Lessons not learnt

The six-day war and the skyrocketing prices of flats caused more ink to flow. Mohamed El-Sayed is kept busy

---

A military defeat could happen to any nation, be it small or big. But learning the lessons from a defeat and finding the reasons for it is the only way to build a better present and future. For the past two weeks, on the 40th anniversary of the 1967 defeat, writers have been pondering the reasons and ramifications of the six-day war.

Bitter memories are better forgotten, some writers argue. While some pundits asked that the 1967 War not be marked, saying that a nation should not commemorate the event, others begged to differ. The group for bringing the war out into the open argued that the cat should be let out of the bag and that the veil be drawn from the secret files of the war so that the truth behind it be known and told. Veteran columnist Salama Ahmed Salama wrote in the daily Al-Ahram, "during the past four decades none of the Arab countries succeeded in rebuilding their society on modern foundations. Individual decisions that led to the 1967 defeat are controlling public affairs in the Arab world. The peoples' roles in [political] participation and shouldering responsibility are still limited. And the resurgence Egypt witnessed in 1973 was just a flash in the pan. Everything has returned to the way it was."

Holding the culprits behind the defeat accountable and discussing the disorder that prevailed within the political and military leadership at that time are all- important. "The reason behind [the state of backwardness we live in] is that we have not corrected the mistakes which marred that era, as the real details of the 1967 events remained concealed in secret files up till now... apart from the writings of some senior journalists, no investigative committee was formed to revise [what happened] and self-criticise."

Salama believes that the main reason behind the backwardness we live in now "is due to our inability to admit and reveal the files [of the 1967 War].

"This has hindered our progress and undermined our awareness... we haven't gotten over the defeat in spite of the fact that 40 years have passed."

Analysts have also been concerned with the skyrocketing costs of housing units in Egypt. The phenomenon started earlier last year when Gulf companies began investing increasingly in the real estate sector in Egypt. And with more Gulf citizens and Iraqis coming to live in Egypt, combined with the Ministry of Housing putting large plots of land up for sale for foreign investors, buying a small flat has become a far-fetched dream for middle-class people, let alone the low-income bracket. Sherif El-Abd criticised the policies adopted by the Ministry of Housing that led to the sky-high costs of flats. In the daily Al-Ahram, El-Abd wrote: "the ministry has realised that we are a society that sires excessively without limits, a matter that adds more burdens on the shoulders of the government in creating job opportunities, building hospitals, schools and houses... etc. Therefore, the ministry found that the solution is to make [the prices of] flats subject to the supply and demand mechanism, with no attention to the limited financial capabilities of [the majority] of citizens. Therefore, flats have become available for those who have [a lot of] cash money."

The writer tried to diagnose the reasons behind the phenomenon that is dashing the hopes of youths wanting to own a flat. "The ministry also opened the door wide for foreigners and Arabs to buy plots of land and flats, a matter banned in the past. As a result, the prices of real estate has soared."

Mahmoud Murad concurred in the same paper. "Prices [of flats] have doubled four or five times because it wasn't only the cost of land that has jumped but also the building materials and labour wages... in a way that made possessing a flat a far- fetched dream," Murad wrote.

Apart from politics and the housing crisis, the daily liberal-leaning Nahdet Masr ran a feature about the amount of money Egyptians spend for the sole purpose of showing off. "Egyptians spend LE383 billion annually to show off," ran the headline of an article written by Hossameddin El-Amir. The article was pegged on a report issued by the Cairo- based International Centre for Futuristic and Strategic Studies that showed that the expenditure of Egyptian families rose in 2006 to LE383 billion.

The feature displayed the details of the report, saying that Egyptians from all walks of life have a tendency to show off. With more than 23 million Egyptians owning a mobile phone, "Egyptians spend LE2 million on mobile messages daily. And the number of mobile users increases by 1.8 millions annually.

"The percentage of mobile phone users," the feature revealed, "has reached 35 per cent of the population which far exceeds the percentage in China -- 20 per cent."

The feature also points out that consumerism is best reflected in the Egyptian interest in buying sexual-enhancing products -- "Viagra, going to beauty centres, and their obsession with having a makeover, or new look."

The report added that the majority of parents leave no stone unturned in order that their children swank before their friends. "Some parents are ready to sell all what they own in order that their children appear coming from well-to-do parents in front of their friends."

The feature also highlighted growing Westernisation among increasing numbers of obsessed Egyptians. "The new-look culture deceives wealthy women and sells beauty illusions to them.

"Obsession with luxury cars, flats, wedding ceremonies has become a competition to brag about."