Obituary:
Planting the seeds
Adel Abu Zahra (1948-2003)
When Adel Abu Zahra died on 31 October, a great void was created in the local movements concerned with conservation, environmental protection and freedom of expression. These days, not many people are willing to stand up for the principles of active citizenship; which made Abu Zahra's presence all the more vital and relevant.We first met in 1990, when he was spearheading a campaign against the Alexandria governorate for granting an international organisation exclusive access to a side street -- a decision that was subsequently reversed. His tall, immaculate, and determined presence was ubiquitous whenever a battle for public space or rights was being waged. When Lawrence Durrell's Alexandria home was about to be demolished by a construction company, he was there. When the Alexandria governorate attempted to lease a public garden to a private investor, he was there. "I am a born reformer," he told me. "I cannot see something askew and leave it. If I see someone throw a tissue in the street, I am liable to run after them and begin a discussion on why they behave this way."
And there were the bigger battles as well -- over the wholesale poisoning of Lake Maryout, and against a succession of laws that further hamper freedom of association in Egypt.
At the Arab Academy for Science and Technology, Abu Zahra, a behavioural sciences professor, taught a wide range of courses, broaching on aesthetics, psychology, scientific history, environmental education, and critical and creative thinking. He saw teaching as both a method of transferring information, as well as an opportunity to change the way young people think.
He was also a member of the Supreme Council for Culture, the executive board of the American University in Cairo's Development Research Centre, and the National Council for Women's culture and media committee. Last year, he was one of 10 activists who received the United Nations' Volunteer Prize in recognition of his efforts.
Born on 20 November 1948, Abu Zahra received his PhD in 1978. His thesis focussed on discrimination against women. "I have always been concerned with gender issues and the fight against discrimination. I am concerned because women are half of this society and without their development there can be no development. As long as we are preoccupied with covering hair, what kind of development can there be?"
He also established and headed an Alexandria-based environmental NGO called the Friends of the Environment Association. For years he fought for the preservation of the city's heritage, constantly evoking its cosmopolitan history and using it as a great source of inspiration. He also established the Friends of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, an NGO working for the protection of intellectual integrity and the library's freedom.
Abu Zahra has also hosted a classical music programme on Alexandrian TV for nine years. "I am a liberal man who believes in the critical and creative mind. I am against the 'one idea'. I do not like the idea of binding myself within a single paradigm," he said. That attitude may also explain why Abu Zahra's name was never associated with any political party, and why he chose civil society as the arena within which to fight for a greater sense of public responsibility and public service.
For many years Abu Zahra battled bravely with illness. A confirmed bachelor, he once confided in me that there were times, especially when his health got the better of him, that he missed the company of a woman and life partner. At the same time, he was hardly alone. His efforts were being recognised all the time: phone calls from students' mothers praising him for his efforts with their children; a man on the street wanting to shake his hand and thank him for something he had done; and the constant solidarity of activists who shared his beliefs and had the courage to speak their minds.
As he once told me: "I want to open people's eyes to the future. I have no authority, and any power I can exert comes as a result of my freedom and integrity. I know that I may not live to see the benefits of the seeds I sow, but I am a reader of history, and I know that these seeds will bear fruit some time down the line."
C a p t i o n :
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 6 - 12 November 2003 (Issue No. 663)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/663/eg3.htm