Dear Egypt by Meklit Berihun

Dear Egypt by Meklit Berihun

My dear, how are you holding up in these trying times? I hope you are faring well as much as one can given the circumstances. And I pray we will not be burdened with more than we can bear and that this time will soon come to pass for the both of us.

Dearest, I hear of your frustration about the progress—or lack thereof—on the negotiations over my dam. That is a frustration I also share. I look forward to the day we settle things and look to the future together. Beloved, though your approach has recently metamorphosed in addressing your right to our water—officially stating you never held on to any past agreements—the foundation, that you do not want to settle for anything less than 66 percent of what is shared by 10 of your fellow African states, remains unchanged. I must be honest: I cannot fathom how you still hold on to this. Both you and I know the underlying factor of the 1959 agreement birthed in 1929. It was for neither of our needs except that of your past colonizer: cotton and the Suez Canal. Now, what troubles me is how you can hold on to something whose origins—colonization—you so despised. When your cherished Abdel Halim Hafez roared:

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