The October War was gruesome when I learnt that pilot Atif El-Sadat was among those who were martyred during the first air flight, which paved the way for the great battle of our generation. I saw the aircrafts crossing over our heads on the banks of the Suez Canal. At that time, I did not personally know any of the pilots, but I immediately remembered my brother Maj. Gen. Qadri Saeed, who was fighting at another place. Therefore, I strongly missed him and wished to know any news about him. However, it immediately came to my mind how President Sadat would deal with this ordeal in one of the Egypt's darkest moments. Many colleagues died in the war, but it seemed that one of them wanted to test the nation's minds and leadership psychologically and psychiatrically. This common man was President Sadat, who faced a difficult situation because what was martyred was part of us and our history. However, the President dealt with such feelings silently and gave them secondary priority because they are subject to considerations of public opinion.
A short period of time ago, I was at a meeting of the Higher Council of Policies when I knew that the wife of Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif died. I knew the story of her disease. I remembered all the scenes that occurred at the presence of Nazif either to explain the policies of subsidies or the government's policies to face price rises or on other occasions in the Shura Council or different Egyptian institutions. In all these scenes, the common man was doing his duties while his personal sadness was tearing his feelings a thousand times a day. As is usually the case, if we put ourselves in their situations, we would face difficult questions about the personal and the public choice. Then, you may wonder: Is a moment of fame, status and any ambition or achievement equal to a moment with whom you love before his death? What would be the choice between the public responsibility and the personal responsibility? The question and selection in itself have a heavy price.
Just days ago, the TV program "Cairo Today", presented by prominent media man Amr Adeeb, scandalized me when a Saudi viewer asked if President Mubarak's grandson died and Adeeb said yes. At that moment, I remembered my grandsons Youssef and Adam. I think the same thing applied to whoever learnt of that bad news. However, I immediately remembered President Mubarak because he combines between the public and the private interests. Ibrahim Eissa was the only one who described such a situation as if someone uprooted a part of your life and you will never get it back. Of course, all Egyptian families suffered the crisis of losing a relative one way or another, but the common man has accumulated experience because he is always away from his private problems. He is the one who left his private feelings in which worries and happiness are associated with the limits of his family and future, to the public feelings in which he deals with pains, dilemmas and hopes of an entire nation. The question that is always asked by the common man is not about whether what he does is painful or not because his faith in the task compensates him, but the question is on whether the choice was right or not and whether it was better to stay with his beloved. The event was a cure for Egypt's excesses. In light of the political conflict and disagreement over the nation's future, choices and pathways, the death of Mohammed Alaa Hosni Mubarak has strongly reflected the virtue of humility when all groups, including those who have been involved in extremist acts, respected the feelings of the common man. The mourning ceremony has been attended by all people; opposition, government, army and common people, as if the deceased was a relative to every one of us. Although the President did not attend the scene, all people asked God to help him and give him hope to overcome this ordeal. Sincere condolences from the bottom of my heart to President Mubarak and his great family.
