My last meeting with him was in early June 2009 in the Libyan capital, when I attended the Interim Arab Parliament's meeting. I noted that an important figure was protected by a group of Libyan security officers at the ninth floor of the Great Hotel in Tripoli. I asked who was that figure, but I received no answer! When I took the lift, I met the former Algerian President Ahmed Ben Bella. This unexpected meeting renewed the feelings of love and respect for that Arab struggler.
We remembered our last dinner in Cairo with a group of friends, including great comedian Adel Imam. We welcomed and greeted Ben Bella, who exceeded the age of ninety. However, he still has a good memory for the first files of the Algerian Revolution and his friendship with late President Nasser in the days of the national tide and liberation movements. My meeting with Ben Bella was attended by Hussein El-Shafei, former Vice-President of Sadat.
We enjoyed our talk about the old days and the history of joint struggle between Egypt and the Algerian Revolution. Ben Bella was satisfied with his life, believing that he conveyed the message he wanted. I noticed that his Arabic accent was improved than what it was when he was President of Algeria and the hero of its independence. I remember that the first time I took a plane was in June 1966, when I traveled to the Algerian capital immediately after I graduated from the Faculty of Economics and Political Science. I was a representative of the Arab Socialist Youth Organization in the Algerian National Liberation Front's celebrations of the Independence Day and the transfer of the remains of Prince al-Qadir al-Jazairi from Damascus to Algeria. Late President Houari Boumediene, a graduate of Al-Azhar University in Egypt, staged a coup a few months before that. I was dazzled by Algiers's beauty and French and Islamic spirit. I wandered in the district of Casaba and prayed in its mosque. I met with Ahmed Marajy, a member at the National Liberation Front, and President Boumediene at the People's Palace. Mahmoud Riyad, Egypt's former Foreign Minister, and Hassan Sabri, Nasser's personal representative, represented Egypt in this occasion. During my visit to Algeria, I stayed in Eliti hotel. When I entered a shop in the hotel's street, the shop's owner asked me if I was Egyptian. When I said yes, he asked me: How can you allow a coup against Ben Bella, who is Egypt's friend and an ally to Nasser? Although I had limited experience, I told him that Algeria is more important than individuals, so Algeria should remain free and stable!
I believe now that this man was linked to the Algerian intelligence service, because his country's relationship with Egypt was not strong after the exclusion of Ben Bella. I also remember that I took a train to Constantine in a nine-hour journey to visit my uncle, who was a professor in the Islamic Institute in this magnificent city, which is characterized by its hanging bridge. Its culture is a mix between Arabic, French and Spanish.
I remembered all this when I looked at Ben Bella's face, which was like a movable museum filled with the smell of the national history and struggle. Neither the rule nor the prison changed this great man's tolerance and good behavior. He is often accompanied by his daughter, who loves Cairo a lot, in his different movements. I think there is a historical sensitivity in the relationship between Egypt and Algeria. This is shown in football matches or the African conferences. Therefore, the two countries should make effort to overcome this difference. Egypt provided the Algerian Revolution with money and weapons. On the other hand, Boumediene visited late President Nasser in the wake of the 1967 Setback and gave him a blank check to buy weapons from the Soviet Union. In addition, Algerian soldiers fought in the Egyptian army until Egypt's victory in October 1973. The relationship between the two countries is integrated, so they should not be rivals. I remembered all these things when I remembered my meetings with struggler Ben Bella.
