Sheikh Al-Ahmar, Shammakh and Benazir Bhuto [Archives:2008/1119/Opinion]

By: Dr. Raofa Hassan
I have become deeply sad over demise of the three because I did meet them in person and I still remember the days when I sat with each of the three. What has combined the three personalities in one article is that the year 2007 closed with their departure from this short life, and grieves and sorrows over their deaths came at a time.

The Sheikh: critical experiences recollected

While attending my preparatory school classes in the 1970s, I met him for the first time in Egypt after he visited the Arab country as part of a delegation, made up of more than 130 participants, among who were 15 ladies. We then stayed in Egypt for one week before we left for Algeria to attend the First Arab Youth Festival. At that time, the delegation had attended a festival in Egypt in the Sheikh's presence and he was engaged in talks with us, which made him closer and closer to our hearts.

Then the roads between us and him crossed much, thus meeting at one point and differing at another. Before Yemen's Reunification was established in 1990, I had a televised interview with the late Sheikh in his house under the title “ID Card”. The interview was aimed at introducing fifteen great personalities in North Yemen and the same number of personalities in South Yemen to the public, as part of an official effort toward unifying the two parts of the country.

After the interview was over, I discovered that Sheikh Abdullah Al-Ahmar was not satisfied with conditions, listed by the Yemeni Socialist Party, not to allow tribal leaders join institutions of the unity state. He was stunned by my high interest to meet him, as he was not holding any government's post at that time. That interview has lengthy details, contained in my diary and it revealed that life has its ups and downs.

My last meeting with the sheikh was when he attended the concluding functions of my First Exhibition for State Employees' Uniform and Components of Identity. At the event, the Sheikh gave a kind speech in which he urged all the philanthropists to donate to the project and support it. We together toured the exhibition and had some photos in front of the exhibition's wing that contained some of his popular and locally reputed dressing style components. We were accompanied by his elder son Sadeq, who is now replacing his father as Sheikh of the Hashid Tribe.

I wanted to convey my heartfelt condolences to his daughters, wives and sons. But, having seen that solace and mourning are being made in multiple venues, I chose this page to present my cable of condolences to family members and relatives of the late Sheikh, who proved to be a kind father for all the Yemeni people including me.

Shammakh: Businessman and civil community philanthropist

It is voluntary work that brought me together with the late businessman Mahfoudh Shammakh, however, that was short-lived. We both contributed to founding the Yemeni-American Friendship Society, established in 1992 as an attempt to replace the tense relations between Unified Yemen the west by intimate ones. In the early years of the past decade, Yemen experienced poor relations with the west, mainly the United States, over its position about the Gulf War.

Numerous are the discussions that forced us to demonstrate similar positions toward the different national issues, even if others' attitudes have been contradicting ours. Shamakh's initiative to establish Hadramout Charitable Society, which contributed much more to development programs and various works of charity, helped enhanced the spirit of joint work and cooperation between us. This society brought us closer with one another in running several activities.

The last time I met him was at the Big Economic Forum, organized by the Investment Foundation in cooperation with the International Finance Corporation and World Bank. We sit together shortly, recollecting those whom we missed along with their efforts and dedication. I did not expect that talk about the death of others will be my last personal debate with the late businessman, who never engaged himself in other private and personal activities at the expense of charity works and functions.

Bhuto: A lady that threatened the presidential institution

I recognized Benazir Bhuot in person when I participated in the Forum of Muslim Writers and Intellectuals, which was held in Islamabad upon an invitation from the lady, who was at that time serving as Prime Minister in the Pakistani government. In principle, the invitation was sent to Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Maqaleh, who was then working as President of Sana'a University.

Dr. Al-Maqaleh had not desire to travel to Pakistan due to his engagement in other liabilities. Instead, he appointed me to attend the event on his behalf. In Pakistan, I met the lady who gave a nice address amazing all those attending the event. Other participants, including me, had another short meeting with her during days of the event. That short meeting was organized by a group of women activists, who were not satisfied with Bhuto over her poor support for women's issues in Pakistan, according to their viewpoints.

After that, meetings have shifted into other international venues in different world countries, which all encouraged me to pay closer attention to the circumstances of her life and contemplate on the lives of leading women in other parts of the world. After Bhuto returned to her home country, I became proud of her brave as she was to have been treading over mines and standing firm when hearing sounds of guns.

There has been no glimpse of hope that the woman may change her strong positions and stands. Whether the woman advocated peace in her speeches or declared her strong rejection of the schools of weapons, her motorcades have been ever exposed to blasts since the early days of her return to the country. Survival of the great woman, had she escaped assassination, would have meant a strong threat to Pakistan's presidency because of the high likelihood of her win in the country 's presidential elections. Despite demise of such great people, they are believed to have left behind strong echoes in their home countries as models for bravery, generosity and kindness.

Source: Al-Thawar State-run Daily.
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