Good morning, Abu-Swelam
What a beauty
If you were good at work, you would not been expelled from work in Cairo
Go and find work
Ask any property owner for a work
We will work in your father's field
You make a mock of me! So where is your land?
You filth, get away or I will get you to pull the carriage instead of the donkey
You talk as if you were a government official We know you work like a donkey for the Englishmen
"The Egyptian Foundation for Cinema"
Get away, get down you filth
Who are they? What did they do?
They left their land to work in Cairo However, they failed, now they beg for work here
Welcome back, welcome back
God bless you
You have grown up What did you do in the exams?
He passed the primary.
I wish you the best in the secondary
Thank you Abu-Swelam How is your daughter Wasifa?
She is all right, thanks god
I wish everything were alright
It is ok until we see about the cotton harvest
And after the cotton harvest!
How would we get the harvest! You know the water problem
Why, the officials gave you ten days for Irrigation
Ten days are not enough for the whole village
Talk about that with the mayor
The mayor!
What about Mr. Mahmoud?
A peasant has no way with a mayor or a property owner
You have been through a lot However, you have always been a tough man
He will never understand He digs his own grave
"Al-Ard" "The Land" translated from scratch by: Samir Omran 2010
"If the land is thirsty we would irrigate it with our blood It is our old vows and our responsibility to fill it with good"
"The land of our ancestors and the reason of our existence We would sacrifice our lives to give the land a life"
You promised me a jacket with long trousers If I passed the primary
We have to wait for the cotton harvest
The harvest!
There is a crisis this year my son
Here you are 10 piaster Spend it all over the summer vacation
My greetings to the mayor
Welcome back, I can smell Cairo from the luggage
What are you looking at? Wasifa! She fascinates even Cairo residents
Hey girl, you almost cause me to slip in the water
Get away
I want to have a look
Get away; if you got caught, they will beat you
I don't care
The wedding party is tonight
I wish it were your wedding Wasifa
Mohamed Effendi, a teacher, he got 4 Pounds a month He will make a great husband
Who is the one with him?
Diab, his brother, an Effendi and a peasant A son for money and a son for the hard work
You let the donkey in the heat of sun
Just like me, in the heat of sun the whole day
This is the word "Egypt" in English
Have you seen Englishmen in Cairo?
Yes, they even beat us in the demonstrations
Here is Wasifa
Welcome back
We missed you, I am sure you forgot about us Did you bring me anything from Cairo?
What did she tell you?
Oh my, she was laughing with you
What a loss, only two more feet taller, and longer trousers He would have been a perfect husband, and you would have lived in Cairo
Mohamed Effendi is still the best choice
My father wish that I got married a man from Cairo
Your father wishes for a person like Abdel-Hadi, because he is tough like him However, what did your father got for being tough! He only got the worst
You talk bad about my father!
God forbid, but he still wishes you to marry a guy like Abdel-Hadi And you know, Abdel-Hadi is not bad at all
Hit him Abdel-Hadi
Hey Abdel-Hadi, it is not war It is just a game
I am sorry
I am sorry Diab
If you want to play, you have me
What a shame, you are a like a father for me
I will play with you
Come on don't get scared
Shame on you, get away
Hey boy, be careful Sheik Youssef is the cleanest man in the village
Abdel-Ati, the mayor wants you
Shame on him, it is the guy's wedding night
Go on, dance and sing
I wish it were your wedding
I wish it was your wedding too Wasifa
When my father says so
Sheik Youssef, here is a machine made cigarette Have it with your drink
Do you like our songs? We don't know the town songs
Did you really bring me something from Cairo?
A bottle of perfume
Really! Where?
I will bring it to you at Abdel-Hadi's water wheel
Alright
Hey Abdel-Ati, the mayor wants you now
He would spell us if you don't come
Come on
Done sheriff, I have informed all peasants That the irrigation days are just five
It must be Abu-Swelam
I did a list of the troublemakers I will send it to you
He is so furious
Don't get nervous, it is bad for your health
Get inside
We missed you at the wedding Mr. Mayor
Why didn't you inform peasants that Irrigation days will be only five
It has always been 10 days
It is not my decision
Why didn't you inform them?
It must be Abu-Swelam who told him to do so
I swear by God, Abu-Swelam has nothing to do with it
I did write his name in the list of the troublemakers
Only 5 days of irrigation
You are the mayor, do as you wish
Oh yes, you only think about succeeding me after my death?
God forbid
Long life to Mr. Mayor 115
Take this to the sheriff
What is this! It is Abu-Swelam! I swear he has nothing to do with this
Shut up or I will include your name too 118
Best wishes for Wasifa
Have a look on the cow I think there is something wrong
So, where is Wasifa?
I sent her to borrow flour
Is it necessary to sent her at night?
