My dear child,
On the celebration of your birthday, I find myself at a loss as to what kind of gift I should offer you, my most beloved child.
On this happy occasion I asked myself: Should I offer you a flower, watered with the water of the Nile, and that flourished in the embrace of the palm trees… and as I presented it to you, it took the shape of 70 million of my sons and daughters?
Or should I take the traditional course and light a candle for your birthday, and all my sons and daughters would gather round as they sang with a beautiful voice and with all their heart ‘happy birthday Mr. President’?
Shall I just plant a kiss on your forehead my beloved son?
What can I do to express my happiness on the day of your birthday… well I will recount, on this happy occasion, something precious in my mind, your long and difficult path which takes you to my heart, my memory and my feeling.
You are a powerful eagle soaring the skies… teaching my enemies lessons they cannot forget, and you protect me from the shame of defeat.
You, my beloved child, tackle the difficult issues like a noble fighter, carrying my sons and daughters to security, comfort, allowing the flower of freedom to bloom and sing the melodious tunes of democracy.
You tower above all patiently, while some of my children try to tarnish the forum of freedom, abusing the democracy which you have welcomed through doors and windows.
You have been patient with some of my children who have lost their way, and wished they could see the light. You didn’t try to silence any voice or break any pen, for the sake of freedom and democracy. You treated them like a noble knight.
I know you don’t like praise… but you are a part of me and with the rest of my sons and daughters, you are my wealth.
Happy Birthday,
Egypt
[Thanks, P.]
Today’s my birthday. I’m glad I missed sharing his, if only by one day.
God, that makes me want to retch.
Awesome. Thanks, indeed, P.
a7a
Waaah….i mean, this is just way too much, i expected anything, but this is more than i could ever imagine…soo funny. i think this kind of poetry should be preserved for next generations for educational purposes.
I’m wondering… could it be irony? Irony may sometimes be a form of political activism… Unfortunaly in that case, I have some doubts.
Ben, I thought the same thing, it’s just too over the top. Kind of like something you’ read over at el-ezba.
No irony. Very consistent with the official voice used in state newspapers, government statements, and the state news agency.
This bit in particular set off my irony-dar, though perhaps I just don’t read enough of Al-Akhbar or Ahram to know:
“You didn’t try to silence any voice or break any pen, for the sake of freedom and democracy. You treated them like a noble knight”
Well if it isn’t conscious irony, it’s one oft he funniest pieces of ironic toadying that I have seen for quite awhile,
Funny as it is, it is a very apt example of the horrific state of the government-press, which while never particularly independent, was apparently once less syncophantic. According to Egyptian friends of mine, this current generation of editors (which replaced the reigning dinosaurs a few years ago) is much worse than their predecessors.
Having not seen the original, I wonder if it might be a paid ad by some company rather than actual newspaper editorial. I’ve often noticed that these kinds of ads from the private sector are actually often much more sycophantic than the editorials or articles by columnists (well, aside from Samir Ragab’s columns). For me it really highlights how hollow this idea that “if the private sector prevails, so does democracy” really is. But it’s still on a lot of governments and institutions’ agendas…
Regarding the state newspapers, there was some report a few days ago that Minister of Information Anas al-Fiqi (who is the handler for the editors of the big papers) has just presented a plan to PM Nazif to cut the debt these papers owe the government and restructure them. There’s talk of partial privatization, but I suspect the first things to go would be the publications that are already more or less profitable or have a wide potential audience, such as sports papers, gossip tabloids and perhaps economic ones. Give Akhbar al-Nogoum a good website and a revamped look and I’m sure it’ll sell very well! But the “public service” journalism of the kind al-Ahram is meant to embody — that I don’t think people will want to buy (especially not with a bloated staff of 1400 journalists alone.)
I can’t believe it! I really felt like i had to stop reading it by the time i got to the 5th sentence!
***PUKE***
[…] And where else could you read this gem? […]