44 Years.
6th of October in Egypt signifies a really important day because it’s the day when the Egyptian army crossed the Bar Lev line and made its very first moves towards victory in the Egyptian-Israeli war in 1973. Until today, all schools and media agencies bring veterans who talk and talk about the triumph and the journey towards it. I’m proud of it, because hearing those stories every single year makes me realise how much potential we as Egyptians have, in order to reach what we really desire.
We did not desire victory in that war. We desired justice.
What pains me is that we didn’t have a similar triumph for fourty four years, in which we kept observing the world moving on to newer dimensions of development, and we enclosed ourselves upon the past victories and forgot all about the future. About us, the new generation; the millennials. They forgot that we had a right to witness that kind of pride but in the present.
We Egyptians have been so lenient and ignorant, paying attention to the trivial daily life occurrences, adding so much importance to our consumerist ideals, completely unaware that we have to work hard in order to maintain the pride of this country.
But we let it go. The whole country aspired us to be mere consumers; waiting for a new restaurant to launch, a new lame product to hit the markets, the foreign certificates to be licensed in our schools, a vaccine to import to cure our diseases. Our needs became motives for further subsequent needs, leading to a vicious cycle that made us deplete our environmental capacity making us ask for more and more and more.
But there isn’t enough left in the world to sustain us, lest the other countries.
But I hereby make myself a promise not to abide to those consumerist stereotypes. I was born, alongside many others, to achieve and work hard to do something in this society. I’m here to repair and leave an imprint, not cause further depletion and take what’s meant for others to use. I’m here to make a positive difference, to develop, inspire and grow the little community I’m growing up in. I believe it’s possible.
Life in Egypt is not easy, but it’s not an excuse to keep focusing on our problems. This kind of negativity is making us go backwards, with all of the damage we are already causing to our environment and the next generation’s opportunities. We need to stop complaining about how rough things are, we need to start taking affirmative action instead of striving for quick solutions that gratify us immediately, but not in the long term.
We need to be more positive, accept the hardships and learn from them. There is beauty surrounding us in our dreams and they help reflect it into reality. There is so much passion needed to drive us towards change and we aren’t paying attention but to our personal tribulations.
Look at your children and don’t see them as consumers. See them beyond their materialistic demands that you are responsible for creating. See them as an asset that will help you change your life, and others, to the better.
Look at your boss and don’t believe he/she is there just to make your life a living nightmare. Focus on how resilient and flexible you can be in order to improve yourself hence the work you do. Create your own motivating atmosphere and don’t look for extrinsic sources of rewards. It all lies within you.
We grew up as Egyptians completely unaware of the jewels of our personal attributes; the determination, humour, kindness and generosity. We made those traits targets for others to take for granted and left it all behind; the legend behind our history.
It’s time to trust yourself again. You can make yourself happy. You can create what the country can’t create for you. It’s up to you to deal with the stress in a way that will help you develop and thrive, and in turn causing positive change for everyone.
There is life beyond the one you are living.
I wonder how much change I’ll see fourty four years later. I promise to take part in it.
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