Mistakes and the City

A while back, I was passing through the new Cairo – newly developed areas, very middle class, on the outskirts of Cairo. There were many villas, mansions, shopping centres, brand new motorways. While I was travelling, I realised the roads were full of cars parked on both sides, with hardly any spaces left for all of them. These “super villas” with swimming pools and gardens did not have parking spaces. I personally couldn’t believe that architects or city planners haven’t thought about this.

I can give you another example, this time from the resorts on the north shore of Egypt. To me it seemed that if there was a piece of available land, an extension would come up from left to right and back to front. This was done to gain an extra yard or two. It felt like there was no greenery left, with people stealing land from nature.
In my opinion, this is a civic issue. Civility is a social moral behaviour, based on community partnership which establishes a public benefit for all. How can we rebuild another magnificent civilisation, if we fight about every inch of land?

Let us nurture our community spirit and work together to live a fulfilling life.

The Six Pillars

My latest visit to Cairo was exciting as usual. In the first two days, I attended the 10th Coordination Meeting between UN OCHA and League and Arab States, where I chaired a session on relationships between the government and NGOs.

An interesting concept came out of this meeting, when discussing Arab Spring events. While in the West, it is thought that the state is supported by three pillars (government, business and civil society), the Arab Spring has added three more pillars (youth, women and legislation).

This is a very interesting concept, because for example in the region 60% of the population is under the age of 35. Also, the dynamic role of women within the civil society was consistent with the teachings of prophets who came through this land hundreds and thousands of years ago. Unfortunately, nowadays the women are not empowered enough and we need to work to achieve that. There is also a need for the legislation to be strengthened.

While I was in Cairo, I received a phone call from a youth worker who invited me to speak to an exciting group of youth at the National Youth Council. I was eager to go and meet the future of the nation. More than 90 young men and women from different districts in Egypt came to network, showcase their initiatives and build coalitions. I spoke to them for at least 2 hours. I asked them: “Who are you?” Some said they want to change the face of history and humanity. Some said they want to become pharmacists. Some said they just want to be good role models to others.

I wanted everybody to focus on a single issue: what is our role in this society? Do we have a role or not? In my opinion, not having a role to play in society is equal to not existing. Everyone can have a role to play by participating in their community in any way they can.

Just as I write this, I have received another phone call from the organiser to ask when am I coming back to give another talk. If it happens, I will write back to you.  See you soon!

Lunch for everybody!

It’s nearly lunch time as I’m writing this and the intergovernmental meeting for Somalia is still on my mind.  To me it seems that we, as international community, aren’t inviting everybody for lunch, only a select few.  Let me explain so that it can become clearer.

A nation is made up of people. These people need to live safely and happily and be able to plan for the future of their families. They need a stable, sustainable life for themselves, their families and their country. Sustainability can only be brought about through cohesion and partnerships between different state departments, governmental offices, people, civil society, security, military, banks etc.

Stability and sustainability cannot be achieved by ourselves, on our own. If you exclude the masses to entertain the few at the lunch table, the proposed solution could become counter-productive. We mustn’t be short-sighted and look straight ahead, without pausing to look left and right, up and down.

My advice to any politician would be to be inclusive when it comes to making a strategic decision that affects the lives of millions of people in any part of the world.  It’s good to invest in security and military. However, in my opinion, it’s better if we allow the citizens of the country to feel this through improvement in their education, healthcare, social welfare, housing, transport, economy etc. Security brought through these systems will be more sustainable than the security brought by military alone.

Security is a process inside the hearts and minds of the citizens. When they feel they have what they need, then we can truly talk about security. Security is not just a decision or a declaration: “from today we are secure”. It is a lifelong process, that goes from generation to generation, nation to nation, continent to continent.

If we want sustainable security, we have to be inclusive in our discussions and listen to the masses and invite them to our lunch table. 

The Somali Solution

There are several conferences this year to discuss different aspects of the situation in Somalia. I’m pleased to see Somalia is on everybody’s lips; however I’m more pleased when people are happy to discuss the humanitarian agenda, instead of the political one.

The Humanitarian Forum is holding a very important humanitarian conference on Monday 20th February in London. This is ahead of the intergovernmental political meeting also held in London, three days later on 23rd February.  Following that, there will be two more conferences: one in Istanbul and one in Abu Dhabi.

