WEBVTT

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[music]

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In May 1964, Gamal Abdel Nasser,

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the President of Egypt came to
Aswan in the south of the country.

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[music]

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He was celebrating the biggest engineering
project for its kind in the world,

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the High Dam. It was the
pride of all Egyptians.

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[music]

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Nasser had freed his country from Colonial
War, made Egypt leader of the Arab world

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and brought millions out of poverty.

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[music]

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Egyptians called him father of the poor

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but some say he offered us
bread in exchange for freedom.

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[sil.]

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During his 18 years in power,

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Nasser unleashed forces that
not even he could control.

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These forces continue to bring people
out to the streets to invoke his legacy

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or protest against it.

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Many people would attribute

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all Egyptian problems to Nasser
and many people would say

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if only somebody like
Nasser would come back.

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[sil.]

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[sil.]

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[music]

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Ordinary Egyptians feel
close to Gamal Abdel Nasser

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because of his humble origins.

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He was born in 1918,

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in a lower middle class neighborhood
in Alexandria where his father worked

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for the post office.

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When he was eight,

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his mother died and his father quickly remarried
leaving him without a feeling of home.

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[music]

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For the rest of his childhood,

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he was shuttled from relative
to relative, city to city.

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Egypt\'s big cities were bustling.

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There were the very rich,

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the very poor and everyone in between.

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There were European tourists

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with Egyptians at their service.

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There were Muslims, Christians, Jews.

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As a teenager, Nasser lived for a while

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in Cairo\'s old Jewish quarter
where rents were cheap

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but he found his true home in
Egypt struggle for independence.

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[non-English narration]

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In those years

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he participated in many demonstrations.

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Though King Farouk was in his palace
and parliament was in session,

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though Egypt had a semblance of democracy

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and a long proud history,

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Egypt was not free.

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It was part of the British Empire.

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Egypt\'s cotton fed Britain\'s mills.

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[music]

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If there\'s one thing that can sum up

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Egypt\'s nationalism and its confrontational
colonialism, it is the Suez Canal.

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[sil.]

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Connecting the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, the
canal was the lifeline of the British Empire.

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[music]

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The Suez Canal was a symbol of humiliation

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and exploitation of Egypt
since it was open in 1869.

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Thousands of peasants would
dragged from all over the country

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to work and with no money
and literally thousand

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dug with their bare hands digging
it up and thousands died.

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The British controlled the
Canal and all its revenue.

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Despite the fact that it was
dugged by Egyptian hands,

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passing through Egyptian soil

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it\'s proceeds did not end
up in Egyptian pockets.

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The British guarded the
Canal with 70,000 troops.

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The hope of everybody was to evacuate the
British soldiers from the Suez Canal.

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I found a piece of paper,

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a speech by my father
when he was 17 years old.

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Egypt is in a state of hopeless despair.

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Who can remove this feeling?
Who can stop the imperialists?

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He had become an ardent nationalist

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placing Egypt above all other
political allegiances.

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Where is dignity? Where is nationalism?

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The nation sleeps like men in a cave,

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who can awaken these poor creatures
who don\'t even know who they are?

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I was really surprised

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that he kept this piece of
paper, don\'t you think so?

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I mean, he kept it. So I believe
that the political incidence

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of his youth were really very important
and had a big effect on him.

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[music]

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In May 1948,

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on Egypt\'s northern border, the
new state of Israel was declared

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in what had been Palestine.

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For us it was very euphoric moment

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although everybody thought that the Arabs

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will start a war in order to undermine
this declaration of the state.

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To protect their new country,

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the Israelis drove nearly three quarters
of a million Palestinians into exile.

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In Cairo, none Jews

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rioted against Jews in
Nasser\'s old neighborhood.

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There was an enormous sense of Egyptians
solidarity with Palestinians.

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Here we have the Egyptians
struggling to achieved independence

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and we see what is happening in Palestine

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as a colonial movement.
Nasser had graduated from

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Egypt\'s Military Academy and was now and
Lieutenant Colonel in the Egyptian Army.

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He had been married for four years

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and had a young daughter. My father
was very keen to have a family,

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this is something which he really missed.

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I remember my mother used
to clean his buttons

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on his uniform and I used to help her.

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One morning I ran out of the house carrying my
kit and leaving behind a newspaper announcing

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the beginning of military
operations in Palestine.

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I was seized with a strange feeling
as I raced down the steps thinking,

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so I\'m on my way to the front.

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I wanted to forget altogether what
I had left behind, all those tears

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I knew are waiting to
fall for my wife\'s eyes.

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The British had decided that Egypt
doesn\'t really need an army,

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so the army went in with
no combat experience

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and it went in with insufficient weapons.

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Egypt and six other Arab nations
sent troops against Israel.

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[sil.]

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At first, the Arabs made gains

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and then the Israelis surprised everyone

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by routing the Arab armies.

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In search of an explanation,

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Egyptians blamed their own government.

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And then there came the big scandal

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about the King buying rotten
weapons for the Egyptian Army.

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People accused their king

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and his government of corruption.

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For four months,

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Colonel Nasser\'s brigade
was besieged near Gaza.

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They refused to surrender.

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During those long days under siege, we
started meeting in trenches and posts,

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studying and searching.
Though we were in Palestine,

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we thought only of Egypt
and how to deliver it.

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This was not simply a military defeat,

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this was structural political
defeat and that was the lesson

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that Nasser deduced.

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I became a revolutionary over many
years but 1948 was the turning point.

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[sil.]

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When the war ended, Nasser came home to
find Egyptians taking to the streets

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against their regime they
no longer believed in.

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Nasser thought that Egypt needed a
savior and that he was the one.

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And he tried to prepare
himself for this role.

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[music]

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Choosing to remain unnoticed, a
young officer among many others

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Nasser began to think about
overthrowing the government.

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He read a lot and he was willing to learn.

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In secret,

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he gathered around him a small group that
called themselves the Free Officers.

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My father actually trusted
all the Free Officers,

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this was a kind of relationship of blood.

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They made alliances

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with groups protesting on the
streets, the communists,

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nationalists, even the fascists.

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Though Nasser was a nationalist, he
was close to the Muslim Brotherhood.

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Formed in 1928,

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it had millions in its membership and
was actively fighting the British.

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But unlike Nasser, the brotherhood
believed that only Islam

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could save Egypt.

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In January 1952,

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a mob in downtown Cairo
destroyed some 750 buildings

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and associated with Egypt\'s colonial lead.

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It was the most unstable
political situation.

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The king goes loosing hold himself.
And it seems

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that the British embassy was (inaudible).

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Egyptians were waiting for a evolution

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but were unsure who would start it.