She is a tough girl like her father
We will have bad days I want a better life for her
I wish Abdel-Hadi won you Wasifa My house will be happier with your presence
Why was Wasifa here?
She borrowed flour
That is not her house direction 129
I have no idea
Be careful you hulk? Where are you going? You should be praying now. Nobody goes to the mosque except for the Friday prayers
Get out of the way or someone may see us
Why are you silent?
I am late
It is a talkative village
Where is the perfume you brought me?
Take that 10 piaster and buy it yourself
Oh my, a whole 10 piaster
I wish I found a bag full of money
What would you do then?
I would take a boat like that one and go to Cairo
I bet they eat flour bread and sweats everyday in Cairo
Moreover, they shower everyday with a bottle of perfume
Why are you silent?
Hey
Do you remember when we were little kids? We used to play the pride and groom game
We were here
Do you remember when sheikh Shennawi caught us? He beats us, how many years passed?
Four years
Many years, do you remember?
Why sitting away?
So why did you brought me here?
You are still young
No, I am man; I am going to high school
Welcome Abdel-Hadi, come and sit on the leaves
Shame on you, what is wrong with the ground You talk as if you were grown in town
Where have you been? With a girl!
I wish I would spend the rest of my life singing and dancing
Oh my
Can you lend me 20 piaster?
No one in the village have 20 piaster
Only the property owner you guard his land And Mohamed Effendi too
Sheikh Youssef has a lot too
However, he wouldn't sell me sugar and tea Unless I bay for what I already bought 164
Who operates the water wheel?
Welcome Effendi
No one operated the water wheel
I saw a girl beside the water wheel
A girl! Where?
Anyway, the irrigation is prohibited now We informed the mayor that you would have only five days
We always have 10 days 171
No, it will be just 5 days Anyone operates his water wheel we will...
What are you saying?
Anyone operates his water wheel will be caught by the police
Even the 10 days were barely enough
It is the government decisions
Who the government saving the water for? Mahmoud Bey! He already has water pumps
I will operate my water wheel and you can do whatever you want to do
Please don't tell anyone about this
I have never been to the field by night
I will wait for you tomorrow
Go now
Who is there? Wait
What are you doing here?
Are you waiting for someone?
Your father will get mad and will lock You for the rest of the your vacation
Hey girls, the wedding party is over
God damn you, you dance as if Egypt got the independence
Soap
One more egg
Sugar and tea
Pay first
Abdel-Ati, buy more Halva It is good for the newlyweds
Tell that to the mayor he needs to buy a lot to fulfill his new wife he brought from the town
Here is the egg you greedy
Here is the soap
The mayor told me to inform peasants That they only have 5 days of irrigation
I didn't, and I will not
Are you crazy, you should inform them? So they get prepared, go and tell
The mayor already gave a list of the troublemakers To the sheriff, and Abu-Swelam name is in it
Go now and tell Abu-Swelam He will get in troubles
He never cared
You filthy bastard, go and tell him
Hey, don't hit me like that, I am still a groom
Hey, it is mine
No it is mine, I was after it the whole day
Only the poor ones get the worst treatment
Khadra is a poor one
She needs food; give her some Abdel-Ati
It is you Elwani
The government!
What are you talking about?!
Go and ask the mayor 213
She is hungry
Where are you going?
I am going to irrigate my master's land The government shortened the irrigation days
Khadra, I will be in the field in the night
What will I get?
A cucumber
Make it 2
Alright Deal
What are they up to this time?
They reduced the irrigation days to five
5! The land dies!
I will not obey
Take it easy, you will be punished
Let them do whatever they want to do
Discuss it with rest of men first
Discussion! Men! Oh, yes
Go and call for them peasants
Alright, but what about the sugar and tea
How can't you read it?! Try again
You must be good in reciting poetry
I am thirsty
Say so
Diab, Diab
The donkey is for riding
Get away
You beat Khadra in your house
I am sorry Khadra, you are welcomed
Thank you; you are the best of men
Unfortunately...
What?
You admire Wasifa
But how can you get her?
I am counting on you
I will bring her here
What is this? It is dry
You behave like the government
We must have our 10 days of irrigation
Do you think the peasants will dare to do that?
Of course, they need the 10 days
If they all agreed, no one will stop us
Not the mayor, not Mahmoud Bey and not even the Englishmen
Will peace be upon you?
And you too
Hey girl, where have you been last night?
Girl!!
Where have you been?
You are neither my father nor my husband to ask me
I will be your...
Mohamed Effendi has arrived
The sheikh also arrived, why didn't you notice that too
All this time to drink!
We have big problem to solve
And are you the one who will solve it! 266
Hey you Abdel-Hadi
Let us listen to the old men
They are furious young men
We should pray for God to avenge us from the government
Who prohibit us from our 10 days of irrigation?
