Al-Ahram Weekly | People | Fire and fire-works in July !

		Al-Ahram Weekly Online 19 - 25 July 2001 Issue No.543
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Current issue \| Previous issue \| Site map

Limelight

Fire and fire-works in July !
By Lubna Abdel Aziz
If "April is the cruelest month", then July is undoubtedly the hottest. In every corner of the northern hemisphere temperatures rise physically, mentally, and emotionally. The blazing rays pour onto the earth, warming our homes, our fields and our oceans. Human existence becomes near impossible as it tries to cope with the hellish heat. Life is abundant and the air fills with the constant hum of summer insects. The flaming red sun reflects the month's chosen jewel - the precious fiery ruby. The dog-days of summer set in. Heat produces idle restlessness. Sizzling fires fry the skin as well as the hearts and minds of brave and honest men. With the shedding of garments, the shackles of reason rapidly follow.
There is definitely something about July!
The July calendar is replete with commemorations and celebrations of wars, rebellions and revolutions. With flourish and fervour, with bursts of patriotic songs and marching bands, the world views the pomp and parade of shows, games, sports, guns, booming canons and ringing bells.
Colourful flag-waving and flashing fire-works, fill the air of many a blue sky under the brazen sun. The month starts with Canada's Dominion Day on July 1st. Then comes the 4th - the big birthday bash for the powerful USA. Colonists fired "the shot that was heard around the world", when they battled British troops in Concord, near Lexington, Massachusetts, in 1775. Though the war raged on for eight years, the American colonies officially declared their freedom from Britain by adopting their historic document - The Declaration of Independence, on 4 July, 1776. That date, "Independence Day", is the official birthday of the United States of America, marking the birth of a great democracy of strong economic stature and stability. Theirs was the model revolution on which many were later based.
Across the Atlantic, another revolution was brewing. After many years of a silent war of words and thoughts against the clergy and the nobility, the French fought for their own independence from the oppression of their monarchy. The Parisians broke into the fortress of Bastille, on 14 July 1789. Chaos and confusion followed. Useless, "shameful pools of blood" caused them to "descend into an abyss". Nevertheless the French settled down some 40 years later following their other July revolution in 1830, against King Charles X, who had again tried to establish an absolute monarchy. They finally decided on a republican form of government based on "Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité". It is hard to extinguish July's smouldering flames. "Confusion" makes "its masterpiece" often resulting in death and destruction. A wave of revolutions soon swept through Europe, toppling many a crown. Almost every major war, every act of daring and defiance broke out in July.

El-Sibai -- author of Rodda Qalby

19 July 1870, France declared war on Prussia
28 July 1914, the First World War broke out
17 July 1936, the Spanish Civil War began
7 July 1937, the Japanese and Chinese troops clashed, beginning the struggle that culminated in WW II.
20 July 1944, on a doomed summer day a few German generals sought to kill Hitler, and lost their lives trying.
16 July 1945, in Alamogordo, New Mexico, scientists detonated the first atomic bomb.
18 July 1958, Iraqis killed their King Faisal II, and his uncle Prince Abdul-Illah.
Other countries that celebrate their independence with the same fanfare, flourish and fire-works, include Venezuela, Argentina, The Netherlands, Belgium and Peru.
On 23 July we celebrate the 49th anniversary of the Egyptian revolution or 'coup d'état' that changed our system of government, our country and our destiny. A group of high-ranking members of the armed forces, seeking to rectify the wrongs of an ineffective government and a corrupt monarch, struck their fatal blow by restoring order and justice in the land. It was the most bloodless revolution in history. By 26 July, the king abdicated, and quietly sailed away from Egyptian waters to live in exile in other lands. No lives were lost, 'no pools of blood' _ a smooth transfer of power that serves as an example for others.
July is not through with changing the destiny of nations. For July is hot and hot-headed, and more than garments are shed under its scarlet red torch.
Great moments in history inevitably give birth to great works of art. While the United States has produced many films about their wars, Independence Day seems to take a back seat to America's major civil war, in the number of films produced. Still, in recent years Hollywood's conscience has come alive with the 1996 production of "Revolution" with Al Pacino and "The English Patriot" in 2000 with Mel Gibson. France on the other hand, has continuously produced dozens of films depicting every aspect of its revolution including the violent deaths of its architects, Robespierre, Marat, and Danton.
The phenomenon that has emerged, has been the much- loved novel Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. This poignant drama, with the French Revolution as its backdrop, has been translated into 100 languages and has been adapted for the screen over 20 times by France, as well as many other countries, including Egypt. Moreover, it has enjoyed great success as a musical on Broadway. Even the British found romance and drama in the bloody French Revolution producing Charles Dickens' historic novel, A Tale of Two Cities.
As our annual celebration approaches, it is natural to reflect on the works of art representing our great historic day. Admittedly Egypt has produced a handful of films on and around the revolution, notably Allahu Maana, 1955, by Ihsan Abdel-Quddus, and the popular Rodda Qalby, 1957, by Youssef El-Sibai. Because of their proximity to the events, they are inevitably laced with emotion, recounted while hearts were still aching and scars still bleeding. The time is now ripe for the definitive epic drama about our revolution and its legacy. After 100 years of film history and 49 years of democracy, we believe our country has reached a degree of technical refinement and political maturity, whereby we can discard our rose-coloured glasses and review our yesterdays with fondness as well as with criticism. Let not the generation that witnessed this great event, as infants or adolescents, pass away without showing their children and grandchildren, names, faces, landmarks and places, before they disappear. Such a production can be the spectacular "coup de ma”tre" in celebration of the golden anniversary of 2002. We have only so many sunrises and sunsets left.
The Bird of Time has but a little way
To fly - and Lo! The Bird is on the Wing.

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