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When I was a young officer,

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the country was realizing
that something should happen

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to the extent that when we used to go in
the street with our military uniform,

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people telling us, \"Why don\'t you move?\"

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[music]

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In the early hours of July 23 1952,

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Nasser took an enormous risk.

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Realizing the Free Officers were
on the verge of being arrested,

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he gave orders to move
immediately against the King.

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He did not believe very much

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in his own chances of success. He thought

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that he did not have more then 10% chance.

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He and his friends had only a
few hours to plan their move.

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I was charged

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with going to the palace of the
king and if there is any resistance

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I deal with it, fortunately the
Royal Guard gave up immediately,

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one of those, it was done very peacefully.

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We (inaudible) all taken by
surprised, we switched on the radio,

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we learned that there is a coup, that
the army has taken all, how marvelous.

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People started coming from various
places out to the streets.

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Everyone was thrilled

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because this coincided with a period
when the king was really hated here.

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There was almost no bloodshed.

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The Free Officers allowed the
King to go safely into exile

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and promised to restore order.
For these reasons,

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the British agreed not to intervene.
They recognized the new government

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and withdrew to their
barracks near the Suez Canal.

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[sil.]

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Nasser was 34, no one even knew his name.

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Over night, he and his comrades had
become responsible for their country.

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To gain the people\'s confidence,

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they presented a famous
General Mohammed Naguib

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as Egypt\'s first president.

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There were two things Nasser
was very much keen to realize.

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First, complete independence,
the second thing

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is the dignity of the country.

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The American embassy in Cairo was
in favor of the new government.

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Ambassador Caffrey dealt with General
Naguib while his younger assistant

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got to know the younger men.

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I served in the embassy as a fairly
junior Foreign Service Officer.

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My (connection) told me that Nasser and several
of the other leading members of the group

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would be happy to come and have
hotdogs with us in our apartment.

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This was indication to
this plan of get to know

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the boys as we (tend to call them.)

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These boys would work together for years.

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Zakaria Mohieddin set up Egypt\'s
new state security service.

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Anwar Sadat became Egypt\'s
president after Nasser\'s death.

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Abdel Hakim Amer, Nasser\'s closest friend

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was put in charge of the armed forces.

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We found Nasser and his (inaudible)

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to be very attractive,
congenial, intelligence

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and dedicated human beings.

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Nasser wanted to bring Egypt

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into the modern world.

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We have to work twice as fast,
once to make up for a 100 years

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of backwardness and once to provide
work for the 350,000 people

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born to us each year.

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Britain had left Egypt with an economy

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that was nearly feudal

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with peasants working the agricultural
estates owned by the aristocracy.

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Al faqr wal-gahl wal-marad. Poverty,

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illiteracy and disease
which was a good summary

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of what was the situation.

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The first thing the Free Officers did was
reform the ownership of agricultural land.

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[music]

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They took some acreage away from
the owners of the great estates

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and gave it to the peasants
who actually formed it.

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[sil.]

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Those who had their land taken, they
hated him with a vengeance and,

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and one of the things I
remember them complaining about

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is how he had made these peasants be
able to talk back to their masters.

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[music]

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The wealthy land owners opposed land reform

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and they controlled the political parties.

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The Free Officers believed that
democracy and social change

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could not go along. Because almost 95%

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of Egyptian people were strongly
depended on the big land owners.

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And in democracy big land-owners
would seize control of Parliament

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and would block any attempt
to change anything.

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We needed unity but found dissension.

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The word I was on every tongue.

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We had to improvise.

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They marginalized the aristocracy by
convicting some of them of corruption

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and they set up a single party
controlled by the State.

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The Free Officers decided
democracy is nice,

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but it is not possible in Egypt.

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They were determined to
protect their revolution.

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[music]

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The Free Officers had panicked
at the threat of disorder

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but their crackdown set a
pattern for their regime.

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Change, no matter how progressive

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had to come from the top.

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In 1954, Nasser sidelined

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Mohammed Naguib and took
control of the presidency,

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consolidating power in his own hands.

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Nasser decided that they needed
at least three or four years

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of authoritarian regime to
enforce the needed changes

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and of course three or for years
became ten, fifteen, etcetra.

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As Egypt\'s new leader

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Nasser moved into a modern house on an army compound
where he would live for the rest of his life.

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When we moved from our flat,

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I was only six but the still remember,

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of course for us this house was very big.

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There was a lot of light in the house,
inside and outside in the garden.

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Of course now I understand that this is for security
but still for us this was something fascinating,

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a big change.

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For the first time Nasser
was in the spotlight.

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His first goal was to remove all
British troops from the Suez Canal.

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(inaudible)

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what will be your next step?

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Well, as for our next step, it is a
secret which I cannot yet reveal.

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[music]

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In negotiations, he let the British
keep their revenue from the Canal.

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In exchange, the British
evacuated all their troops

00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:39.999
from Egyptian soil. For the
first time in 70 years,

00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:45.000
the British were gone.

00:26:55.000 --> 00:26:59.999
Two weeks after signing the treaty with the British,
there was a plot to assassinate him in Mansheya Square

00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:08.000
in Alexandria.

00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:15.000
Eight shots were fired.

00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:29.999
[music]

00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:34.999
A member of the secret military wing of the Muslim
Brotherhood was quickly arrested and sentenced to death.

00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:39.999
The Brotherhood had realized that Nasser,

00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:45.000
the nationalist would never
agree to an Islamic state.

00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:09.999
Nasser as a devout Muslim
had a problem with blood.

00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:14.999
He did not want to kill.

00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:19.999
But he never had a problem with jailing. It
was one of the easiest things he could do,

00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:24.999
giving instructions to jail somebody.

00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:29.999
For the rest of his life Nasser
tried to break the Brotherhood.

00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:34.999
He closed their businesses
and sent them to prison

00:28:35.000 --> 00:28:39.999
where many were tortured. Among
those imprisoned for many years

00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:45.000
was Sayyid Qutb, a prominent
Muslim intellectual.

00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:14.999
The Muslim Brotherhood
came out of decades i

00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:20.000
n prison with a deep sense of mistrusts, not
only of the Egyptian state but of politics.

00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:34.999
It was clear to all that
the nationalist agenda

00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:39.999
and the Islamist one were irreconcilable.

00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:48.000
[sil.]

00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:04.999
Nasser had a vision

00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:09.999
and approaches which was about modernity.

00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:14.999
And Nasser delivered, he delivered
land, he delivered factories,

00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:20.000
he delivered free education, he delivered
the so-called popular housing.

00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:39.999
Nearly 80% of Egyptians were illiterate,

00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:44.999
Nasser built a school (inaudible).