Pray in silence and shut up
And let us regain our rights
Your rights! You heretic!
We should go to the mayor
The mayor! He is the one behind all this
I am going to the mosque to pray
What to do you think my friend?
I think we need to calm down and think
Right, and to let the land dies
We should talk to the mayor and Mahmoud Bey too
I think we should write a petition to the government
Oh, yes
Mahmoud Bey knows a lot of important persons
Yes, that is right
A petition! That is nonsense, a waste of time
I will do what I think is the right thing
I will irrigate my land for the whole 10 days
You are right
Folks we must have one decision
No collision, we do both The irrigation and the petition
What do you think?
I agree
Alright
I will write it with a strong tone
Sheikh Youssef is the right person to write it All his colleagues are schools headmasters
Shut up, all my colleagues are judges and inspectors And the most failed one became mayor
Sheikh Youssef I meant no insult, the sugar and tea
I have to go now, I will start writing tonight
Will peace be upon you?
And you too Mohamed Effendi
I want to propose to you for Wasifa now
That is not the right time Abdel-Hadi
Here we are, read it loudly Mohamed Effendi I hope you wrote strong words like "especially" and "what happened was"
If the sheikh co-wrote it, God would bless it
Oh yes, he would mention "Judgment", "Punishment" and "Angels"
Then the government would say "let Angels get you water"
You heretic, are you making fun of god
Me?! I vow to God to make a banquet for Poor ones if this petition makes any good
It will be a banquet of a goat Let poor ones eats, and you too
Let it be a sheep, it is a banquet
So it be a sheep then
Swear by "The Holy Quran" that you will fulfill your vow
"In the name of God the Merciful"
"Amen"
Read the petition loudly Mohamed Effendi
Let us just seal it
I wrote it in the style of eloquent Arabs
"Your Excellency the Minister, peasants are sleeping On the dust and are covered by the sky"
Who is the Retarded who wrote this?
Yes, it may lack figurative language
It is not reasonably to take all this time drawing the road
Hey boy, take care of the furniture
Hey Mayor, get a blank paper and get the peasants Signatures on it and I will write the petition by myself
Alright Bey
You stay Mohamed Effendi
Be careful you stupid
No we must know what will be written before we sign
Come on folks sign and seal and don't care about Abdel-Hadi
Who loves God and his profit may come and seal
Get away
Elwani, haven't you seen my father
Your father!
Come here
Take this Pumpkin Wasifa, sweet, like you
You take it
Mayor has no value; I will accompany Mahmoud Bey to hand the petition to the His Excellency the Prime Minister personally
The Prime Minister!!
God have mercy on your father Mohammed Effendi You will meet the Prime Minister personally
What did you say?
What should I say!
Excuse me; I have to get prepared to accompany Mahmoud Bey
Excuse me too; he will meet the Prime Minister personally!
I want to propose to Wasifa
It is not the right time
Hey girl, why are you listening? It is men talk
I am the daughter of Abu-Swelam 347
Mohamed Effendi will travel to Cairo, Prepare A gift to send with him to his uncle sheikh Hassouna
I wish I can, but we have nothing
I only have this plate of rice with cream
He likes it a lot, it is the best gift
Good-bye Mohamed Effendi
Please give this to my son in Cairo
Hey you, I am going to meet the Prime Minister
Mohamed Effendi, please deliver this plate of Rice with cream to sheikh Hassouna, he loves it
He must, as it was made by you
Good-bye
Beware of the girls of the town
He will meet the Prime Minister personally
I swear by no more sugar and tea on credit
Take it down; it is a bad omen for Mohamed Effendi
Who is she?
She is the daughter of sheikh Youssef
A very polite girl, she took down the empty water jar for me
The land of Mahmoud Bey is full of water
And the entire village gets only 5 days
But he is a great man; he wants to serve the village
What a hot weather!
Take care of yourself; you will get a wife after the harvest
Why the wait for harvest, we have enough money
And who will be the pride?
The daughter of sheikh Youssef
No, I want to marry Wasifa
The sun sets a fire on the bridge
Diab, get back riding the donkey
Take a good care of your mother, and the land too
Come on, Mahmoud Bey is waiting
Here is my telephone number if you get lost in Cairo
Mohamed Effendi
What?
Please I want to taste this hot Falafel 381
Get a way for Effendi 382
I am not a passenger, I just want Falafel
How lucky is the town residents
Wasifa, oh my
Mahmoud Bey, I am Mohamed Effendi
Who? The Madam! A second please
Who? Oh no, he lefts a long time ago
Four days and still waiting for the phone call?!
