Ahmed Saber Al-Mansy... We Will Never Forget You

I recommend "the choice" to be the best soap opera this year, I had spent an enjoyable hour watching its first episode … We can say now that Ramadan drama race has begun. But, what really grabbed my attention is that the story of the series revolves around late Egyptian army legend Ahmed Al-Mansy who became a martyr during 103's battalion's brave battle against IS in Sinai in 2017.

The first scene of the series revealed the immortal quote Al-Mansy said at the time of the last battle in the wireless device to his colleagues’’ Take care of yourself, the martyr should not be washed nor shrouded, I want to be buried with my army costume.’’

The series also highlighted the August 2012 Sinai attack when armed men ambushed an Egyptian military base in the Sinai Peninsula, killing 16 soldiers and stealing two armored cars. They attacked our heroes during the Iftar meal as they were fasting in Ramadan.

Despite the pain and sorrow, I felt while watching these scenes, I felt proud of our brave soldiers and officers.

The real advantage of this soap opera is that it revolves around real events and a true hero; when I watched the episode, I realized that the genius of artistic work is not limited to the writer's imagination, but how far it can embody the reality, hence, I want to express my gratitude and admiration to "the choice" writer Baher Dwidar.

On the ground, we all have witnessed the episode events and our heroes who sacrificed their souls for the sake of the homeland and to keep Sinai safe.

For everyone who considers Sinai development a "headache", I want to say that Sinai reconstruction and development battle is as important as our armed forces heroes battles.

The martyr who led his soldiers in a battle of dignity and challenges does not differ from the engineer, teacher, doctor, worker, and cleric.

All the construction, modernization, and development projects that were launched in every quarter of Sinai under the timely follow up of  President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi including the new Suez Canal, the six huge tunnels, passing through infrastructure projects, modern villages confirm the unity of purpose.

The story begins with Egypt's historic victory in October war 1973, then late president Mohamed Anwar Al-Sadat's peace initiative and his visit to Jerusalem in November 1977, and his famous speech before the Knesset, which led eventually to Camp David agreement between Israel and Egypt signed on September 17, 1978, in the White House. Among the most important points in this treaty was the full withdrawal by Israel of its armed forces and civilians from the Sinai Peninsula, thus Egypt regained its full sovereignty over Sinai.

Then this long Egyptian-Israeli conflict culminated when late president Mohamed Honsy Mubarak raised Egyptian flag over Taba on March 19, 1989, declaring the return of the town to Egypt.

After recalling all these memories while watching the first episode, I realized that nations are built only on the shoulders of men who answered decisively to the choice between living in dignity and pride under the banner of a stable country or surrendering to a life of backwardness and barbarism in the shadow of groups which have nothing to do with dignity and do not believe in the meaning of a homeland.

Our armed forces' heroes' choice was reflected through the liberation battles and the decisive positions they adopted after the June 30; Al-Mansy, and his soldiers faced the vile terrorist enemy that knows neither mercy nor patriotism.

The choice of a free and honorable homeland is emphasized by development projects within the framework of the efforts of state, the executive agencies as well as the aspirations of our people in Sinai.

I wish all our drama to reflect true stories; "The choice" soap opera is premiering at right time as Egyptians celebrate Sinai liberation amid the holy month of Ramadan atmosphere; It's a month of mercy and forgiveness. We ask God to forgive us.