00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:49.999
Nasser came and built schools to such an
extent, he reached the smallest village.

00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:54.999
He educated girls.

00:30:55.000 --> 00:30:59.999
He made education free through university

00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:04.999
and he guaranteed government employment for
all graduates. He gave women the vote.

00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:09.999
He was very conscious and very sensitive

00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:14.999
to people sense that they are part of this
revolution and they\'re part of this important,

00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:19.999
a moment in change.

00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:24.999
Nasser was a very ambitious man.

00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:29.999
He had great hopes for a new Egypt.

00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:34.999
He wanted Egypt to become
self-sufficient in all kinds of goods,

00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:39.999
from (inaudible) to the rocket.

00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:44.999
[music]

00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:49.999
His greatest ambition was to build
a new hydroelectric dam in Aswan.

00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:54.999
A dam so monumental

00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:59.999
it could control the ebb and
flow of Nile all through Egypt,

00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:04.999
opening up millions of new
acres to cultivation,

00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:09.999
providing light to thousands
of villages still in darkness

00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:14.999
and industrializing Egypt.

00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:19.999
[music]

00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:24.999
The High Dam would be the grandest
project of its kind in the world,

00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:29.999
A symbol of the new Egypt and a
source of pride for every Egyptian.

00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:38.000
[sil.]

00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:44.999
To develop Egypt, Nasser
needed foreign aid.

00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:49.999
He turned first to the United States.

00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:54.999
I believe that the well-being of the peoples of the
Middle East requires the nations of that region

00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:59.999
to build up and strengthen their
economies and their institutions.

00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:04.999
But the United States was
engaged in a much bigger game,

00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:09.999
the Cold War against the Soviet Union,

00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:14.999
the two superpowers, so
themselves as global enemies.

00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:19.999
John Foster Dulles,

00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:24.999
the American Secretary of State
wasn\'t going to give Nasser aid

00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:29.999
without getting something in return.

00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:34.999
As the super powers divided up the world,

00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:39.999
Dallas was determined to keep the
Soviets out of the Middle East.

00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:44.999
He wanted Egypt to join a regional alliance

00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:49.999
that would block the Soviet
Union from Saudi oil fields

00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:54.999
and the Suez Canal.

00:33:55.000 --> 00:33:59.999
People described Dulles as having something called pactomania,
you know, will have an alliance here, and an alliance here

00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:04.999
and alliance here and the Soviet
Union would be contained.

00:34:05.000 --> 00:34:09.999
You had a key difference between
Egyptians and Americans.

00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:14.999
The Egyptians did not take seriously

00:34:15.000 --> 00:34:19.999
the Soviet threat. Nasser
read the map differently,

00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:24.999
he saw Egypt surrounded by
Arab and African nations

00:34:25.000 --> 00:34:29.999
struggling to free themselves
from the colonial powers

00:34:30.000 --> 00:34:34.999
with a hostile Israel to his North.
For him,

00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:39.999
the Soviet Union was not the threat

00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:44.999
and he refused to sign Dulles\' pact.

00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:49.999
Well, Egypt is doing it\'s
best to protect it interest

00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:54.999
from the Cold War which is going
now between East and West.

00:34:55.000 --> 00:34:59.999
He needed another way.
He traveled to Indonesia

00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:04.999
to explore the possibilities of neutrality.

00:35:05.000 --> 00:35:10.000
The Bandung Conference
opened a new world to him.

00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:29.999
Nasser was meeting with Nehru and Tito

00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:34.999
and Zhou Enlai, all the great leaders
and say we are neither with the West

00:35:35.000 --> 00:35:39.999
nor with the East, marvelous.

00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:44.999
They were all wresting with the same
problem, how to get money for development

00:35:45.000 --> 00:35:49.999
from the super powers without
becoming the pawn of either one.

00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:54.999
[sil.]

00:35:55.000 --> 00:35:59.999
Nasser\'s solution was to try to play
each major power against the other.

00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:04.999
He would attempt to remain neutral

00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:09.999
by obtaining aid from both sides.

00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:14.999
He was able to get loans from
the Russians to build his army

00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:19.999
and he turned to the Americans
for aid to build the High Dam.

00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:24.999
But for Dulles neutrality
was a suspect stance.

00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:29.999
He wanted countries to line up

00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:34.999
with the United States and if they
didn\'t, he increasingly as time went

00:36:35.000 --> 00:36:39.999
on saw them as adversaries. So
Dulles rejected Nasser\'s request

00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:44.999
for aid to build the High Dam.
And does it fairly abruptly,

00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:49.999
he calls the Egyptian ambassador and
he said the offer is off the table.

00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:54.999
There was a kind of confrontational
American move toward the Egyptians

00:36:55.000 --> 00:36:59.999
and Nasser responds in kind, you think
you can push me around, I can push back.

00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:04.999
Shelving the project was impossible,

00:37:05.000 --> 00:37:09.999
so the funds had to be raised.

00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:14.999
As he had done the night of the (cool),
he decided to make a bold move.

00:37:15.000 --> 00:37:19.999
He would nationalize the Suez Canal
Company owned by Britain and France.

00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:24.999
Egypt would keep the Canal\'s
massive revenue for itself.

00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:29.999
[music]

00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:34.999
Nationalizing the Suez Canal
took us all by surprise.

00:37:35.000 --> 00:37:39.999
In July 1956

00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:44.999
on the fourth anniversary of the
revolution, he made the announcement.

00:37:45.000 --> 00:37:50.000
He said, \"While I\'m talking to you now…\"

00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:09.999
[music]

00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:14.999
Honestly, until today, when I believe hear,
\"In the name of the nation I declared

00:38:15.000 --> 00:38:19.999
the nationalization of the
Suez Canal as an Egyptian…\"

00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:24.999
still my, you know, the hairs
can feel they standing.

00:38:25.000 --> 00:38:29.999
All Egyptians knew that nationalizing
the Canal was dangerous,

00:38:30.000 --> 00:38:34.999
a direct challenge to Britain but
they were behind Nasser anyway.

00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:39.999
It meant expression of dignity, settling

00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:44.999
all the couts and starting to be free.

00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:49.999
Britain\'s Prime Minister Anthony Eden took
the nationalization as a cause for war.

00:38:50.000 --> 00:38:58.000
We all know this is how
fascist governments behave

00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:04.999
and we are remember only too well,

00:39:05.000 --> 00:39:09.999
what the cost can be in
giving in the Fascism.

00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:14.999
I was waiting for reaction from
Britain but I am surprised by the

00:39:15.000 --> 00:39:19.999
amount of reaction did.

