A Letter from Egypt

Dear Armin Tenner,

You know I have been associated with INES, since 1994:firstly as a representative of member organization (the Centre for Development of Small-Scale Industries), then as a council member and finally-and until now-as a member of the executive committee.  

Now I need to talk-or write to you-as a citizen of Egypt, a country lying in the Middle East.  We, as an arid zone, deprived of any forest coverage, wait eagerly for the Spring every year.  In Spring we enjoy the sight of flowers in the gardens with the bees busy collecting flower juice for making honey. We listen to the singing of the birds, celebrating the coming of the Spring.  We perceive the Spring as a symbol of renewal of life: of plants, birds and for us as well, because we usually celebrate the feast of the MOTHER DAY yearly in the climax of the Spring:21 March.

Yesterday, it was also a 21st of March: but it was quite a different day this year!  The view of flowers blossoming in the gardens was very contradictory with the view of the US and UK missiles and bombs celebrating in their own way the massive destruction of a neighbor country Iraq.  We usually gather as families in this day around each mother to say to her a BIG THANK YOU and express to her our feelings of gratitude as sons and daughters, as well as husbands or fathers.  This time we were all sitting before the TV screen and stunned watching the US "Mother bombs" exploding in Baghdad and hearing the news about new waves of B-52 bombers leaving England and heading to hit our neighbors in Iraq. For seconds, I left the TV screen and looked to the gloomy faces and sad eyes of my daughters and son (I have two daughters:14 and 17 years old, and a son:16 years old).  I felt extremely sad for them.  How could they have the feeling of hope in future, when they see that the mightiest military forces in the World: the latest achievements of Western science and technology, materialized in the so-called "intelligent weapons" are hitting and destroying without mercy a neighbor country without any real cause, except the mad wish of hegemony of the World and putting hands on oil!  What a threat does this mean to all of us: could you imagine?  How I could I further talk to my children about peace and sustainability and dialogue between cultures???  How could we believe in tomorrow and future of mankind with this savage immoral war against our neighbor people in Iraq?  I want to say to you simply: we are also human beings!  Please, forward this message to my dear INES colleagues.

Hamed El-Mously

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Prof. Dr. Hamed El-Mously e-mail:

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Center For Development Of Small Scale Industries And Local Technologies.

Faculty of Engineering - Ain Shams University