Yet another fighter

We saw a revolution erupt, then we saw it die. We saw people whom we once thought were good show an ugly face. We saw people whom we always knew were bad turn out to be worse than we ever thought. We saw great people stand their ground but continue to suffer till their last breath.

We witnessed the death of a great man, Ahmed Seif al-Islam, fighting for justice and rights; fighting, in every sense of the word. Fighting as in enduring prison and torture, but at the same time volunteering to defend the oppressed, even if they didn’t always look or think like him.

You might think it's normal to witness the death of a great man. But no, it is not normal. It cannot be normal that a man who lived his life fighting for justice saw no justice before he died. He passed away at a time when his country is full of injustice. Injustice has even taken its toll on his son and daughter, who are currently in jail because they marched in a protest calling for basic rights.

We have mourned one fighter after the other. It's painful and bitter to mourn fighters who died before their fight bore any fruit. We are no longer sure if their fight will ever bear fruit.

We are feeling lonely in a society in which many are cheering for our defeat and demonstrating a weird greed for delusional stability no matter the cost. And with the death of every fighter, we feel lonelier.

We are left with loneliness, grief and bitterness. We are at a loss to understand how making a great man suffer — by depriving him of the company of his son and daughter on his deathbed — could bring the country stability or bring its people anything good.

We can only hope for a miracle that will enable us to see justice prevail and the dreams of the fallen come true.