00:39:20.000 --> 00:39:24.999
Over the next months there was
intensive diplomacy to stave off war.

00:39:25.000 --> 00:39:29.999
Nasser was willing to guarantee
passage for ships of all nations

00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:34.999
but he was not willing to
give up control of the Canal.

00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:39.999
[sil.]

00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:44.999
They started trainings for fight

00:39:45.000 --> 00:39:49.999
and they volunteers were immense.

00:39:50.000 --> 00:39:54.999
Nasser was optimistic. His closest friend

00:39:55.000 --> 00:39:59.999
Abdel Hakim Amer was building the
Egyptian army with Soviet weapons.

00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:04.999
And as the months passed
and no attack came,

00:40:05.000 --> 00:40:09.999
Nasser thought he had managed to avoid war

00:40:10.000 --> 00:40:14.999
but what nobody knew was that Britain,

00:40:15.000 --> 00:40:19.999
France and Israel had made a secret plan.

00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:24.999
The idea sprang from French
and Israelis with British

00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:29.999
that they can create a coalition to,

00:40:30.000 --> 00:40:34.999
you know, to, to undermine not only the revolution
regime needed but Nasser, to top Nasser.

00:40:35.000 --> 00:40:39.999
[sil.]

00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:44.999
On October 29th 1956,

00:40:45.000 --> 00:40:49.999
the Israelis took the
Egyptians by surprise.

00:40:50.000 --> 00:40:54.999
Their army quickly overran the Sinai.

00:40:55.000 --> 00:40:59.999
[sil.]

00:41:00.000 --> 00:41:04.999
A few days later the British
and the French invaded.

00:41:05.000 --> 00:41:09.999
The Suez War happened when I was only ten.

00:41:10.000 --> 00:41:14.999
We realized the attack of
the British and French

00:41:15.000 --> 00:41:19.999
through planes just at
the back of our house

00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:24.999
and my father went up to see what\'s this

00:41:25.000 --> 00:41:29.999
and then he knew that the attack start.

00:41:30.000 --> 00:41:34.999
[sil.]

00:41:35.000 --> 00:41:39.999
The British and the French
occupied the Canal zone.

00:41:40.000 --> 00:41:44.999
[sil.]

00:41:45.000 --> 00:41:49.999
In Cairo, Nasser remained defiant.

00:41:50.000 --> 00:41:54.999
Our slogan is we will fight. We will fight

00:41:55.000 --> 00:41:59.999
and we will not surrender.

00:42:00.000 --> 00:42:04.999
Then when Egypt occupied

00:42:05.000 --> 00:42:09.999
and its army defeated, the Cold War
itself came to Nasser\'s rescue.

00:42:10.000 --> 00:42:14.999
The nightmare of the Cold War

00:42:15.000 --> 00:42:19.999
was that a local conflict might escalate

00:42:20.000 --> 00:42:24.999
and would draw an intervention
from one superpower

00:42:25.000 --> 00:42:29.999
which would draw in the other and that at some point
somebody would say the only way we can dominate

00:42:30.000 --> 00:42:34.999
is to resort to nuclear weapons.
In Moscow, (inaudible)

00:42:35.000 --> 00:42:39.999
threatened to intervene on Egypt\'s behalf.

00:42:40.000 --> 00:42:44.999
At this moment, the situation is sombre.

00:42:45.000 --> 00:42:49.999
In Washington, President Eisenhower stepped in
and forced the French and British to withdraw.

00:42:50.000 --> 00:42:54.999
We believe these actions to
have been taken in error.

00:42:55.000 --> 00:42:59.999
For we do not accept the use of force
as a wise or proper instrument

00:43:00.000 --> 00:43:04.999
for the settlement of
international disputes.

00:43:05.000 --> 00:43:09.999
With the Suez War, Nasser had
turned a military defeat

00:43:10.000 --> 00:43:14.999
into a huge diplomatic victory.

00:43:15.000 --> 00:43:19.999
He got rid of the British once and for all.

00:43:20.000 --> 00:43:24.999
I wish my (inaudible)

00:43:25.000 --> 00:43:29.999
Good bye.

00:43:30.000 --> 00:43:34.999
One should look to minimize it, he
was the first leader to defeat,

00:43:35.000 --> 00:43:39.999
defeat Britain since Britain
occupy Egypt in 1882.

00:43:40.000 --> 00:43:48.000
Nobody did it.

00:44:20.000 --> 00:44:24.999
[music]

00:44:25.000 --> 00:44:29.999
The whole Arab world had watched
Nasser take on Britain,

00:44:30.000 --> 00:44:34.999
France and Israel and win.

00:44:35.000 --> 00:44:39.999
All this allowed (inaudible)
countries take us to play

00:44:40.000 --> 00:44:44.999
and we played and Nasser played.

00:44:45.000 --> 00:44:53.000
[music]

00:45:00.000 --> 00:45:04.999
Nasser strongly believed in Arab
solidarity and in Muslim solidarity.

00:45:05.000 --> 00:45:09.999
And in African solidarity.

00:45:10.000 --> 00:45:14.999
[music]

00:45:15.000 --> 00:45:19.999
Sometimes they calling the align of Africa

00:45:20.000 --> 00:45:25.000
because he is the one who
faced the colonialist.

00:45:30.000 --> 00:45:34.999
We were able to give offices to all
the liberation movements in Cairo

00:45:35.000 --> 00:45:40.000
so we were head all over Africa.

00:45:50.000 --> 00:45:54.999
[sil.]

00:45:55.000 --> 00:45:59.999
During his years in power,
Nasser aided and inspired Arabs

00:46:00.000 --> 00:46:04.999
and African who rose up
against colonialism.

00:46:05.000 --> 00:46:09.999
Suez gave confidence to many countries,

00:46:10.000 --> 00:46:14.999
I think Suez helped many of the African
countries to be stood of themselves

00:46:15.000 --> 00:46:19.999
and insist about the independence.

00:46:20.000 --> 00:46:24.999
Very vivid memory of my childhood

00:46:25.000 --> 00:46:29.999
is us standing in the balcony

00:46:30.000 --> 00:46:34.999
waiting for Nasser\'s
motorcade to pass and then

00:46:35.000 --> 00:46:39.999
having the sense that he\'s looking
right at you because he would be,

00:46:40.000 --> 00:46:44.999
you know, looking at the balconies,
looking at the people in the street.

00:46:45.000 --> 00:46:49.999
Unlike these days, it
was always an open car.

00:46:50.000 --> 00:46:54.999
[music]

00:46:55.000 --> 00:46:59.999
It was really an Egypt that was
more or less defined by Nasser

00:47:00.000 --> 00:47:04.999
from (inaudible).

