If the football team had lost against America, its loss was not the end of the world. Similarly, if Farouk Hosni does not get the UNESCO position in October, God forbid, it will not be the end of the world! We must wage a battle, whether in football or UNESCO or in anything else whilst we are fully confident in ourselves; win or lose. Yet, we still have those who specifically say we will have no presence after the UNESCO, nor would the Minister, should he not get this position.
What we have to remember is that Farouk Hosni, as a Minister, has a secret he lives by, and this secret is twofold: his eye and then his imagination!
Whether his secret goes back to his nature, or his origins in Alexandria - the city which embraced the cultures of the world - or his work in Paris and then Rome, where art is reflected in every corner, in every direction, in any case this does not matter. What matters is that his eye enabled him to see things his predecessors could not see. Then imagination helped him every time, and so things were transformed into art. This has happened repeatedly; the first time in Almaez street, which developed into an open museum becoming wholesome to the eye, all the way through the Damanhour Opera, which has grown to be a radiant light, and finishing off with the large museum, at the foot of the pyramid. These three models are simply examples and they refer to dozens of other projects.
It does not matter that he has remained in office for twenty years, more or less. The more important matter is determined by what he has left behind. The day will come when we ask about the outcome of the journey. If his choices in the people around him are met with bad luck, it is because anyplace contains the threat of thieves who must not go unpunished. But we should not forget on the other hand that he chose men such as Zahi Hawass, Gaber Asfour, Fawzi Fahmi, and many others! Farouk Hosni, by his nature, is a dreamer, and he has great dreams for his country; his dreams are still alive and extended, and full of what he wants them to be. He is willing to build more than one entity. On top of all that he has an enlightened mind which we desperately need in order to face the darkness surrounding us from every corner. His stay abroad for many years was an opportunity for him to develop his intellect and see how art adds great value in life; a cure which delivers immunity against all kinds of intolerance! In the old days Ismail Serageldin was a candidate for the UNESCO position, but he did not make it. As a result, the UNESCO lost him while his country attained him, and the prize from the country's side was reflected in the best manner. Still this is reflected in the Library of Alexandria, which we boast of to the world. Even if Farouk Hosni does not get the UNESCO position his country will have won him, as so would 80 million citizens. If he is lucky, then the world will gain him. In both cases, the "dream" is the winner, whether he stayed in Cairo or left for Paris!
