The Peace on The Horizon - 75 Years after The World War 2 in the Middle East (35)

 

(Japanese Version)

(Arabic Version)

 

(contents)

 

Chapter 1. Wave of nationalism and socialism (1945-1956) (19)

 

035. Young officers awakned by Nakba (2/2)

On the other hand, the unity of the Arab Allied Army was nominal. The Arab armies flooded into Israel from all directions at the first stage of the war without any unified commander. They were only a crowd of chaos. Each soldier was forced to fight against the Jews with old-fashioned weapons. They obeyed of his superior’s order without any information on about for what and for whom they were fighting. Arab soldiers were defeated everywhere in the front. They named this war "Nakba (great disaster)".

 

Major Gamal Abdel Nasser, who became Egyptian president later, served in war and injured. He was born in 1918. After graduating from the military academy in 1939, he was transferred to Sudan. During World War II, he devoted to the liberation movement of Egypt. He was 30 when the First Arab Israeli War was broken out in 1948.

 

In those days, boys who could not enter to college due to poverty despite having excellent brain aimed to join the military academies. In military academy, they did not worry about food, clothing and housing. They got even salary. Furthermore, they could master the latest technology, and when they had achieved excellent performance they had a chance to study abroad. For ambitious but poor young boys, there was no other job exceeding military service.

 

After graduating from the military school, they faced to a tough war in their motherland betting their own life. When defeated by the first Arab Israeli War, Nasser who had been fighting for the sake of Egypt was disillusioned about his motherland.

 

Shuji Terayama, Japanese poet, revealed nihilistic feeling in his poem after the World War II;

 

“Striking a match / momentarily / I see the foggy ocean -/ is there a motherland / I can dedicate myself to?”

 

Major Nasser was not nihilistic like Shuji Terayama. He formed a secret society of anti-British patriotism so-called “Association of Free Officers” with General Mohamed Naguib. Nasser devoted himself to Egyptian revolution.

 

(To be continued ----)

 

 

Areha Kazuya

(From an ordinary citizen in the cloud)