00:47:05.000 --> 00:47:09.999
[music]

00:47:10.000 --> 00:47:14.999
..to the cinema of the time,

00:47:15.000 --> 00:47:20.000
the music of the time…

00:47:25.000 --> 00:47:29.999
And the whole panorama of our heroes Tito

00:47:30.000 --> 00:47:34.999
and Nehru and Kwame Nkrumah,

00:47:35.000 --> 00:47:39.999
this pantheon to which of
the Nasser was central

00:47:40.000 --> 00:47:44.999
in our childhood imagination.

00:47:45.000 --> 00:47:53.000
[sil.]

00:47:55.000 --> 00:47:59.999
Nasser reclaimed Egypt for the Egyptians.

00:48:00.000 --> 00:48:04.999
To do so, he perched at have
it\'s European influence.

00:48:05.000 --> 00:48:09.999
[music]

00:48:10.000 --> 00:48:14.999
From \'56 onwards, Nasser
nationalized the foreign companies

00:48:15.000 --> 00:48:19.999
which meant that many
foreigners had to leave.

00:48:20.000 --> 00:48:24.999
Many of these so-called
foreigners were really Egyptians

00:48:25.000 --> 00:48:29.999
of European origin.

00:48:30.000 --> 00:48:34.999
Ultimately it emptied Egypt of what I
think it was a very precious part of

00:48:35.000 --> 00:48:39.999
Egyptian culture which
is the Jews, the Greeks,

00:48:40.000 --> 00:48:44.999
the Romanians that had
lived here for centuries.

00:48:45.000 --> 00:48:49.999
[music]

00:48:50.000 --> 00:48:54.999
At the time we welcomed all these
measures as a natural reaction

00:48:55.000 --> 00:48:59.999
to a long period of (inaudible).
We have to get things

00:49:00.000 --> 00:49:04.999
back into our own hands.

00:49:05.000 --> 00:49:13.000
[music]

00:49:15.000 --> 00:49:19.999
When Arabs looked at the map

00:49:20.000 --> 00:49:24.999
they saw a word that had been
united for more than six centuries,

00:49:25.000 --> 00:49:29.999
defeated and carved up by Europeans.

00:49:30.000 --> 00:49:34.999
When they looked at Nasser,

00:49:35.000 --> 00:49:39.999
they saw the leader who could reunite them.

00:49:40.000 --> 00:49:44.999
(inaudible) they thought

00:49:45.000 --> 00:49:49.999
how marvelous it would be if
we unite in one single state.

00:49:50.000 --> 00:49:54.999
What a great nation would we
become in a matter of years.

00:49:55.000 --> 00:49:59.999
[music]

00:50:00.000 --> 00:50:04.999
At the beginning of 1958,
Shukri al-Quwatli,

00:50:05.000 --> 00:50:09.999
the president of Syria came to
Cairo with an enormous request

00:50:10.000 --> 00:50:14.999
to save Syria from impending Civil War,

00:50:15.000 --> 00:50:19.999
Syria and Egypt must become one
nation under Nasser\'s leadership.

00:50:20.000 --> 00:50:24.999
[music]

00:50:25.000 --> 00:50:29.999
Nasser basically he wanted the union. He deeply
believed that Egypt had a vested interest

00:50:30.000 --> 00:50:34.999
in having a united Arab world.

00:50:35.000 --> 00:50:39.999
But Nasser was afraid that
this is coming too early,

00:50:40.000 --> 00:50:44.999
we should take some time before
knowing each other more and so on.

00:50:45.000 --> 00:50:49.999
The pressure was so
strong from the Syrians.

00:50:50.000 --> 00:50:54.999
[music]

00:50:55.000 --> 00:50:59.999
So Nasser took the risk and
agreed to union with Syria.

00:51:00.000 --> 00:51:04.999
The concept of plan Arab is aroused,

00:51:05.000 --> 00:51:10.000
immense emotion, very great emotions.

00:51:15.000 --> 00:51:19.999
We were all fresh, optimistic,
the world was different

00:51:20.000 --> 00:51:24.999
and what seems impossible now seemed

00:51:25.000 --> 00:51:29.999
very possible then.

00:51:30.000 --> 00:51:34.999
[music]

00:51:35.000 --> 00:51:39.999
The United Arab Republic was the
largest Republic in the Middle East.

00:51:40.000 --> 00:51:44.999
Nasser was now someone neither
superpower could ignore.

00:51:45.000 --> 00:51:49.999
They always wonder what
Nasser is going to do.

00:51:50.000 --> 00:51:54.999
They were taking him into account
in an unprecedented way.

00:51:55.000 --> 00:51:59.999
And both superpowers

00:52:00.000 --> 00:52:04.999
had an objective interest in placating him.

00:52:05.000 --> 00:52:09.999
The Americans gave him food
aid, wheat and edible oil

00:52:10.000 --> 00:52:15.000
and tea and loans at
very low interest rate.

00:52:20.000 --> 00:52:24.999
And the Soviet Union financed the
High Dam as well as many industries.

00:52:25.000 --> 00:52:29.999
In 1960 with his prestige
at an all time high,

00:52:30.000 --> 00:52:34.999
Nasser was at last able to begin work

00:52:35.000 --> 00:52:39.999
on the project for which he had risked war,

00:52:40.000 --> 00:52:45.000
the High Dam at Aswan.

00:53:00.000 --> 00:53:04.999
The High Dam signaled Egypt\'s

00:53:05.000 --> 00:53:09.999
daring and ambition.

00:53:10.000 --> 00:53:14.999
For the next four years,

00:53:15.000 --> 00:53:19.999
30,000 men worked around the clock

00:53:20.000 --> 00:53:24.999
to build the dam and dig a bed for one of
the largest manmade lakes in the world.

00:53:25.000 --> 00:53:30.000
[sil.]

00:53:40.000 --> 00:53:44.999
[music]

00:53:45.000 --> 00:53:49.999
I remember the songs from my childhood
and we used to even sing that

00:53:50.000 --> 00:53:54.999
about the High Dam and the country\'s
effort to build the High Dam.

00:53:55.000 --> 00:54:00.000
It say, we are going to
build and we did build.

00:54:10.000 --> 00:54:15.000
[music]

00:54:35.000 --> 00:54:39.999
[sil.]

00:54:40.000 --> 00:54:44.999
On May 14th 1964, Nasser Premier
Nikita Khrushchev to Aswan

00:54:45.000 --> 00:54:49.999
to celebrate the moment that
Soviet funds had paid for.

00:54:50.000 --> 00:54:54.999
[sil.]

