Elders of the nation… between fatigue of body and greatness of soul

Yemen

Yamanat

Ahmed Khairat

Social networks broadcast a photo of parliamentarian Ahmed Saif Hashid working in a cafe. A silent image, but it carries enough sadness to tell a story of distance from home that is longer than words.

What pain…

That a man who spent his life being the voice of the people, protecting their rights and standing against injustice will reach a point of need, until he finds himself grinding coffee with his hands after the country has ground it in its mills.

There is nothing wrong with that, but rather what is wrong with a country that failed to welcome its children when their path was narrow.

Ahmed Saif Hashid..

Not broken; Instead, he chose to live with his dignity and nourish himself with the work of his hands instead of stretching them.

This is another heroism that can only be understood by those who experienced the alienation of the soul before the alienation of the earth.

Peace be upon him, and upon all the giants like him who carried the dreams of a homeland that did not carry them when they were sick and in need.

And Hashid is not alone.

This story is repeated on other faces that have crossed the seas. They were once stars in Yemen’s skies, then they were forced to work in restaurants, factories, ports, shipping companies, drive taxis and guard buildings.

Men as heavy as mountains: university professors packing packages, thought leaders wiping tables, writers and poets working in freight warehouses, and engineers operating machines they have never studied.

They did not fall, but rather took on new lines of life, carrying with them an unyielding dignity, even as their backs bowed under the weight of exile.

Ahmed Saif Hashid, who works in a cafe, is just a new page in an old story.

The story of Abu Al-Ahrar Muhammad Mahmoud Al-Zubairi when he collected trash from the streets and alleys of the capital of Pakistan to make a living from it, while in his heart burned the revolution and in his hand were the coals of the word.

Al-Zubairi was not ashamed of his work, but rather the nations were ashamed of a man who was greater than all their positions.

Today, Hashid repeats the same scene. The giants are pushed to the margins, when in reality it is the margins that have pushed them.

Oh my country…

How much good humor came out of you, not to ask for money, but rather to look for a window through which a person can breathe without being crushed.

Oh my country…

If your elders work in cafes, or pick up trash, or in landfills, or as porters, it’s because you’re the one who crushed them and displaced their dreams.

For each of them, and for Ahmed Saif Hashid on the front line:

A condolence that touches the heart, not for what has become of their situation, but for what has become of the country that expelled them.

And sincere praise, because they chose steadfastness over abandonment, work over brokenness, and dignity over anything else.

Perhaps these days will bring us back to a homeland where great people are not workers in exile, but rather a pillar of its rebirth and pillars of its structure, as they always have been and forever.

“And do not become weak and do not be sad, and you will be superior if you are believers. »

Yemen