Issue No. 609
Home news
Previous issue
Site map
|
|
24 - 30 October 2002 Issue No. 609 Home news |
Current issue Previous issue Site map | |
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
'Politicians still want to go to war'
Once the site of one of the fiercest battles in modern history, El- Alamein now symbolises brotherhood and peace. Dena Rashed attended the 60th anniversary commemorations
"Sixty years have gone by since then. The world has radically changed," Italian President, Carlos Azeglio Ciampi, said at Sunday's service, held to commemorate those who lost their lives in the 1942 battle of El- Alamein. Paying tribute to the soldiers who fell at El-Alamein, Ciampi, also a soldier in the Second World War, spoke of how his generation took an oath never to go to war again. "We have tried to build up a different, better world, enjoying greater freedom and justice."
Click to view captionPaying respect to their loved ones at the Commonweath Cemetry; four old veterans from the Eighth Army remembering a by-gone era Sunday's international ceremony was the second of the week. The Commonwealth ceremony, attended by Field Marshal Montgomery's son, Viscount David Montgomery, took place a day earlier.
The international ceremony was packed with old veterans, troops and state officials, accompanied by children. There were also representatives from countries that took part in the battle.
While this year's ceremony has sparked fierce debates in Italy between different political parties -- centre-leftists have viewed it as a revival of fascist ideas -- Ciampi emphasised that the West has now embraced freedom and democracy, values that came with the fall of totalitarianism.
Despite the attention that this ceremony has brought to the El-Alamein area, the 22 million land mines planted during the Second World War weren't even mentioned.
The themes of peace and reconciliation were at the centre of the brief speeches given by Italian, German, Greek and British clerics. At the ceremony's closing, eight Italian military aircrafts stole the crowd's attention by flying low over the Italian cemetery, while releasing red, white and green vapour trails -- the colours of the Italian flag.
Standing at the gates to the Italian cemetery with a book containing the signatures of the heads of state, was Abdel-Rasoul Agina. He has been the Italian cemetery's custodian, which holds the remains of 4,800 Italian soldiers, for the last 50 years. This was the largest ceremony he had ever seen.
"I saw a similar gathering in 1958. Two thousand Italians came to El-Alamein for the loved ones they had lost. But this year is really special," said Agina.
The battle of El-Alamein began on 23 October 1942, and lasted for 12 days. However, the number of casualties lost -- 32,000 Germans and Italians and 13,500 men of the British Eighth Army -- made it one of the fiercest battles of the Second World War. The battle was the culmination of several engagements that started in July 1942, when the Afrika Korps, led by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, were finally chased out of Egypt by Field Marshall Montgomery's Eighth Army. The battle changed the course of World War II, as it was a decisive victory for the Allies. Egypt and the Suez Canal were prevented from falling into German hands, and there was no possibility of Axis forces in the Middle East linking up with those in the Ukraine.
Among those in attendance were several veterans of the British Eighth Army dressed in navy blue with their medals pinned to their chests. "Back then war was the only thing that mattered. Now, standing beside all these graves, we understand what the war was really about," said Sam Bradshaw, chairman of the Eighth Army Veteran's Association. Bradshaw, who had captured many Italian prisoners during El-Alamein, came to the Italian service with a heavy heart. "I believe it was war without hate. I don't think the Italians wanted the war either."
Family members of those that fought at El- Alamein also took part in the ceremony. "It was hard for me to be here," said Alfredo Pierre Dominico, secretary of the association of the national artillery in Italy. Dominico decided to come to pay respects to the memory of his father, who was taken prisoner at El- Alamein.
Colonel Pierre Chavancy, now commander of the foreign legion in Djibouti, the same legion that fought with the British sixty years ago, saw the ceremony as an opportunity to honour the memory of his legion.
"We are attending the Italian ceremony to say that the past is over. We have used it to build friendships," he said.
Peter Wells of the South African Light Infantry stressed the importance of this year's ceremony. "I think it could be the last chance for the veterans to come to El-Alamein and that is why they needed to make it here this year," he said.
"I believe this is a very good celebration that the veterans deserved to have," said Hans Jorg Egel, Germany's defence attaché in Egypt. He attended both the Commonwealth and international services.
This ceremony will be the last official ceremony held at El-Alamein. Bradshaw from the Eighth Army, who is now in his mid- eighties explained that many veterans would not be able to make it to the site of the battlefield again. "The youngest of us are in our eighties. We are too old to come here again," he said.
Another veteran, George Sedgwick, a tank driver from the Eighth Army came with his son, and other family members. Although Sedgwick suffered from a stroke weeks before the ceremony, his son brought him on his wheel chair to share the event with his colleagues. "I know that he is proud to be here. It could be his last visit to El-Alamein, so we made sure he attended this ceremony," his son said.
At the parade of antique cars and motorcycles, Bud Ryder from the Eighth Army sat proudly in front of one of the display cars. Ryder, also a tank driver, arrived in Palestine in 1939. He moved to many neighbouring countries, including Iraq and Iran, but he vividly remembers the night they arrived in El-Alamein.
"We advanced with 98 tanks. Most were destroyed in battle. I have visited the graves of my troops, and it was extremely upsetting because they were all such young men," said Ryder. He was 18 when he fought in El- Alamein.
For Ryder and many others, the war has left them with many sad memories. However, Ryder does not feel bitter anymore. He reminisces about the life he has had since the war and says it is all that a man could want. "A lovely wife, who I lost only five years ago, and two lovely kids. What more could I want?" he said. "It is sad that, after seeing all these graves, politicians still want to go to war."
|
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||
| ARCHIVES Letter from the Editor Editorial Board Subscription Advertise! |
WEEKLY ONLINE: weekly.ahram.org.eg Updated every Thursday at 20.00 GMT, 10 pm local time weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg |
 Al-Ahram Organisation |
