The Suez Canal: A century of Egyptians being Trapped and Salvaged
on April 25th 1859 amid the great pump of a cannon salute a French man struck a pickaxe blow on the shores of present day ports in Egypt launching the decade long blood soaked construction of a project challenging human imagination remember that you are not merely shifting Earth you bringing prosperity to both your families in this beautiful land the groundbreaker Ferdinand deip former French Vice Consul in Egypt’s Alexandria old Egyptian workers rallied around him at the ceremony what unfolded afterward however proved his speech was yet another Hollow Promise by Western colonizers in the ensuing years 120,000 Egyptians toiled to death during the excavation after the completion of the canal Britain and France scheming to control the vital Maritime trade route employed debt traps and even resorted to Warfare against Egypt plunging its populace into a century long misery perhaps in the eyes of others the canal is just a trade route but for Egyptians Blood and Tears flow there recalled whale kador who had served as a board member of Egypt’s sewers Canal Authority it’s part of our Lives said the 80-year-old man most of my life to C Canal working for C Canal remember the best days which I spend in can Hol promise this year marks the 165th anniversary of the sewers Canal’s excavation the story of the canal began in 1854 when Muhammad sad the ruler of Egypt granted de leips the concession to set up a company to build the canal and to operate it for 99 years before giving back its ownership to Egypt the concession stipulated that Egypt seeded the rights to dig and manage the canal to the universal company of the maritime Canal of sewers founded by deip while providing the land and four fifths of the labor force for the canal project at no cost to raise the 200 million Franks needed for the Canal’s excavation delp’s company split the funds into 400,000 shares available for public purchase however just over half of these shares were bought with Egypt acquiring in less than 100,000 shares none of the shares allocated for Britain the United States Austria and Russia found buyers the French Keen to ensure the success of the sewers Canal project encouraged Egyptians to purchase the remaining shares however given Egypt’s already strained finances it seemed impossible to afford such a substantial amount sayet had no choice but to borrow large sums from Britain and France at exorbitant interest rates this marked the start of Egypt’s gradual fall into a carefully designed debt trap laid out by Western Powers as the excavation progressed cost soared leaving Egypt with no choice but to keep borrowing from Britain and France Egyptian Railways land and even future Canal revenues were all pledged as collateral to European nations by the time the canal was completed Egypt’s financial situation was on the brink of collapse European Capital has largely swallowed up the Egyptian peasant economy enormous tracts of land labor and numerous labor products have ultimately been converted into European capital and have been accumulated wrote polish German political theoretician Rosa Luxembourg from the Inception of canal construction until the mid 1870s Egypt’s external debts increased 23 times while revenues increased only five times The Debt Service absorbed 2/3 of State revenues in 1876 Egypt overwhelmed by its rapidly accumulating debt declared bankruptcy seizing the opportunity British creditors moved to claim Egypt’s shares in the sewers canal and Western Powers took full control of the canal without firing a single shot Milestone toward Nation Independence despite the loss of several friends and relatives in the war War sparked by the Canal’s nationalization kador said he still took pride in former Egyptian president Gamal Abdul NASA’s decision made 68 years ago have the right decision when he nationalized canal in 19 56 the nationalization of the SE Canal has changed the destiny of Egypt he said in 1952 Egyptian Military Officers led by NASA staged a revolution over overthrowing the pro-western monarchy and the following year witnessed the establishment of the Republic of Egypt on July 26 1956 100,000 Egyptians gathered at Liberation Square in Alexandria to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the Revolution before the cheering crowd NASA declared that he had signed into law the nationalization of the sewers Canal company on that very day we shall not let imperialists or exploiters dominate us we shall not let history repeated self once more he said NASA’s decision to nationalize the sewers Canal challenged the core interests of Britain and France following unsuccessful diplomatic coercion and persuasion Britain and France decided to Ally with Israel which was then at odds with Egypt to launch a war and seize control of the sews Canal as the war unfolded to prevent the sews Canal from falling back into the hands of Western Powers the Egyptian people Scuttle dozens of ships in the canal to block its Passage ultimately under the pressure of global condemnation and the Egyptian people’s unwavering determination to defend the canal the aggresses backed down and withdrew from Egypt future with global South nowadays the sewers Canal stands as a vital artery for Global Commerce during its busiest periods approximately 30% of the world’s container traffic and over 1 million barrel of oil Traverse this Waterway daily strolling along the Canal’s Banks one often encounters tourists of various ethnicities snapping photos and checking in at popular spots while colossal Freighters Laden with cargo Glide slowly however beneath the surface of Tranquility Egypt is still struggling to break free from Western control and Achieve independent development since the early 1990s some International financial institutions Domin ated by the West have used substantial Aid and Loans to entice Egypt into implementing neoliberal reforms fully opening the floodgates for Western Capital to pour in ironically over a century ago it was through such Financial Maneuvers that Britain and France ceased control of the sewers canal in cada’s view history has already presented the answers think about the past who has oppressed us who has helped us who has empathized with our suffering our friends are in the East he said today the mutually beneficial cooperation along the seers canal between Egypt and developing countries has borne fruitful results in the desert less than 50 km south of the SE Canal the China Egypt tedes su’s economic and trade cooperation Zone has attracted more than 140 companies spanning a range of sectors including new building materials petroleum equipment high and low voltage gear and Machinery Manufacturing creating jobs for over 50,000 locals on the southern Sinai Peninsula just across from the sews Canal a new city developed by Egypt and Saudi Arabia is rapidly taking shape according to the plan the city is set to emerge as a crucial hub for tourism Commerce and technology in the Middle East in Egypt’s new administrative capital and along the Red Sea Coast tourist areas there is an increasing number of Economic and trade cooperation projects between Egypt and other brics countries Egypt looks forward to cooperating and coordinating with brics countries to achieve its goals towards strengthening economic cooperation and raising the voice of the global South Egyptian president Abdul fata LCC said upon learning that Egypt was invited to join the mechanism the century old sewers Canal is now witnessing an ancient civilization embarking on a new chapter of development after retiring from the SE Canal Authority kadal who now resides in Cairo still occasionally returns to the canal to visit the places where he once worked that’s where our dreams of Independence were realized I believe it will also be where our dreams of development come true he said every Egyptian have a specian relation with can it is part of his history part of his struggle to have freedom [Music]
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On April 25, 1859, amid the great pomp of a cannon salute, a French man struck a pickaxe blow on the shores of present-day Port Said in Egypt, launching the decade-long, blood-soaked construction of a project challenging human imagination.
“Remember that you are not merely shifting earth, you are bringing prosperity to both your families and this beautiful land,” the groundbreaker Ferdinand de Lesseps, former French vice-consul in Egypt’s Alexandria, told Egyptian workers rallied around him at the ceremony.
What unfolded afterward, however, proved his speech was yet another hollow promise by Western colonizers.
In the ensuing years, 120,000 Egyptians toiled to death during the excavation. After the completion of the canal, Britain and France, scheming to control the vital maritime trade route, employed debt traps and even resorted to warfare against Egypt, plunging its populace into a century-long misery.
“Perhaps in the eyes of others, the canal is just a trade route, but for Egyptians, blood and tears flow there,” recalled Wael Kaddour, who had served as a board member of Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority.
“It’s part of our lives,” said the 80-year-old man.
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