25 April - 1 May 2002
Issue No.583
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 25 April - 1 May 2002 Issue No.583 |
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Crossing to martyrdom
Egyptians have attempted to cross the borders to join their Palestinian brethren in resistance and in martyrdom. Amira Howeidy reports
On April 15, Milad Hemeida, 24, took off from his Nile Delta hamlet known as El-Genishat and headed towards the Egyptian-Israeli border at Rafah hoping to reach Gaza. He crossed the border after miraculously escaping the Egyptian border guards but was not so lucky on the other side. An Israeli sniper shot him first in the leg. Crying "Allahu Akbar" (God is great) he went on, but the sniper shot him to the ground, witnesses said. An Egyptian border officer ran to his rescue and took him to hospital where he died.
Hemeida, the first Egyptian shaheed; Hemeida's parents 'pose for the camera'
Hemeida thus became the first Egyptian "shaheed"(martyr) of the Intifada.
It could have passed as a fluke except that this week, six other Egyptians, including two women made the same attempt. Border guards, now on higher alert, arrested the six. What is clear from the released information is that all the attempts are of an individual nature, and none have proved to be of an organisational or a political affiliation. More importantly the six, who came from various parts of Egypt, have confessed to wanting to reach Gaza, home to a million Palestinians, and joining the Palestinian resistance. One of them, Gamila Mohamedein, 25, told interrogators that she wanted to arrange with the resistance to blow herself up against Israeli forces.
She wanted to be a shaheeda.
"It's all very clear," said Saadeddin Ibrahim, sociology professor at the American University in Cairo. "Those people are not only inspired by the martyrdom operations [carried out by Palestinians against Israelis] but by the whole situation in Palestine which has caused fury and frustration." The Egyptian people always sympathised with the Palestinians, Ibrahim told Al-Ahram Weekly. "But for the first time they see the unfolding of the struggle close-up, in focus, minute by minute. This never happened before," he said.
Since Israel's deadly incursion into Palestinian areas in the West Bank on 29 March and the subsequent massacres it committed against the indigenous Palestinian population, unprecedented massive demonstrations swept Egypt in protest. For the fourth consecutive week the demonstrations have continued, as well as the wave of anti- Israeli and anti-American sentiments which have taken different forms of expression. In response to public pressure, Egypt suspended all its ties with Israel, leaving open only the diplomatic channels that serve the Palestinian cause. Cairo recalled the Egyptian ambassador to Israel immediately after the eruption of the Intifada in September 2000. The post remains vacant.
But this official riposte does not seem to be satisfying the strong national sentiments and sympathy with the Palestinians. Indeed calls for jihad have been resonating across the nation almost on a daily basis in demonstrations, petitions, rallies, pickets, mosques, newspapers and TV, but it ended there, or so it seemed. Egypt has repeatedly said it will not go to war unless Egypt is attacked. And normally, it does not allow Egyptians wanting to join the Palestinian resistance to cross the borders. "Cairo will not allow for any excuse no matter what the national urge is, to ignite war or provoke the Israeli side; this is very clear," a former diplomat told Al-Ahram Weekly.
In the El-Genishat hamlet, home of Hemeida, the first Egyptian shaheed, the sentiments are different. Hemeida's funeral which took place at 6.00am on 19 April, was attended by his family, neighbours, friends and fellow countrymen of El- Beheira governorate. The women wore colourful outfits, waved palm fronds and made their ululation heard by the Al-Jazeera news channel which came to air the footage.
In Islam, a shaheed (martyr who dies for a cause), is glorified and revered. And in the case of Hemeida, it was no different. A day after his funeral, tears were mixed with smiles and congratulations with condolences. But the one-storey family house was crammed with the odd mix of those wanting to pay their respect, and a dozen reporters, cameramen and photographers.
Hag Mohamed, Hemeida's father, was seated on the floor, explaining in obvious exhaustion everything about his son to a New York Times American reporter. They were surrounded by more reporters and more relatives. The reporters obviously looking for clues on Hemeida's motives, possible connections, affiliations, organisations, anything, showered the man with endless questions. On the other side, the mourners stared. "It seems we'll have to stop the aza (three-day period where the family of the dead person receive mourners)," one angry relative snapped.
A few hours and a dozen interviews later, Hag Mohamed was fed up. "I'm exhausted, I'm tired," he told his nephew, Gabr, "I don't want to give any more interviews." But Gabr insisted, "You must, you owe it to your son, if you don't you'll be doing him an injustice. He's a martyr." The father nods and tells the Weekly, "I'm proud of my son; he died a martyr, but had I known he was going to do this, I would have stopped him. I raised my children well, it cost me a lot and I'm weak and in poor health, I need them to take care of me. I would have stopped him, I would have."
Hemeida's family, relatives and friends who spoke to the Weekly insist he had no political affiliations whatsoever. No one was behind him, and no one expected him to do this, they insist. According to his cousin Gabr, Hemeida held a diploma in Agriculture and travelled to Libya four months ago where he worked in "odd" jobs. He returned on 9 April. "He told me he was tired of Libya and wanted to stay here," his mother said. "Although he was making good money, he said he wanted to stay here in Egypt and work as a farmer. He was a sweetheart, a loving and caring person. I'm proud of him but I wish he had killed a few Israelis in the process. I swear to God that no one can do what my son did -- no one is as brave."
According to Gabr, Hemeida did tell his friends that he wanted to take action. "Words and protests are not enough, they're not effective, but no one took him seriously," he allegedly told them. "But," added a friend, "I'm not surprised by what he did. Hemeida represents the Egyptians who are blended with the soil of this nation. People living in luxury can't afford to sacrifice. But he sacrificed his future for the Palestinian cause. I think he sent a very powerful message across: the Egyptians are people willing to sacrifice."
"We know we are poor people and no one cares about us. Not one official visited us and we belong to the neglected, forgotten hamlets," Gabr said, "but we don't want anything, except, perhaps, the honour of naming the village school after Milad [Hemeida]. It's the least officials can do." And as he spoke, photographers asked Hemeida's parents to pose for the camera. "Raise your hand, yes, and do the V sign with your fingers, no, not like that... like that.." They complied. A tear rolling from the corner of hag Mohamed's eye was visible, but not to the camera.
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