Thursday, November 03, 2011

Jamal `Abdul-Nasser and his family

This is Nasser at his best.  Here, he talks about his family and how it is not special politically, and basically contrasts his family with the ruling families of the Gulf--although his words can also apply today to the ruling families in the lousy Arab republics.

PS Can someone volunteer to translate those words?
Jonathan kindly translated the words:  "With us the president doesn't have anything. He doesn't have family or anything to do with that. There's no family that will rule. With us the president's son is like anyone's son. We have a society without classes, not a society where we add to the divisions between the classes. Who's the president? His father was a civil servant originally from the common people, who used to earn 25 pounds (a month). He wasn't a king or a sultan, not at all. And in the future, who'll be your next president? One of you, no one knows. No one but you will rule you, now that you've won your country back. That's what we have achieved and that's what we are fighting for."