“The fait of dreams in a funny village” 

“Funny” Village is an Egyptian village situated at a very large distance from other big cities. “Funny” people lived in peace and happiness and enjoyed serenity and security. One day a man called Meheital El baradeiy has appeared riding on a black donkey with half a tail and one eye, the villagers met him with trays full of food where he eat and fed his donkey, and then sent it grassing freely in the village. While the village people were busy with the his fake stories of the legendary hero of Abdel Aty who ate 20 homemade loafs of bread and 5 kilos dog meat in one meal without the slightest stomach problem! Otherwise, the villagers raced won their donkeys in the village old barn where the old man of the village would give them a medal of wheat grass for the winner. In the evenings in the villagers were always joyful gathering in front of the mosque and in the guesthouse, especially with their self sufficiency in food that they grow in their fields, and the felt that they didn’t need any thing from outside, the sons of “funny” would content themselves with a loaf of bread, some watercress, an onion and some old cheese, and during feast days they would eat some meat when some of the village women would slaughter a duck or a chicken. Despite this extremely simple life, the gratitude towards what life offered, was what made this village one of the happiest of the Egyptian villages.
When Meheital arrived on his black donkey, his cheap radio and his wired and loud speeches about human rights telling stories about people in other villages and how they were liberated and obtained their rights to suitable housing, health care, education and freedom of opinion, gathering and expression. He talked proudly about the others’ experiences and gave hope to villagers that they too can achieve that. That is when the new needs of the people expanded, exploded …we want, and associations…a syndicate….a political party….telephone…..satellite receiver…television…suitable houses….suitable jobs….faire wages. Meheital continued advertising everyday from a new barn using his cheap radio and his weird language about how other people lived on the other side of the river and in other villages! And since the people of “funny” were so naïve they believed him and some of them started campaigning and issuing reports and declarations, organising themselves and visiting other villages to lobby and coordinate with them in the hope of getting their rights and being able to live like the people in other cities and in the other world. And here is where problems started and the security and peace that characterized the village for so long have disappeared
Men aggressed women and women turned towards gentlemen that Meheital told about and misery started entering peoples’ lives after they learned how miserable they were and how they are classified in the world as poor and hungry and that they are threatened with sickness and death during a few years to come!! and when they realized that the needs they are dreaming about were impossible for them to afford using their limited resources. Some of them gathered and some organized sit ins, ones who were more reasonable founded associations, syndicates, parties and journals in order to claim their rights and improve the peoples’ life standards, and until that time they was no problems yet
The “funny” people were simple and naïve and they loved life, and for that, they always avoided problems and any activity that could threaten the peacefulness of their lives especially if we are talking about armed solders coming to their houses, which happened
After the reputation of “funny” peoples’ claims of a decent life had reached far. It was said that after the news about the new life conditions in “funny” the superintendent of the department where the village is situated was sitting with his solders listing to national songs and feeding on the supplies of the government, where they enjoyed subsidized meat, margarine, sugar and honey, when they were awaken by a signal that said “funny declares its desire to liberate people from oppression, fear and poverty, and that it had began a long struggle journey towards freedom. And because the superintendent only knows constraints, a thing that made him hurry to collect his solders and guns and move towards the village to surround it and bring things back under control….and when he arrived his solders shouted loud that the village’s people who woke up terrified and ran to the old barn, the scene was unusual to women, children and elderly….
Why all those security forces? Had there been a fire in the village? Was there a murder? Did any one do something stupid, but the superintendent didn’t give them a chance to think he and his solders attacked the armless villagers immediately with their sticks until they have hurt them all and killed some of them, and then he ordered them to take all their food, crops and domestic animal and give them to his solders …and without even giving them a chance to respond and stripped houses from all that was in them….leaving the people either killed and injured, and as for the children, women and elderly they were watching each other helplessly in a silence which they had never known all their lives! why did all that happen?
When…. Meheital appeared a second time over his black one eyed donkey after the solders had beaten the hill out of him and with his dying voice screamed …it is the dream….you have dreamed of a different life and this was your punishment, you have dreamed of a life where you enjoy clean healthy food, suitable houses and decent life, you have dreamed to get rid of oppression and to live freely and this is what you deserved and at this moment Meheital got what he deserved form the superintendent solders where their bullets came from All direction to shut his voice for ever…..
But the village people laying on the ground injured or dead had looked at each other and at themselves, and quickly forgotten the dream .... Yes they had quickly forgotten dream ... They have risen up all and went to the superintendent to ask for forgiveness in fear and misery, and he on his horse was looking at them and holding his gun in his hand …his gun full of lethal bullets waiting to aim and shot waiting to fire and spread fear and they the peaceful people of “funny” asking to be forgiven that they have dared to dream of a better life.
Here “loud” the wise of the village has screamed in the face of the superintendent ….yes we the “funny” people enjoy a better life….we live with our families and our cattle and our tummies are full of healthy food, we have the best cloths and live in the best houses, where they are aerated and have an excellent sewage system, they are big and have no mosquitoes we are also in good health and our children enjoy a very good education …we the “funny” people enjoy freedom Mr president ! we are in no need for parties, associations, syndicates or journals since we are living in a perpetual state of democracy and we don’t need all those systems that might destabilise and confuse our lives……Mr superintendent we the “funny” people enjoy the best possible life thanks to you, and we have named you to run our lives without our interference…you are the best president and the best hope …please forgive our dream and forgive us …we will never do mistakes again…and will never dream again …we the “funny” people don’t deserve you faire judgement…we don’t deserve life under your era where there are no thefts, no corruption, no arrestment no torture no hunger and no sickness…
... and you never sin so please forgive our sins and we shall never dream again. Here the superintendent looked right and left and found no one I swear to god he found no one and then he strolled over the dead bodies and left after he had emptied his bullets in the head of “loud” the wise of the village who asked for mercy…he dared to ask for forgiveness and after that and for long years “funny” drowned in the forgotten time …enjoying ignorance, sickness and hunger …after the poet has sang along with the people for the lost dream and the ridiculous people.