This is a meaningful story which happened years ago in San Francisco (US). I heard it in Cairo two days ago and I am writing it now in Beirut. Among its protagonists are Dr. Sabri el-Shebrawi and his wife. For those who do not know, Dr. el-Shebrawi is one of the country's major specialists in human resources development. He has almost lost his voice by warning so much that it is nonsense to talk about a renaissance in Egypt – now or in the future – without qualifying human beings to carry out this mission. He has also said this nonsense would eventually lead to nothing real and stressed that such qualification definitely started and ended with education. When he was studying in the US, he had an American friend living in California with no children. He indeed wanted to have one so that he or she could fill his and his wife's life, but they had none. One day he thought of adopting a child from anywhere. He talked about this desire with his friend, Dr. el-Shebrawi. The latter asked him to go to Cairo to see with him whether it was possible to adopt a child living in refuges or orphanages. His American friend went to Cairo and after long legal procedures, Dr. el-Shebrawi succeeded in turning his friend's wish into reality, so he and his wife eventually went back to the US with their foster daughter. They have been living on a heavenly green mountain in San Francisco and that little Egyptian girl grew up, went to school and showed tremendous intellectual capacities. Dr. el-Shabrawi told this story when a week ago Al-Masry Al-Youm unveiled an Egyptian gang specialized in smuggling foundlings to US families who want to adopt a child and live with him or her for the rest of their lives. This issue sparked such turmoil that Public Prosecutor Abdel Maguid Mahmoud referred the gang members to the criminal court. Since the operation was unveiled, I have been thinking that we have to look at the intentions of the accused, as the goal behind sending such kind of children to the US - or any other country, of course – may not be to traffic them or their organs or illegally exploit them (bearing in mind that no Egyptian family can adopt a child, as Islam explicitly bans adoption). According to Dr. el-Shabrawi, the girl adopted by that US family turned out to be an outstanding student. She has been living over there all her life, but she is proud of being Egyptian (or at least of having Egyptian roots). Indeed, she mentions this in all occasions, so proud of her country. If she had lived among us so far, now she would be playing with mud and not with the colors she has had on that green mountain. Perhaps she would even be a street child now. If this had been the case, she would be a source of extreme happiness for those who have erupted and called for stopping the smuggling of foundlings to the US so that these children can live as happily among hoses.
