchmark for charismatic leadership in Egypt.
I can not count the times I have heard Egyptians saying on this or that candidate whether Abu El Fotouh or Moussa or even Shafik and lately Morsi that he is trying to be like Nasser this year. I can not ignore how suddenly we find his clips from speeches slamming the Muslim brotherhood, the States, Gulf and even El Assad found it its way to Facebook pages and walls by young generations who do not know the real meaning of socialist Nasserite !!
He has become a benchmark for all presidents , we have to admit it.
Nasser did horrible crimes against this country mainly reviving the pharaoh idolism and enforcing it with dictatorship and police state , it is horrible sin that costs us till this day. Of course Nasser defenders claim that we should not judge him by our today’s standards and that dictatorship was the fashion in the east camp plus he had believed in social justice more than democratic reforms. Well for me he was a dictator just like Mohamed Ali was , these are facts.
I can not ignore what he did when it comes to social justice , his attempts to create social justice of course are debatable but at least he tried to do something. I can not ignore that in this time in 2012 we need to return back to Africa in the same way he did. African countries still respect him and unfortunately we are not using it.
I have a confession after 16 months from our revolution and the obstacles it faces from judiciary , media , army and businessmen , I understood the changes Nasser and his Free officers did throughout the 16 years of his rule when its comes to judiciary , media and economy when you establish to a new political system or regime. SCAF understood this very well but we did not except too late because we do not read history and if we do , we do not understand it properly as it should.
Our revolution , our January revolution was against the Pharaoh idolism , we are challenging his legacy yet the question in my mind now based on history : Was it Nasser’s legacy for real or it is in our genes to idolize charismatic rulers regardless of their iron fist !?
Another question : Can we have another president , another leader that would shift this benchmark ??
History will tell that his worst mistake (far worse than the '67 defeat) was the construction of that stupid "high Aswan dam", which we are still celebrating! Egypt is paying dearly now and for many years to come. I hope level headed technocrats in positions of responsibilities will begin to right this wring before its too late.
ReplyDeleteWithout the dam, Egypt would never have been developed, we would be like Ethiopia. We needed the dam to control the flow of the nile so no more flooding and to generate electricity. It gave egyptians control to water which was not possible before.
DeleteThe problem with the dam is that it traps the sud or good soil behind the dam so our farmlands can't get replenished with the amazing soil we are used to. However, I am sure Nasser thought that eventually, people will figure out a way to solve this side effect but of course, no one bothered and now we are stuck with it....
If Nasser is considered the 'benchmark for all presidents' then God help the Arab countries as they have not learned anything from their misery.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, one third of the house doesn't even know how to read their own holly book; they do as they are told, they live in illiteracy slavery. But, mind you to some, the Aqsa Cause is far more important then the cause of those living in the misery of illiteracy and poverty. They are betrayed by their own educated compatriots.
ReplyDeleteNow, those lucky enough to get some education have been fed lies through a censored media, have not been trained in critical thinking, and prevented from reading the other point of view.
Was Nationalizing the Canal by force necessary, just a few years before the contract was up for negotiation? Probably clever negotiation could have saved the country a series of wars? Ruler in Arabic is "Hakem"; it derives from Hekmah, and wise people chose a wise ruler, not a charismatic one. A ruler who put the cause of freeing his people from the slavery of illiteracy and poverty above any other cause.
Does not losing half the country, the Sundan and the Nile resources and water security wisdom? is that a Hekmah or foolishness?
Arab Nationalism is what has reached its zenith. Egyptians must become Egyptian again. The same is true for Libya, Tunisia and everywhere else in Africa that shunted our self identity and replaced it with cultural imperialism and totalitarianism.
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