I am in a hurry
Mahmoud Bey
Down with Colonialism
See
The land is thirsty and they think he is meeting the Prime Minister
Where is Mohamed Effendi! Or Mahmoud Bey! Or the Prime Minister!
Finish your work
Any news from Mohamed Effendi?
Where is your brother?
Any letters?
Any news?
The mail carrier says no
Down with Colonialism
What is in this basket?
Get away
I know it is a little
But after the prime minister agrees we will pay the rest
I did a petition, not for irrigation, but a new project
A new project! And what about the water?!
Listen
This is the Nile road, this is the village, and this is my palace
And what are those two lines?
That is the new project, a new road that will Connect the village to the civilization
The village needs the water
This road will civilize the village, try to understand
Please Mahmoud Bey, this will be a disaster
The road will eats the land and divide it
Who said it would harm YOUR land
I have my ways
Go and convince the peasants and no harm will get to your land
What shall I tell them?!
You are an educated man and you will convince them
Where is Sheikh Hassouna?
Who are you?
I am his nephew
He is praying in Sultan Hassan Mosque
It is a disaster; the road will eat the land
How did you give him signed blank papers?
We have no one but you uncle
I can do nothing alone, I must return to the village
"God is great"
"No God but Allah"
I will hurry, you can come later
All peasants want to irrigate today
No wonder, it is only 5 days
But there is a queue
A queue!
I am going to check why there is no water
5 days are not enough
Hey it is not your day
It is only 5 days, so there is no queue
Close the canal Diab
No
I said close it Diab
No
Alright, come on
Hey guys
As long as it is only 5 days there is no queue
So go and irrigate your land with what remains
You fool, you will kill each other And still the land is thirsty
We better irrigate for 10 days
We have only 5 days
Even 10 days were not enough
I am the first
No I am the first by my own hands
Hurry and open our canals
HELP, the cow fell in the water wheel
HELP
I am just behind you Abdel-Hadi
Left her from its belly
Support me Diab
Catch
Hail hob
Oh God
Give me the rope
Support
Oh God
God bless you Abdel-Hadi
Everyone go to his field
The best of words from the best of men
Now you laugh while minutes ago you were fighting
Thanks God
Take it easy Diab
You wouldn't fight me if Mohamed Effendi were here
Diab, sheikh Hassouna is on his way to the village 475
I just received the telegraph
Operate the wheels, all the wheels
Come on Diab
Operate the wheel
"If the land is thirsty we would irrigate it with our blood It is our old vows and our responsibility to fill it with good"
"The land of our ancestors and the reason of our existence We would sacrifice our lives to give the land a life"
We lost the land then
Peace be upon you
You have to eat
I can't
Everything will be fine
What do they want?
They want the road
No, they want the land
And the land needs water, and the water is in the hand of the government And the government wants the road, and the road needs the land
Our land
That is the story, Mahmoud Bey and us His ancestors and our ancestors
The same old story
Go Abdel-Hadi
The mayor wants you
Do you know why?
No, but he said he wants you urgently
Ok, I will come
Take those men and go
What is it mayor?
The officials report the police That those men exceed the five days
And the police report me to catch them
Go on Abdel-Ati
I am sorry Abu-Swelam
I know it is the mayor
Where to mayor?
The police department Mohamed Effendi
Why taking you father, It is Abdel-Hadi who operate the water wheels
We all irrigated my daughter
Leave me alone
Here come the demonstrations students
Sheikh Shaban, what brought you back after all those years?
My master called, and I obeyed
Where is Abu-Swelam?
Get him out of here
Abu-Swelam, stand up
Stand up, prisoner
Leave him
Abu-Swelam
Catch him
Hello
Mohamed Effendi
Are you alone Wasifa?
My mother is asleep
What did you do for the imprisoned men?
I am going to Mahmoud Bey to give Him money to release the men
And they will be released today
Really!
Beware of your donkey Mohamed Effendi
Your uncle sheikh Hassouna came back
A real man, he knows the right thing to do And protects the women whose men are absent
I searched the whole village and I only Found those two Loafs of wheat flour
Mother, where is my uncle?
In the visitors room, with the mayor
What are you saying sheikh Hassouna
They didn't obey the government irrigation rules
Those rules can't be obeyed
Peace be upon you
Welcome sheikh Hassouna
I will visit Abu-Swelam soon
He will be here soon by gods well
God favors the patient ones
God bless you sheikh Hassouna
God bless you and Wasifa
Everything will be fine by god's will 546
I suspect there is someone stealing from my crop reservoirs
Mayor
What is it Abdel-Ati?
Your father is also imprisoned why asking for your husband only?
Shut up Abdel-Ati; don't speak in such subjects in front of me
Hey girl, stay where you are
Away with your hand or I will cut it
Who is that girl?
