It is now three weeks since Mohamed al-Sayed Saïd (1950 – 2009) passed away after a brave battle with cancer which lasted for two years. Saïd was a writer and journalist whose words always carried a sad note because he was heavily worried about his country and his people. He passed away leaving behind dreams that were never fulfilled.
Ardent activist
Saïd was born in Port Said on 28 June 1950. He joined the Faculty of Economics and Political sciences where he contributed towards developing the student’s movement. After graduation he was drafted into the army and fought in the October War in 1973. In 1975 he joined Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies and in 1984 obtained a PhD degree in international affairs. He was one of the founders of the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights, and was arrested with other political activists in 1989. This did not deter him, however, from resuming activity on the rights front once he was released.
Saïd believed that freedom of thought and expression, the values of human rights and the cultural rights for minorities are the basis of freedom. He also believed that democracy and power rotation were capable of securing the rights of the middle and poor classes.
Dreams unfulfilled
Often called the noble knight or warrior, Saïd was an ardent advocate of human rights and freedom. Equality and citizenship rights were the two values he focused upon in his writings and research. He wrote about the rights of minorities, prisoners and detainees, and called for enacting international laws to compel countries to respect people’s rights.
Saïd was a leftist in the ideal sense of the word. Among the liberals he was seen as a leftist and among the leftists as a liberal. He wrote in several papers including al-Ahram, al-Akhbar, Watani, and al-Qahira.
From 2007 until he resigned in October 2008, Saïd was editor-in-chief of the independent Cairo daily al-Badeel. which he founded and in which he employed a number of young, energetic people. He strongly believed that the young generation would make a better future. When he first established al-Badeel, Saïd thought that standing up to the poor and marginalised would sufficiently guarantee good circulation for his paper. But his dream was shattered against the giant capitalist media entities, and he realised that the poor, deprived of education and money, were defenceless and unable to fight for their rights. Saïd’s health deteriorated as his paper lost the ability to thrive in a market of fierce capitalist competition.
Quiet departure
Saïd was never after fame or money or any personal glory. He denied himself for the sake of his country. He once said; “I cannot consider myself a great thinker. I have not braved an untrodden path nor have I contrived a new school of thought. But I have my own endeavours on the national and international levels as far as political economy and comparative religion are concerned.”
Quietly, Saïd passed away.
He leaves warm, loving memories with all who knew him or had the privilege to work alongside him. I have the honour to have been one of them.