The topic of this post may seem out of pattern for the previous posts I’ve written. However, the reason behind it would make you change your mind. One of the main reason I started this blog is simply the lack of justice and equality in Egyptian society and the greater Middle East. This pattern of institutionalised inequality & injustice, in my opinion, was started in the 50’s & 60’s decades of the last century when Arab countries gained their independence from European colonial powers. As country after country gained its independence military dictators came to rule their countries under the guise of “Arab Nationalism”.
Egypt was one the first of the Arab countries to gain complete independence of England. A military qua against Kind Farouk of Egypt, that was passed on as a revolution of the people, brought punch of inexperienced military officers to power. On the helm of these officers was Gamal Abd ElNasser (Nasser). And this is where the connection to today’s events come in. What Nasser started in the 50’s is was still going on in Egypt till today. Military officers running the country. In the process not realizing that you cannot run a prosperous society with Military orders that aren’t negotiable.
The way I see it everything that is wrong in Egypt today is due to what Nasser planted 60 years ago. The one man decision for everything in public and even private life. Whether right or wrong it must take place. If you object you end up in jail. And of course his fellow officers that he installed in every Egyptian institution, even private enterprises he nationalized, didn’t object. They all went from punch no body to head of institutions with huge monthly salaries and political clout.
So much of Egyptian society suffered from Nasser and his successors one sided decision. The Nubian people, however, suffered even worse. One of Nasser’s “national projects” was the High Dam on the Nile River. At first, the Dam seems like a great idea. It would generate electricity stop the flooding and many other benefits. I’m not here to discuss the pluses and minuses of that decision but rather highlight the suffering of the Nubian people because of this decision.
The Nubian community in general suffered from marginalization from the authority in Cairo. But they also suffered division because Nasser didn’t want to bother negotiating with the British while departing from Egypt regarding the historical connection Egypt has with Sudan. Britain was dragging its feet by negotiating departure from Egypt and Sudan as both countries were seen as one and were under Egypt’s monarchy as one country. Nasser abandoned Sudan so he could control Egypt. By doing so he drew Egypt’s southern boarder through the Nubian community. As a result, he created an Egyptian Nubian community and another in Sudan.
In 1968 the Nubian community was directly affected by the High Dam project as it was forced to relocate by Nasser’s administration as their community was in the path of what became Lake Nasser. The relocation in of its self isn’t bad as this does happen in many countries. What makes it special in the case of the Nubian people is that they were forced to move. Apox. 50,000 Nubian on Egypt’s side were displaced and an estimated total of about 150,000 between the two communities in Egypt and Sudan.
the Egyptian government’s official story is they were properly notified and well compensated for their relocation. However, Nubian people will tell of a different story. Not all of them were financial compensated and the ones who did it wasn’t enough. After all how much would you ask to be paid to be uprooted from your homeland that your people lived in for thousands of years. The other-side to this decision was the fact that Nubian land is now under Lake Nasser water ending any chance for discovering any archaeology their ancestors left behind. To be fair, the Egyptian government did give special permission to archaeologists to search for Nubian archaeology in the area, but they were given limited time and eventually ran out of time before properly concluding their search.
Another cultural disaster the Nubian community suffered was during British colonisation of Egypt. The British had built a smaller dam on the Nile in 1902 close to where Nasser erected the High Dam that caused damage to the Nubian fertile land. As a result, the men left their villages in search of work and went as far north as Alexandria. This became the norm that no one was left in the villages for extended periods of time except women and children who couldn’t keep up with traditional Nubian festivals and other traditions. Generation after generation of this culture erosion caused for many of their traditions to be forgotten.
I don’t know if the misery of the Nubian people is the result of bad luck, racism, or arrogance by those in charge of Egypt in the past 100 years. Certainly the Nubian people are known to be mild mannered, very hospitable, and middle of the road when it comes to religion. What I do know is that unfortunately all of the injustice that has befallen the Nubian people would be recognized in the new Egypt.
Egypt was one the first of the Arab countries to gain complete independence of England. A military qua against Kind Farouk of Egypt, that was passed on as a revolution of the people, brought punch of inexperienced military officers to power. On the helm of these officers was Gamal Abd ElNasser (Nasser). And this is where the connection to today’s events come in. What Nasser started in the 50’s is was still going on in Egypt till today. Military officers running the country. In the process not realizing that you cannot run a prosperous society with Military orders that aren’t negotiable.
The way I see it everything that is wrong in Egypt today is due to what Nasser planted 60 years ago. The one man decision for everything in public and even private life. Whether right or wrong it must take place. If you object you end up in jail. And of course his fellow officers that he installed in every Egyptian institution, even private enterprises he nationalized, didn’t object. They all went from punch no body to head of institutions with huge monthly salaries and political clout.
So much of Egyptian society suffered from Nasser and his successors one sided decision. The Nubian people, however, suffered even worse. One of Nasser’s “national projects” was the High Dam on the Nile River. At first, the Dam seems like a great idea. It would generate electricity stop the flooding and many other benefits. I’m not here to discuss the pluses and minuses of that decision but rather highlight the suffering of the Nubian people because of this decision.
The Nubian community in general suffered from marginalization from the authority in Cairo. But they also suffered division because Nasser didn’t want to bother negotiating with the British while departing from Egypt regarding the historical connection Egypt has with Sudan. Britain was dragging its feet by negotiating departure from Egypt and Sudan as both countries were seen as one and were under Egypt’s monarchy as one country. Nasser abandoned Sudan so he could control Egypt. By doing so he drew Egypt’s southern boarder through the Nubian community. As a result, he created an Egyptian Nubian community and another in Sudan.
In 1968 the Nubian community was directly affected by the High Dam project as it was forced to relocate by Nasser’s administration as their community was in the path of what became Lake Nasser. The relocation in of its self isn’t bad as this does happen in many countries. What makes it special in the case of the Nubian people is that they were forced to move. Apox. 50,000 Nubian on Egypt’s side were displaced and an estimated total of about 150,000 between the two communities in Egypt and Sudan.
the Egyptian government’s official story is they were properly notified and well compensated for their relocation. However, Nubian people will tell of a different story. Not all of them were financial compensated and the ones who did it wasn’t enough. After all how much would you ask to be paid to be uprooted from your homeland that your people lived in for thousands of years. The other-side to this decision was the fact that Nubian land is now under Lake Nasser water ending any chance for discovering any archaeology their ancestors left behind. To be fair, the Egyptian government did give special permission to archaeologists to search for Nubian archaeology in the area, but they were given limited time and eventually ran out of time before properly concluding their search.
Another cultural disaster the Nubian community suffered was during British colonisation of Egypt. The British had built a smaller dam on the Nile in 1902 close to where Nasser erected the High Dam that caused damage to the Nubian fertile land. As a result, the men left their villages in search of work and went as far north as Alexandria. This became the norm that no one was left in the villages for extended periods of time except women and children who couldn’t keep up with traditional Nubian festivals and other traditions. Generation after generation of this culture erosion caused for many of their traditions to be forgotten.
I don’t know if the misery of the Nubian people is the result of bad luck, racism, or arrogance by those in charge of Egypt in the past 100 years. Certainly the Nubian people are known to be mild mannered, very hospitable, and middle of the road when it comes to religion. What I do know is that unfortunately all of the injustice that has befallen the Nubian people would be recognized in the new Egypt.
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