She is Wasifa daughter of Abu-Swelam The guard commander
You filth, he is not the guards commander anymore
Yes I am the daughter of Abu-Swelam
Like mother like daughter
Don't speak about her mother
You old fool, don't talk about my mother
I will teach you a lesson
Hey guards, save the mayor 562
Say I am a woman
You bastards
Down with Colonialism
Freedom, Freedom
Long Live Egypt
You bastards
God is great
What are you thinking about?
Don't worry, it will be fine
Accept my proposal to Wasifa, now
Folks, folks
The imprisoned got released
Abu-Swelam is back
My father is back
Mabrouka, your husband got released
Diab is back
Abdel-Hadi my son
Your help god
The men are back, we should have a celebration
God bless sheikh Hassouna
Welcome back
Welcome ba..
Welcome back
Father, father
Welcome back father
Let us go home father
Diab, Diab
Drink this sheikh Shaban
I want to eat
Diab
Welcome back Diab
No more rebels
You taught them a lesson in the prison
Alright sheriff
I will be hard on them
I will do my best
I pity your health, this is too much compression
You only talk about my health; I have a very good health 600
You should be upset about the rebels, not me
Yes, be upset about sheikh Hassouna
No one can ever get over me
You didn't even got over the village women
Let alone their men
You too dare to speak!
Alright, you are fired
Gather all the guards
You are all fired
God help us
Abdel-Ati, call Shaban for me
Abu-Swelam, Abu-Swelam
Welcome sheikh Hassouna
Where is Abu-Swelam?
He is in the field all day long since he got released
He don't eat, he don't talk
Elwani
Go tell sheikh Youssef to meet us in Abu-Swelam's field
Alright
Abu-Swelam
My uncle sheikh Hassouna is with me
Just as you are
You know how long I stayed in Cairo
But the love of fields never left me
Welcome to the village sheikh Hassouna
I don't like your sadness
Egypt's great leaders got imprisoned too
Saad Zaghloul, Mustapha Kamel, Ahmed Ourabi
I am not sad because I got imprisoned
I know, I feel
It is not that they are brave, And it is not that you are weak
Get over it; we have all been there together
It was a revolution, it was for freedom
The same story, it was freedom, Now it is for the land
And pride? What's left after the man looses his pride
Uncle, uncle
Here is a watermelon
Cut a piece for your uncle with a clean knife
Please have some
Thank you but I can't
I swear by God and his Prophet that you will be the first to have a piece of it
Come on, you must eat something
You have always been a good man Diab
So you must eat from what I offer you
Come on Abu-Swelam, I cam here to bring back the good old days
This village will always be my home
We will get over our problems
Do you think we can?
By God willing
Diab, go to Abu-Swelam's house and Tell them we are coming for dinner
Huh, yes of course, it will be an honor
He believes the joke
It is you who are invited to dine with us
We have chicken and rice with cream
Chicken and rice! It is no the proper time to talk about food
Instead of talking about what is proper and what is not, You should get proper clothes for your brother
I just thought it is not the proper time
Abu-Swelam was always a patient man
A patient man!
When we were in prison he held a jailer up high and throw him on the ground
Oh god, you are the man Abu-Swelam
Do you remember when we both got beaten for the sake of sheikh Youssef?
That was during the 1919 revolution
The jailer found that sheikh Youssef was hiding more than 30 cigarettes
And what did he do?
The jailer starts beating sheikh Youssef, But Abu-Swelam stands up and protects him
You too helped both of us
And we all got beaten by jailers
Did sheikh Youssef beat the jailers?
No he pretended he was faint and lie on the ground
But the jailer didn't believe him
He opened sheikh Youssef's mouth and start putting the 30 cigarettes while telling him to swallow
Swallow …, swallow …
Peace be upon you
What? Something wrong about me!
Father, father
Haven't you seen my father?
He went home
I brought him lunch
So wait for him
I wanted to see you since the day I got released
My father was imprisoned too
And that broke my heart
Did you thought about me while I was in prison?
Shame on you Abdel-Ati when you hit a woman, And she is Wasifa, Abu-Swelam's daughter
He was always like a father to you
Don't remind me Abdel-Hadi, It was the mayor's orders
Yes, shame on me, I deserve your contempt
Beat me Abdel-Hadi, I deserve it, Here you are, do whatever you want
Beat me more Abdel-Hadi, Beat me stronger
More Abdel-Hadi, I did wrong
I am sorry; let me kiss your head
Sheikh Shaban
Gracious and most merciful, help us
Sheikh Shaban, charm Wasifa to accept Mohammed effendi as a husband
Slow down
Wasifa for Mohamed effendi
I would make you a plate of meat
Slow down
Here are the two pennies I have
Slow down
Sheikh Shaban!
Slow down
The mayor!