00:54:55.000 --> 00:54:59.999
In a triumph of engineering,

00:55:00.000 --> 00:55:04.999
modern Egypt to became possible.

00:55:05.000 --> 00:55:09.999
As water filled the new Lake Nasser,

00:55:10.000 --> 00:55:15.000
ancient farmlands of the
Nubians were drowned for ever.

00:55:25.000 --> 00:55:29.999
[sil.]

00:55:30.000 --> 00:55:34.999
[music]

00:55:35.000 --> 00:55:39.999
Nasser was building an
Arab world for all to see

00:55:40.000 --> 00:55:44.999
but there were cracks in its foundation.

00:55:45.000 --> 00:55:49.999
Nasser\'s prestige was absolutely enormous.

00:55:50.000 --> 00:55:54.999
But this prestige entailed obligations,

00:55:55.000 --> 00:55:59.999
and these obligations proved to
be more costly than expected,

00:56:00.000 --> 00:56:04.999
and the cost kept on rising. The
first cost was the union with Syria.

00:56:05.000 --> 00:56:09.999
Syria was a poor country

00:56:10.000 --> 00:56:14.999
and Nasser wanted to develop it.

00:56:15.000 --> 00:56:19.999
As he had done in Egypt, he
controlled the process himself.

00:56:20.000 --> 00:56:24.999
He left his friend Abdel Hakim Amer

00:56:25.000 --> 00:56:29.999
in Damascus to carry out his agenda.

00:56:30.000 --> 00:56:34.999
[music]

00:56:35.000 --> 00:56:39.999
In 1961, after only three years of union,

00:56:40.000 --> 00:56:44.999
A group of business and
army leaders rebelled.

00:56:45.000 --> 00:56:49.999
Amer was not aware of what\'s
happening around him,

00:56:50.000 --> 00:56:54.999
there was a sort of kudeta.

00:56:55.000 --> 00:56:59.999
And it was planned by Syrians
who are working in his office.

00:57:00.000 --> 00:57:04.999
My father did not spend
a lot of time with us

00:57:05.000 --> 00:57:09.999
but we had always lunched together.

00:57:10.000 --> 00:57:14.999
He never talked to us about
politics during lunch

00:57:15.000 --> 00:57:19.999
except if something happens at the moment,

00:57:20.000 --> 00:57:25.000
a piece of paper is brought
to him and something happens.

00:57:30.000 --> 00:57:34.999
Syria withdrew from the union with Egypt.

00:57:35.000 --> 00:57:39.999
It was a terrible shock
for him to lose Syria.

00:57:40.000 --> 00:57:44.999
And a terrible humiliation.
He called Amer home

00:57:45.000 --> 00:57:49.999
but did not dismiss him.

00:57:50.000 --> 00:57:54.999
By now Amer had established his
own power base within the army.

00:57:55.000 --> 00:57:59.999
Nasser concluded it would be too
dangerous to challenge him.

00:58:00.000 --> 00:58:04.999
Amer was able to isolate

00:58:05.000 --> 00:58:10.000
Nasser from the army completely.

00:58:35.000 --> 00:58:39.999
The Syrian coup revealed something else,

00:58:40.000 --> 00:58:44.999
a deep division among the Arabs.

00:58:45.000 --> 00:58:49.999
The coup had been bank
rolled by Saudi Arabia.

00:58:50.000 --> 00:58:54.999
The Saudi monarchy was challenging
Nasser\'s leadership of the Arab world.

00:58:55.000 --> 00:58:59.999
[sil.]

00:59:00.000 --> 00:59:04.999
The Arab monarchies did not like Nasser for
simple reasons. Arab union was an existential

00:59:05.000 --> 00:59:09.999
threat to their power.

00:59:10.000 --> 00:59:14.999
Their challenge played out in Yemen.

00:59:15.000 --> 00:59:19.999
Bordering on Saudi Arabia
it was locked in Civil War.

00:59:20.000 --> 00:59:24.999
Yemen\'s King backed by the Saudis

00:59:25.000 --> 00:59:29.999
was fighting a group of colonels who
wanted to set up Nasserist republic.

00:59:30.000 --> 00:59:35.000
The Colonels asked Nasser for aid.

00:59:45.000 --> 00:59:50.000
[music]

01:00:05.000 --> 01:00:09.999
[sil.]

01:00:10.000 --> 01:00:14.999
Over the next six years,

01:00:15.000 --> 01:00:19.999
Nasser sent as many as
70,000 troops to Yemen.

01:00:20.000 --> 01:00:25.000
[sil.]

01:00:30.000 --> 01:00:38.000
[sil.]

01:00:40.000 --> 01:00:44.999
The Yemen war also affected our economy

01:00:45.000 --> 01:00:49.999
because it cost Egypt a lot of money.

01:00:50.000 --> 01:00:54.999
As Nasser\'s economic needs grew,
so did his need for funds.

01:00:55.000 --> 01:00:59.999
He nationalized many companies

01:01:00.000 --> 01:01:04.999
which I believe was a very,
very big mistake he did.

01:01:05.000 --> 01:01:09.999
The Egyptian state was now more
responsible than ever for the economy.

01:01:10.000 --> 01:01:14.999
Nasser had promised employment

01:01:15.000 --> 01:01:19.999
and he kept his promise.

01:01:20.000 --> 01:01:24.999
The ministers started to interfere

01:01:25.000 --> 01:01:29.999
in the management of the companies.
To fight unemployment,

01:01:30.000 --> 01:01:34.999
the government gave instructions to appoint
to shift a number of workers in the company

01:01:35.000 --> 01:01:39.999
so the public sector companies became
overloaded with work \'cause they don\'t need

01:01:40.000 --> 01:01:45.000
and this leads him to make
the losses of course.

01:01:50.000 --> 01:01:58.000
[music]

01:02:20.000 --> 01:02:24.999
[non-English narration]

01:02:25.000 --> 01:02:29.999
Nasser got quite worried and frightened.
He started to tighten his grip.

01:02:30.000 --> 01:02:34.999
The police state started
to grow very obvious.

01:02:35.000 --> 01:02:39.999
Censorship,

01:02:40.000 --> 01:02:45.000
surveillance and imprisonment increased.

01:02:50.000 --> 01:02:58.000
[sil.]

01:03:00.000 --> 01:03:05.000
[music]

01:03:15.000 --> 01:03:23.000
Outwardly, Nasser projected
an image of strength.

01:03:25.000 --> 01:03:29.999
His large army was now well
equipped with Soviet weapons.

01:03:30.000 --> 01:03:34.999
By 1967,

01:03:35.000 --> 01:03:39.999
the Palestinians and the Syrians thought
Nasser was ready to take on Isreal.

