• EGYPT
  • February 12, 2012
  • 4 minutes read

Revolution, Rejuvenation and Renaissance – Between Egypt and Japan

Revolution, Rejuvenation and Renaissance – Between Egypt and Japan

Today, Egypt is moving forth through the "revolution", to help herself to real "renaissance" that she missed as she lumbered slowly on a long and winding road of failed modernization and false renaissance, which led to an estrangement between Egypt and her heritage, culture and identity, never achieving the coveted rejuvenation, nor preserving her identity and links with her culture and history.

 There is nothing new at all about the question, how the Japanese renaissance project managed to maintain the authentic identity of the people and preserve historical continuity and heritage, while, at the same time, successfully achieving modernization and development of industrial and technological establishments and institutions, all without the people giving up their essential traditions, culture and identity.

 The new discovery we have to make now is the Japanese revolutionary spirit which woke up from the ashes of World War II defeat in order to glow once again with all its values and ideals aimed at reconstruction, helping others, correcting mistakes and restoring life to what it used to be.

 Perhaps this was the spirit that inspired Ms. Yoshiko Kajimoto, who was not even fourteen when she surveyed thousands of burnt corpses and the body-parts and remains of those who had become mere memory of the hustle and bustle and passion of life, where more than half a million people died in minutes in the nuclear holocaust of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the rest of Japanese cities raised to the ground by the USA’s infernal machine.

 Between the shock and trauma, Ms. Yoshiko Kajimoto walked around throughout the city, which had been reduced to rubble, helping survivors. Then, people only needed a positive role model and example to realize that there is still hope, and that human values still survive and continue to carry forth life.

 Today, Lady Kajimoto, 81, still tells her story every day to visitors at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, though the tears have dried in her eyes. She never forgets to remind us that Hiroshima, like the legendary Phoenix, rose from the ashes and returned with more power and vitality and cultural renaissance.

 The scene in Egypt is not too far removed from the resurrection of Hiroshima.

 Right from the first spark, the first moment of the "revolution", Egypt has forged forth, embarked on the path of genuine "renaissance", with huge assets and resources that far exceed those of other countries in terms of ethical, humanitarian and faith-values and principles, as well as the revolutionary spirit of modern renaissance wishing to move forward towards reform and change leading to a major transformation in essence and image of the nation, the people’s lives and their position on the international map.

 The Most important lesson I learned from Japan is that the project of true "renaissance" is in itself a revolutionary endeavor – indeed, even the hardest part of the revolutionary project, because it exceeds mere refusal and rejection, offering viable alternatives instead. It exceeds mere protests, to innovate and create perceptions, concepts and perspectives for action, and goes beyond mere demolition, dismantling and destruction, to creation, installation and construction. Hence, it is quite clear that the Egyptian moment of eruption and revolt must be transformed into a sustainable and continuous revolutionary movement, leading to a comprehensive renaissance and enlightenment that puts Egypt back in the leading position in the heart of the Arab and Muslim worlds and in the third world as a whole.

 We are already a nation that has all the energies and capabilities of Revolution, a nation that has met all the "pre-conditions of renaissance" according to the writings of the late Algerian thinker Malik Bin Nabi. We only need to activate the "revolution" and "renaissance" projects in an integrated, comprehensive initiative to fulfill our hopes, dreams and aspirations.