Be cursed
Abu-Swelam!
The best of strong men
Sheikh Hassouna!
The best of knowledge men
Elwani!
Shame on him, He made me steal the mayor
Wasifa!
Wasifa is for Mohamed effendi
And Mohamed is for Wasifa
We will have to obey the orders, Only five days to arrogation
No way, the cotton would die
The water is always there Abdel-Hadi, in the Nile, But if we lost the land it will never be there
The most important thing is that we save the land before the railway destroys it
The problem is that the mayor is against us
The mayor is not the problem, It is Mahmoud Bey
They are the same
Yes so is the government and the British occupation
Mohamed effendi is every girl's dream
Don't ever get in my house again
This dirty girl should not enter any respectable house
Who own no land, owns no honor
Oh, I own no land
I mean women not men
Alright, tell me when will you be back to your shop?
I want my share of sugar and tea tonight
Go away; you have nothing to do here, only who owns land are interested
Interest, they only talk about interest, nothing about friendship or neighborhood
Khadra
What do you want?
You are like me Khadra, no land, no money and no interest
Elwani, why don't we get marry?
Marry you, how come? And where?
Oh I see, in my palace, and I would get a highway road till my door
You are joking, so why not, girls in Cairo lives in palaces
Wake up, I have no house and no land
Me too, I have nothing, we would be a perfect couple
Low the lantern to her face
It is poor Khadra
"We are from God and to him we shall return"
She was poor and lonely and had no enemies, I wonder who would kill her!
It is that bastard Elwani for sure
No it can't be him, he was sitting with us all night long 747
Why not anyone of us who did it?
It must be Elwani, he is filthy just like her
She lived in mud and died in mud too
She never liked her life
No one is accused, she is just a slut
Were where we will burry her?
Where?! In sheikh Shennawi's graveyard for sure
Shut up heretic, I wouldn't burry this dirty slut with respected people
Why? You are the most related one to her in the village
I know you were always a heretic, I will never allow her to be buried in my graveyard
She was poor in her life and in her death too
Mayor, we should report the police
Felony of premeditated and surveillance
No, she was trying to drink and she felled
It is better than getting people in trouble
Poor Khadra they didn't even respect her after she died
Why! Because she was lonely and homeless!
She was the village's servant
No they want to throw her dead body away
Take it easy Wasifa
Poor girl, she has no mercy even after she died
That's life my daughter
No mother, I will got to live with my sister in the town
Hey girl, we have enough troubles
I want to get rid of the village and the Land and the everyday disastrous life
Take it easy my girl
Please mayor
Please have a mercy
I swear by god I was Going to marry Khadra
You can say so to the commissioner, or in the criminal court
This village has a mayor, it is not chaos
We brought all the billets, and we store it on the bridge
Talking, talking, and no work
All I care about is to see the highway road passing in front of my palace
So visitors can drive their cars to my door
Hurry up, you are so late
Mayor, please send me the dog 784
Mayor, the dog of the Bey
And the most important men in the village will be in your place till we find who did it
A village of no shyness
Mayor, the dog of the Bey
The dog of the Bey, mayor
Your legs are alright
Take a cigarette and go away
No let me be with you
We have to have a talk with the mayor
A talk! We still have to talk!
The mayor starts with Elwani to threat all of us, and all we think about is to talk
I have a feeling that sheikh Shaban is behind it
Shaban became a sheikh, very well
Very well done mayor
A day or two he could arrest anyone of us for murdering Khadra
No way
He can
The murder of Khadra was a threat to all men because the billets have arrived
So they expect us to fear and shut up
We lost the land
No Abu-Swelam, have some patience
Only who lives here can feel what I feel
I left my children in Cairo and here I am with you
It is too late sheikh Hassouna
When I have to come I came
I left the village for my job
But I have never failed you
I fought the occupation with you
Yes, fought the British occupation together
We fought in Syria in winter
We faced death, many of us has been buried under the snow
We weren't afraid, we didn't walk away
Why? Because we were real men and we've endured as real men
And during 1919 revolution we fought with Saad Pasha
We cut the railroad against the British forces
They strike back and many of us were killed
But we were real men and we've endured as real men
And the last election
Regardless of the results
But we supported you sheikh Hassouna
What did we get?
We have been beaten, we have been insulted but we were real men and we've endured as real men
When there were a few steps between us and death,
We weren't afraid; we fought with bare hands, because we were real men and we've endured as real men
And then
Then what
Each went on his way
Each thought about oneself
And forgot about the others
You sheikh Hassouna, you left the village to live in the town
And enjoyed the government salary
And sheikh Youssef
He opened a shop to sell goods to the penniless peasants
And me
What became of me!