01:03:40.000 --> 01:03:44.999
Nasser did not want a war

01:03:45.000 --> 01:03:49.999
with Israel for a lot of reasons.
The main one was

01:03:50.000 --> 01:03:54.999
that he had something like
70,000 soldiers in Yemen.

01:03:55.000 --> 01:03:59.999
The border between Israel and
Egypt was 11 years quite,

01:04:00.000 --> 01:04:04.999
no wars but the Syrian
border was halt an the \'60s.

01:04:05.000 --> 01:04:09.999
Trouble and deaths in the Middle East. Ground
and air battles heavily damages on the Tiberias

01:04:10.000 --> 01:04:14.999
on the Israeli-Syrian border… Syria
intensified its border attacks

01:04:15.000 --> 01:04:19.999
intending to draw Nasser in. The
fighting erupted quickly when Syrians

01:04:20.000 --> 01:04:24.999
allegedly fired on Israeli
farmers operating tractors.

01:04:25.000 --> 01:04:29.999
Israel retaliated against Syria with force,

01:04:30.000 --> 01:04:34.999
threatening to topple the regime.

01:04:35.000 --> 01:04:39.999
Nasser could not avoid
coming to Syria\'s aid.

01:04:40.000 --> 01:04:44.999
So Nasser did everything short of war.

01:04:45.000 --> 01:04:49.999
He moved troops into the Sinai, he closed
the Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli ships.

01:04:50.000 --> 01:04:54.999
The Israelis saw this escalation

01:04:55.000 --> 01:04:59.999
as a threat to their nation.

01:05:00.000 --> 01:05:04.999
Nasser was gambling that
the superior powers

01:05:05.000 --> 01:05:09.999
would once again intervene.

01:05:10.000 --> 01:05:14.999
As with his Suez triumph,
Nasser decided to escalate

01:05:15.000 --> 01:05:19.999
with the hope of reaching a diplomatic
solution that would be a big win for him.

01:05:20.000 --> 01:05:24.999
But the Americans were not as focused

01:05:25.000 --> 01:05:29.999
on the region as they had
been during the Suez war.

01:05:30.000 --> 01:05:34.999
President Johnson was as mired in
his own war as Nasser was in Yemen.

01:05:35.000 --> 01:05:39.999
Johnson was very, very preoccupied

01:05:40.000 --> 01:05:44.999
with Vietnam and by the time he noticed the
Middle East was getting very dangerous,

01:05:45.000 --> 01:05:49.999
it was already beginning to spiral
toward the point of no return.

01:05:50.000 --> 01:05:54.999
And this time, the Soviet
Union would not intervene

01:05:55.000 --> 01:05:59.999
on his behalf either.

01:06:00.000 --> 01:06:04.999
I believe that Nasser over
estimated how much he was

01:06:05.000 --> 01:06:09.999
manipulating international politics

01:06:10.000 --> 01:06:14.999
and that was really the killing of Nasser.

01:06:15.000 --> 01:06:19.999
On June 5th 1967,

01:06:20.000 --> 01:06:24.999
Israel attacked Egypt,
then Jordan and Syria.

01:06:25.000 --> 01:06:33.000
[music]

01:06:35.000 --> 01:06:39.999
As Israel took North territory,

01:06:40.000 --> 01:06:44.999
hundreds of thousands of displaced
Palestinians fled into neighboring countries.

01:06:45.000 --> 01:06:49.999
Israel\'s territorial gain

01:06:50.000 --> 01:06:54.999
was the Arab\'s loss.

01:06:55.000 --> 01:06:59.999
The region was reconfigured
and destabilized.

01:07:00.000 --> 01:07:04.999
Nobody expected that he\'s
going to be destroyed

01:07:05.000 --> 01:07:09.999
in such a massive, quick, rapid,

01:07:10.000 --> 01:07:14.999
you know, instant way, nobody, nobody.

01:07:15.000 --> 01:07:19.999
Israelis call it the Six Day War.

01:07:20.000 --> 01:07:24.999
For Arabs, it was a catastrophe.

01:07:25.000 --> 01:07:29.999
[music]

01:07:30.000 --> 01:07:34.999
The defeat of June \'67 was
the formative experience of

01:07:35.000 --> 01:07:39.999
(inaudible). It\'s very
difficult to describe it now

01:07:40.000 --> 01:07:44.999
because it just came out of the blue, it
was, it was lightening in a blue sky.

01:07:45.000 --> 01:07:49.999
You get something that settles

01:07:50.000 --> 01:07:54.999
in not six days but six hours.
Egyptian soldiers are running away,

01:07:55.000 --> 01:07:59.999
they\'re not fighting, they\'re running
without their weapons and helmets.

01:08:00.000 --> 01:08:04.999
You had Israeli soldiers
swimming in the Suez Canal.

01:08:05.000 --> 01:08:09.999
The depth of the humiliation was massive,

01:08:10.000 --> 01:08:14.999
it really was, was, was,
massive, people, young and old,

01:08:15.000 --> 01:08:19.999
people who were crying on the streets.

01:08:20.000 --> 01:08:24.999
It meant that all what we have been hearing

01:08:25.000 --> 01:08:29.999
over the years about building
military power for Egypt is false,

01:08:30.000 --> 01:08:34.999
you were deceiving us. On
the night of June 9th,

01:08:35.000 --> 01:08:40.000
Nasser address the nation.

01:09:05.000 --> 01:09:10.000
[sil.]

01:09:25.000 --> 01:09:29.999
\"…And to go back to the role of citizen.\"

01:09:30.000 --> 01:09:34.999
This is not popularity
or political support,

01:09:35.000 --> 01:09:39.999
this is, for goodness sake
finds, find a way out for us

01:09:40.000 --> 01:09:44.999
since you have leaders to this mess.

01:09:45.000 --> 01:09:49.999
His country was defeated.

01:09:50.000 --> 01:09:54.999
His people had been humiliated.

01:09:55.000 --> 01:09:59.999
And with Israeli troops in the Sinai, Egypt
was once again occupied by foreigners.

01:10:00.000 --> 01:10:04.999
[sil.]

01:10:05.000 --> 01:10:09.999
Nasser decided to stay on
and rebuild his country.

01:10:10.000 --> 01:10:14.999
Nasser deeply felt that he was
responsible for every Egyptian death.

01:10:15.000 --> 01:10:19.999
He felt that he had a historical
mission to try and repair this.

01:10:20.000 --> 01:10:24.999
[sil.]

01:10:25.000 --> 01:10:29.999
Amer wanted to return back to be Head

01:10:30.000 --> 01:10:34.999
of the Army, my father refused

01:10:35.000 --> 01:10:40.000
and then there was a clash between them.

