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A Salute to the Great Youth of Egypt, 12 Feb 2011
To the great youth of Egypt, the leaders of the Egyptian revolution of 25 January 2011, I salute you. For …
- in the nobility of your spirit,
- in the exuberance of your youth,
- in the quality of your contacts,
- in the unsullied idealism that you possess,
- in the dedication to our common humanity that you bring …
… I find the hope of mastering the challenges of the difficult transition ahead, to complete the revolution you have initiated and of building the better Egypt that your actions have made possible.
The secret of your success lies in the bedrock of your values, not just in the specific knowledge you have gained. You have learned to learn, but more importantly, you have grown to care.
So, harness your skill, your imagination and your determination to create a better Egypt, a better world for all. And as we honor the memory of those who died, salute the sacrifice of the wounded and celebrate the resolve of those who stayed the course, let us create the new Egypt, guided by a vision of a caring society where, in keeping with the immortal words, there would be :
- NO Politics without principle
- NO Wealth without work
- NO Commerce without morality
- NO Pleasure without conscience
- NO Education without character
- NO Science without humanity
A vision where a people’s greatness is measured by the quality of the lives of their poorest citizens not by the size of their armies or the scale of their buildings.
Yes! You have changed Egypt forever, and now we will follow your leadership and join with you in the task of creating the new Egypt.
My friends,
You have been called the children of the internet, or the Facebook generation, but you are more. You are the vanguard of the great global revolution of the 21st century. So, go forth into the journey of your lives, and create a better world for yourselves and for others. Lead and all shall follow. Think of the unborn, remember the forgotten, give hope to the forlorn, include the excluded, reach out to the unreached, and by your actions from this day onwards lay the foundation for better tomorrows.
Thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Ismail Serageldin
Librarian of Alexandria
Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina
To all Our Friends Around the World:18 Days that Shook the World, 12 Feb 2011
Thank you for your many messages of solidarity and support throughout these last two weeks. And a salute to Egypt’s wonderful youth, who changed the course of history through peaceful demonstrations. The moral power of non-violence was never more ably deployed for the cause of more freedom, more justice and to lay the foundations of better tomorrows. By the moral force of their solidarity, and the nobility of their cause, they challenged all expectations and triumphed. The Egyptian Revolution of 25 January 2011 now belongs to the history books. It is a brilliant chapter in the unfolding story of the struggle for human dignity and the values of our common humanity.
In these 18 days that shook the world, men and women, young and old, Muslims and Christians, rich and poor came together as never before. The army never unleashed a volley against any of the millions of demonstrators. All melded together and showed the true mettle of “the people”. They redefined the meaning of Egyptian greatness. During those long days of struggle, days when the police forces were either attacking the demonstrators or totally absent from the scene, there was not one incident of burning of churches, indeed we saw Christians and Muslims praying by the thousands in Tahrir square, each protecting and respecting the other. Hundreds of thousands of young men and women demonstrated for days on end, and not one case of harassment was noted. Volunteers provided safety and order, and neighbors came together to form neighborhood watches to protect their homes and families against thugs and ruffians who attacked homes and looted public buildings, and to provide public services by sharing as never before. The people got to know each other better than ever before. Neighborhoods became more than physical definitions, they became communities again. The demonstrators protected cultural institutions like the Egyptian museum and the Library of Alexandria, which many recognized as their own.
Today the people are all celebrating the resignation of President Mubarak and the start of a new era. But the road ahead is going to be difficult. We must ensure that this moment of euphoria and the solidarity created by this revolutionary movement launched by our youth on January 25th are effectively transformed into the institutions and laws that will be the real guarantors of a true democracy. After the demonstrations, the battles and the celebrations in the streets, we must now do the equally demanding work of designing new institutions, selecting new leaders and creating new laws — to fashion the wise constraints that make people free.
But I have unlimited confidence in Egypt’s youth. It is the dawn of a new day.
Ismail Serageldin
Librarian of Alexandria
Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Director’s Statement to all our Friends in the World: Updates on the Events in Egypt, 10 Feb 2011
Dear friends
Thank you all for the many many notes of concern and messages of solidarity and support.
Concerning the Library, in addition to the wonderful pictures and video we posted some days ago, I would like to bring you up to date on the situation here.
As you know from this website, the young people have safeguarded the building. Also you may be interested to see what happened to government house about ten blocks away (see picture of the destroyed building), so you can appreciate the truly great vote confidence the demonstrators gave to the Library and its work. Those young people are truly great.
Very large peaceful demonstrations continue, (see picture) and the demonstrators still show their enormous goodwill towards the institution. Thankfully, the government forces have decided to respect the peaceful demonstrators’ rights to express themselves.
So, we are all fine in the Library, and we are having huge meetings with all our young people (mostly from the BA) talking about the Constitution, transitions and ensuring true democratic processes, etc. We are yearning to reopen our doors and restart our many activities. In a few days, perhaps we will be able to do so.
Beyond our website, here are two links that you may find interesting, a CNN video interview and a Wall Street Journal text that just appeared.
Please see them and please bring all this to the attention of others.