Barbered wire

Operation Musketeer

By Yahia Al Shaer

Destiny, Luck or circumstances ??

Luck or mere circumstances may have played their major part in my life. I was born in Port-Said on December 18th., 1937, grown up and spent my childhood and the early teen years in this Multicultural, half European City with its various civilisations. As the rest of the Port Said citizens, our life was bound to the Suez Canal, my father who was working as Engineer at the International Suez Canal Company ). Witness of some modern Egyptian History Living in Port Said was a coincidence of life, that helped to witness the most critical era of the modern.

Egyptian History
This begins with ( vague) memories of the British troops defending the city against the Nazi Air raids, when we had to rush to the bomb shelters in the night, the darkening of the city with the funny smelling of burning barrels to create black smoke, the deafening sound of AA Boufer guns and the mighty search light scanning the sky for unwelcome invaders ( German or Italian bombers ) attacking the Suez Canal. Then there was peace, Germany surrendered. Many troop transport ships passed through the Canal, carrying hundreds and hundreds of British and Commonwealth soldiers either directions north back home or south to the British colonies and Australia. The large British camps dominating the city were full of English soldiers ( men and women). The Royal Navy Fighting Ships and the military equipment have characterised Port Said, it started to flourish, and the social life began to vivid...... No long time was gone, to witness again the beginning of the another war, the first 1948 ( Palestine) War. The euphoria, the volunteers, the Egyptian troops parading through the main streets and once again, the AA deafening sound. The city was military area again. Loses, death, defeats and agony prevailed. My eldest brother Mohamed Hady has volunteered to fight in Palestine aside the Egyptian Army.

President Anwar El Sadat
Our father had engaged all of the family members in hot political and intellectual discussions aimed at understanding the importance of liberating Egypt from all the foreign influences, particularly the British Occupation of the Suez Canal. Although he was a pro Monarch, he opposed the King in many issues. The time was unmerciful to the child Yahia and did not give the opportunity to grasp what happens, until King Farouk´s - political police - started to surprise us quite often with their famous early dawn visits, in order to arrest my eldest brother Mohamed Hady and throw him again and again in the foreigners prison of Port Said dedicated for those who are active politically. This special prison was at the backside of the Police station facing the Ferry-boat dock, opposite to the Suez Canal, which happened to be one of the battle sites during 1956 War.
Hady was a leading member of Misr El Faith (Young Egypt) movement, which aimed at fighting the British Occupation - by all means -. Often, I had to join our servant when he brought food to him and to his cell comrade (with hidden instructions in my shorts from Mohamed Makhlouf, the one who used to print the Propaganda leaflets against the Occupation, and later against the Anglo-French troops in Port Said ), because the police guard let me in without searching. I never imagine that this friendly dark-skinned man sharing the cell with my brother was Major Mohamed Anwar El Sadat !!!!!. and as it happened , would become sometime the President of Egypt ???. King Farouk was the Egyptian Monarch. Who ever thought of it ( except Gamal Abdel Nasser, later).

The 1936 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty
It did not last long, before the Egyptian Prime Minister, Nahas Pasha has annulled on the 15th October 1951 the 1936 Anglo-Egyptian treaty with Britain. See THE SUPPRESSED STORY Violent and armed terror attacks against the British Camps in the Suez Canal area have taken place on daily basis. My brothers and second eldest brother were active in these attacks ( I was the youngest and fourth boy). The Anglo-Egyptian battle of Ismailia , was an important Milestone in the history of Liberation movements in Egypt. Its pages began to be written with blood, both of the Egyptian civilians and the British soldiers residing in the Suez Canal area.
The Egyptian Revolution
The Egyptian history did not wait long before allowing another but very important event to happen in Egypt, which in turn has influenced and changed my whole life consequently for good. The Egyptian Revolution under General Mohamed Nagib and Gamal Abdel Nasser (Colonel) occurred on 23ed July 1952. The daily calls for freedom was getting louder and fiercer, the propaganda against the presence of the foreign influence and the ongoing British occupation of Suez Canal was increasing every day. The Revolution's Council consisting of 12 High-ranked officers forming the Egyptian Government had not only opened several camps for training the youth on Commandos ( Guerrilla) attacks against the British Troops in Suez Canal, but also integrated additional military training in all the Egyptian Secondary schools as of 1954. I was attracted and complied, Both my third brother Mahmoud and I have joined them. I was the youngest officially fully trained Commando in Egypt, consequently I knew the underground Business quite well. The negative impact of engagement in all these activities, had temporarily influenced my school performance and cost me one year to repeat. resulting in delayed completing of the High-school until 1956.. But, all of us, Al Shaer four brothers were active in the underground operations in Port Said against the British Occupation of the Suez Canal !!!..
Port Said 1956 War
Then Destiny was prevailing again, as the Suez Crisis took followed by the Anglo-French war against Port Said See Assault The Canal Like many others, I temporarily interrupt my university studies to join the Comrades in defending the city. But I had to disappear in the underground on 8^th November, the next day after the City fall, to take substantial responsibility of the onsite Planing, Co-ordination and Leading the official military secret resistance against the occupying Anglo-French troops, as the only civilian commander beside the High-ranked officers dispatched from Cairo. This responsibility durated until the departure of the Anglo-French Forces from Egypt (Port-Said) on December 22 1956. Never the less, the post-evacuation activities was culminated on December 24^th 1956 by the dynamiting the De Le Sepps Statue.

The Choice Computer or Terror

I rejoined the university to study Political Sciences and International Economy then continued my academical studies in Europe with, MBA Business Administration, followed by studies the PhD studies of International Economy and Law.
After that, I have specialised in the IT and Computer Business as Management Consultant for project management and CRM.
The years go by, but between a time and then, I recall the wonderful life in Port Said during the 1950s and smile, then I ask myself...., would this all had happened to me, if I were born some years earlier... or later..??.
I personally doubt it, or better say, I really don't know.
Is it Destiny..., Luck... or just mere Circumstances.., or may be all these factors together... that had shaped my life since then..??
We will really never know....
May be, it is fair to say... It is my Destiny and "Kesmat"...!!

You are my today's

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