01:11:00.000 --> 01:11:04.999
Nasser\'s men were able to place

01:11:05.000 --> 01:11:09.999
Amer under house arrest
where he took poison.

01:11:10.000 --> 01:11:14.999
I served President Nasser

01:11:15.000 --> 01:11:19.999
after Amer committed suicide.
Till at this time,

01:11:20.000 --> 01:11:24.999
he was still the affection to Amer.

01:11:25.000 --> 01:11:29.999
I am like a man walking in a desert

01:11:30.000 --> 01:11:34.999
sounded by shifting sands.
With each new step,

01:11:35.000 --> 01:11:39.999
I have no idea whether I\'ll be swallowed up

01:11:40.000 --> 01:11:44.999
or find the right path.

01:11:45.000 --> 01:11:49.999
My father after the defeat

01:11:50.000 --> 01:11:54.999
for truth he didn\'t smile,
I never saw him smile.

01:11:55.000 --> 01:12:00.000
[sil.]

01:12:05.000 --> 01:12:09.999
[sil.]

01:12:10.000 --> 01:12:14.999
The defeat inspired a new generation to demand
a role in the direction of their country.

01:12:15.000 --> 01:12:19.999
This is the time where I became and a lot
of my generation became politically active.

01:12:20.000 --> 01:12:24.999
It was not so much denying the
Nasser\'s project as feeling

01:12:25.000 --> 01:12:29.999
that the Nasser\'s project was betrayed

01:12:30.000 --> 01:12:34.999
that it was let down, that
it was up to us to complete

01:12:35.000 --> 01:12:40.000
and to take it further than
even Nasser had envisaged.

01:12:55.000 --> 01:12:59.999
When he first took power,

01:13:00.000 --> 01:13:04.999
Nasser had chosen
revolution over democracy.

01:13:05.000 --> 01:13:10.000
Now he promised democracy as well.

01:13:20.000 --> 01:13:24.999
He reaffirmed his promised in the
factory town of Kafr El Dawwar.

01:13:25.000 --> 01:13:29.999
It was here in the first
weeks of the revolution

01:13:30.000 --> 01:13:34.999
the Free Officers had punished workers
for their spontaneous strike.

01:13:35.000 --> 01:13:39.999
[music]

01:13:40.000 --> 01:13:45.000
Hiam Abbass But that is not what the
people of Kafr El Dawwar cared about.

01:13:55.000 --> 01:14:00.000
[music]

01:14:10.000 --> 01:14:14.999
The news recapture Nasser\'s ecstatic
reception in Kafr El Dawwar

01:14:15.000 --> 01:14:19.999
but there would be no coverage of the
angry demonstrations months later

01:14:20.000 --> 01:14:24.999
when young people realized

01:14:25.000 --> 01:14:30.000
that they still had no voice.

01:14:35.000 --> 01:14:39.999
[music]

01:14:40.000 --> 01:14:44.999
He did not deliver on the promise
not because he didn\'t want to

01:14:45.000 --> 01:14:49.999
but because he couldn\'t. The system
he put in place for so many years,

01:14:50.000 --> 01:14:54.999
the illusion of politics,
not only institutionally

01:14:55.000 --> 01:14:59.999
but psychologically was so deep that it
was very difficult to have this U turn.

01:15:00.000 --> 01:15:04.999
When Nasser realized this in 1967-68,

01:15:05.000 --> 01:15:09.999
it was just too late for him.

01:15:10.000 --> 01:15:18.000
[music]

01:15:20.000 --> 01:15:24.999
My father had his first heart
attack in September 1969.

01:15:25.000 --> 01:15:29.999
[sil.]

01:15:30.000 --> 01:15:34.999
Almost exactly a year later he
was called from his vacation

01:15:35.000 --> 01:15:39.999
to negotiate and end to a bloody
Civil War between the Palestinians

01:15:40.000 --> 01:15:44.999
and the Jordanians.

01:15:45.000 --> 01:15:49.999
It was very difficult and this
effort his heart could not stand.

01:15:50.000 --> 01:15:54.999
[music]

01:15:55.000 --> 01:15:59.999
That afternoon he had another heart attack.

01:16:00.000 --> 01:16:04.999
It was a major heart attack and

01:16:05.000 --> 01:16:09.999
he didn\'t survive. He
was only 52 years old.

01:16:10.000 --> 01:16:18.000
[music]

01:16:20.000 --> 01:16:24.999
My father never said anything
about his accomplishments.

01:16:25.000 --> 01:16:29.999
I believe he left our world
without accomplishing

01:16:30.000 --> 01:16:34.999
what he really wanted.

01:16:35.000 --> 01:16:40.000
[music]

01:17:00.000 --> 01:17:04.999
[sil.]

01:17:05.000 --> 01:17:09.999
Peasants came in from the countryside.

01:17:10.000 --> 01:17:14.999
[sil.]

01:17:15.000 --> 01:17:19.999
More than five million people were
on the streets of Cairo that day.

01:17:20.000 --> 01:17:24.999
[sil.]

01:17:25.000 --> 01:17:29.999
For me, it was a very conflicted feeling

01:17:30.000 --> 01:17:34.999
because geographically and politically
you felt you have to reject

01:17:35.000 --> 01:17:39.999
Abdel Nasser but somehow
emotions that was this time.

01:17:40.000 --> 01:17:44.999
You were always kind of
fighting against yourself.

01:17:45.000 --> 01:17:53.000
[sil.]

01:18:05.000 --> 01:18:09.999
[sil.]

01:18:10.000 --> 01:18:14.999
Egyptians confront Nasser\'s
legacy at every turn.

01:18:15.000 --> 01:18:19.999
They have risen up against authoritarian rule but
the military has remained fundamentally in power.

01:18:20.000 --> 01:18:24.999
[sil.]

01:18:25.000 --> 01:18:29.999
The Muslim Brotherhood and the
state remain and reconceived.

01:18:30.000 --> 01:18:34.999
[sil.]

01:18:35.000 --> 01:18:39.999
But no Egyptian leader
since Gamal Abdel Nasser

01:18:40.000 --> 01:18:44.999
has seriously address the needs of the poor

01:18:45.000 --> 01:18:50.000
and protesters chant still echo his words.

01:18:55.000 --> 01:19:00.000
[sil.]

01:19:10.000 --> 01:19:14.999
[sil.]

01:19:15.000 --> 01:19:19.999
I though we had buried him, it
tends out he\'s still alive.

01:19:20.000 --> 01:19:28.000
[music]

01:21:55.000 --> 01:22:00.000
[sil.]