I kept working in my land
I kept living on the memory of good old days
Hoping that one day we would be the men we used to be
But those days were gone, And it don't seem to be back
We used to have courage and dignity
We used to be the shield of the village
And now, here we are
We talk and weep like women
Here we are sheikh Hassouna, And here are the village's young men
Watching us weeping like women
Watching us saying patience is good
Watching us talking and talking
Our life is talking
Our sleep is talking
Our silence is talking
Talking and talking and talking
You old man
You are still that young rebel
You remind me of the young Hassouna
You are the best of us Abu-Swelam
Life drifts me, but what shall I do
I wonder what we shall do!
I was thinking
But I didn't find a way
When we were young we weren't thinking, We acted
We are still the same
Abu-Swelam, I will stay
I will stay till we bring back all our rights
My hand in your hand, Whatever happens
We should throw the billets in the canal
Good idea
We can do it
Good idea Abdel-Hadi
That is best solution
Yes, yes
Come on folks
Come on
Come on Abdel-Ati
Abdel-Hadi you are know to the police
I don't care
You shouldn't be involved
Your acre is so far from the road
When I operated the wheels I was alone
But the police arrested you too, We are all the same for them
You are good person Abdel-Hadi
You are my teacher Abu-Swelam
Go
Abdel-Ati
Can you hear the whispers?
It is ghosts
Give me the gun Abdel-Ati
Throw the billets
Come on Sheikh Shaban, You asked for it
Abdel-Hadi, Abu-Swelam
The mayor died
As soon as he heard about the billets thrown in the canal
Very well, we get rid off the billets and the mayor in the same night
I will bring a dozen of candles If my wish come true
To protect my father and save our land
Why are you following me Abdel-Hadi?
I came here every night
To see you
So what were you wishing for?
To protect my father and save our land
Just your father and your land?
Tea and sugar! Now! Are you out of your mind?
Freeze, who are you?
I am the vice mayor, I am a government official
Run folks, officials hit officials
My uncle, the camel rider guards arrived
Everyone to his house, No one is allowed to get out
No one is allowed to be out afternoon
I am going to call for ASR prayer
No one is allowed to be out afternoon
And what about the two prayers in the night!
Go home
"Help us god, help us"
Freeze, where are you going?
I am going to borrow some corn flour From Abdel-Hadi's mother
Hey girl, get inside
We have no food
I said get inside you fool
Let her go
Soldier, go with her and be back with her and take a good care of her
Have a cigarette please
Have a seat please
Want some tea?
Do you think this whip can shut us up
No, but in some cases one has to shut up or die
So we die then
No man, every problem has a solution
We also lost our houses
Aswan Dam flooded it
We had to die or to surrender, So we surrendered
The dam flooded your land
But been a new life for the rest of the valley
It was a good thing for many people
But to steal the land of the poor peasants
And for what? For a road to Mahmoud Bey Palace!
This is injustice
This is orders
And you obey orders without understanding what you are doing
It is the regime's orders
What regime? The British, The king, or Mahmoud Bey
Go away, get lost, you are just a whip, nothing more
Shut up, you are a rude peasant, I am your guest, you should be more polite
A guest!
If you came in peace you would be my guest
You are not a guest
No Abdel-Hadi
Come
What did you do?
He was protecting me
Abdel-Hadi, how did you get out?
Don't you fear the whips
Whips! Not even swords
You are tough person then
Wasifa, bring us Two sets of wood
I came to you to discuss About what is happening
We shouldn't hide in our houses like rabbits
We are losing the land
Here you are
Come
What should I do?
Show me how tough you are
God bless you Abdel-Hadi
I am afraid you hurt your hand
You see, I am still tough Abdel-Hadi
Please serve us two cup of tea
Nothing better than two cups of tea in the night, in the field
And the cotton looks like thousands of lanterns
So you are not afraid of the whips
No
Listen, I will gather the men and attack the camel rider guards
Sheikh Youssef has a gun
And you too father
I will go now to sheikh Hassouna And sheikh Youssef
I will gather all the men
And attack the camel rider guards
And women will attack too
Hey, hey
You talk as if you were planning together
Or is it that you plan this together
I think we should have dinner first
Dinner! We only have some corn flour for tomorrow
The corn flour we just borrowed
I don't care, make us a pie
You will love it Abdel-Hadi
And bring cream and cheese
Abu-Swelam!
Hey woman
I am the man here
Do as I say
Go on
Alright
Never let your wife have the last word Abdel-Hadi
What brought you here?
Good morning, I was …, Mahmoud Bey told me that …
What?
He will tell you
I am sorry I have to go
You mean that there is no mayor
It is done, sheikh Youssef will be the new mayor
Anything else?