I would like to stress that our conference is purely humanitarian and is based on the belief that Somali voices need to be heard. We, as a humanitarian community, believe that the most effective, sustainable and economical solution is the Somali solution. If we give Somalis a voice, empower them and allow them to draw from their wealth of knowledge in the area, the social fabric of fragmented communities can be strengthened.

Thank you everybody and I will tell you my impressions after the meeting. Please don’t forget to tweet using #AskUN on the day!

With Love...

In my opinion, religion should unite us, not divide us. We should pool together our shared values for the good of humanity as a whole. We should humanise our religion, so that humanity can benefit from the fruit of its values and the outcomes of its productive message.

Each of us must act for humanity as a hole. It’s all good to have a scholarly approach, however that kind of approach should unite, rather than divide. Understanding, compassion, community spirit and empowerment, these are the things we should show one another. In my opinion, the messengers (Peace be upon them) were sent for everyone, not for a certain geographical location or race.

Humanity as a whole owns the religion of God. If we want to save humanity, we should expand our view to include the person next to us, not walk through life not looking left and right. If you don’t see what’s on your left and what’s on your right, when you’re walking the path of life, you miss out on all the wonders of what god created.

Do you want to be that person that doesn’t work to save humanity? I don’t think so. I think everyone of us must strive to achieve that shared goal: unity and salvation.


With Love,


Dr. Hany

You’ve been SHOC-ed...

The other day, while I was on the train, I started thinking about things, as I usually do when I’m travelling.  My mind started wandering and my thoughts settled on the issue of Somalia and the Horn of Africa. After declaring famine last year, the UN has declared the area famine free.  Has that made the problem to go away? In my opinion, the problem is still there.

There have been many conferences discussing the issue of Somalia, ending poverty and achieving the Millennium Development Goals.  In my view, that is not the way to stability and a proper state infrastructure. There is a lack of Somali participation at all these conferences. I am asking you: who is going to make the decision for tens of millions of Somalis living in the country and the neighbouring countries? Will it be us in London? Us in Paris? Us in Rome? Us in Washington? Maybe us in Cairo? Or Istanbul? Dubai?

I believe the solution needs to be a Somali, local, home-grown one. While we are talking the talk, in Somalia, a group of organisations are launching a new SHOC. This initiative started less than six months ago, when three British organisations held a small conference in Mogadishu to coordinate the work of a group of Somali organisations. SHOC represents a new wave of humanitarianism, one who will send ripples at all levels and work to gel the fragmented social fabric of Somalia, from the South, to the North. From clans, to political parties, to various jamaat.

SHOC will shake the ground to bring the fruits from the depth of the land and surprise the people who think there can’t be a grass-root level solution for Somalia.

Let us pray together for our success to save the Horn of Africa and humanity as a whole!

The toothache

I recently shared a photo on my Facebook page of a little boy standing in the rain, keeping himself warm by being close to a car. My statement was “We are responsible”. I received a few comments from friends, some of who were praying for the child and some others who were unhappy to see such an image, thinking I am asking for money. In my opinion, the image is very powerful. It belongs more to the advocacy side of things, rather than the fundraising side.

Let me explain to you the difference. For example, if you have a toothache, in the first instance, you might take a painkiller and imagine everything is fine. However, the pain starts again and you need to go to a dentist to have your teeth treated for the long-term. This is exactly the case with fundraising and advocacy. Fundraising is similar to a sedative. People see an image; they get emotional, put their hand in their pocket, sign a cheque or transfer money and think the problem is over. The children are happy and safe and they will be like that forever. What I’m saying is that the toothache won’t go away without long-term planning and treatment.

Quite often, we find that even after that cash injection, the problem is still there, due to various reasons. For example, think about the case of Somalia. Large International NGOs raised so many millions of dollars, but because of the humanitarian access issue, the aid couldn’t reach those in need.

In my opinion, fundraising is a very important tool in helping to find a sustainable solution, however advocacy is the foundation for the sustainable solution. Advocacy takes you to the root of the problem and allows you to contemplate treatment. It’s about spreading the news and talking about what’s right and what’s wrong. It’s about me (us) and the people. I prefer to be in the middle of the picture, instead of just looking at the picture.

If we think about the past, advocacy is a prophetical message as none of God’s prophets and messengers stopped delivering their powerful messages to save humanity, even if it cost them their life.

The pains of humanity can only be alleviated by long-term sustainable solutions, rather than quick sedatives.