Look how the artist can do so beautiful things
I wish some day those artists would be Egyptians
We have people that are starving
Starving! I don't think so, Maybe poor but not starving
You exaggerate
Mahmoud Bey you must listen
People will starve after you turn their land into a road
And the camel rider guards make things worse
They are only fifteen guards
And we will bring thirty police soldiers
And the road will not make people starve
On the contrary, it will make their life better
The road will bring electricity and freshwater
Civilization, you are an educated man and you should understand what I say
You take poor peasant's lands
That's life, there is a price for every move
And why them who must pay the price
Why not you and people like you
Oh, you are a revolutionist then
It is not good for you, And you can do nothing
Don't listen to those ignorant
Those are my people
I will personally consider not to harm your land
Peace be upon you
Boy , get sheikh Youssef a paper
Elwani , take care of sergeant Abdullah
Don't worry I offered him the best tobacco
This can't be a poor village with a shop like this in it
There is meat too
Let me pass
Give me flour and sugar in exchange for these two corncobs
Go away , let people by with money
You don't have money , So let people with money pass
Shame on you , have mercy
Give her what she wants
Go away or I will hit you
Listen, never raise a hand on me again
So pay for her then
You became a money-starved beast
I am thinking of leaving my job to get rid of the government dirty money
I am still the same old peasant
Abdel-Ati you are a guard not a peasant
And you are the new mayor
And I will not serve under you
You throw away your uniform!
Take this and give her what she wants
Save your money sergeant Abdullah
Go to my home and take what you want
Shame on you
Alright Bey, alright, alright
Here is the road, it was straight
Have your coffee sheikh Hassouna
But the straight road became snaky
To avoid the lands of powerful people
May god help helpless people
So could you avoid the land of someone like Abu-Swelam?
No, I can only do that for you
Abdel-Hadi, Abdel-Hadi
They are putting the billets in my father's land
Calm down Wasifa
Don't worry , we are all here
Sheikh Hassouna has to be here by now
Wait for me here
Alright
Diab, gather men and wait for me in Abu-Swelam's land
Come on guys
I want to join you Abdel-Hadi
Alright, gather men till sheikh Hassouna arrive
Wait for me Diab, I am with you 1073
Peace be upon you
And you too
Have a seat please
Excuse me, I am busy working
It is ok, do what you are doing
Alright
Haven't you seen Mohamed effendi?
There he is, Mohamed effendi
Hey you, get lost
I hope everything is fine
God knows what is best
God helps whose in need
I am sorry about what is happening
But it was orders
You are right, order must take place
We have all been through this
Whose the first land to be taken?
The poor Abu-Swelam
Would they take your land too sheikh Hassouna?
Sergeant Abdullah
What is it?
The sheriff wants you, And he is very angry
Excuse me, I have to see what does he wants?
Where are you going to?
They need men to build the road
Come on guys we already late
And you get lost
Shut up, don't you know who you are talking to?
He is sheikh Hassouna
We need work, we have children to feed
And they are taking the land
So we are not peasants anymore
Come on guys
Why don't you take her on a stroll, Stand up
Where is that bloody sergeant
He was just drinking tea with me a few minutes ago
Very nice, drinking tea with peasants!
Camel rider guards befriend peasants
That is chaos
Mr. Sheriff, the village has no mayor yet
Sergeant Abdullah is coming
Why the sheriff is here?
Not now
Who is this girl?
Why not working as a servant for me
She is … , here is sergeant Abdullah
Where have you been? You have made a fool out of yourself
And me too I will make a fool out of you
You are all fired, I will get police soldiers instead of you
Come on Abu-Swelam
We have to talk to sheikh Hassouna to decide what to do
God bless you my dear brother
Sheikh Hassouna
Where is your uncle?
I think he is at sheikh Youssef's shop
Attention
Father, the camel rider guards are leaving the village
Good-bye
Good-bye sergeant Abdullah
Please accept my gift, Some tea and sugar
We will miss you
Hey boys , get lost
It will be chaos
The camel riders will leave before the police soldiers came
Let me pass
Elwani, get those kids away
Sergeant Abdullah gives us some time
To collect cotton from the taken lands
We are still waiting sheikh Hassouna
Where is he?
Where is he? We need to act quickly
I am putting every pound in a paper
Alright but get out now
You are selling meat!
So what Abdel-Hadi?
Why I shouldn't
There are many workers that needs to eat
So you are taking advantage of our crisis
You are helping them building the road
For their filthy money
Money is better than exchanging with corncobs
And I don't care what the workers are doing in the village as long as they have money
That is my work, you should go work in your field
You sell yourself for money
Selling myself, are you out of your mind
You want me to quit my job
Alright, here is my money
Take it Abdel-Hadi, take my family's money
Collect your money sheikh Youssef
I am an old man, I have no son to work in my land
I don't have your strength
Nor your courage
And I have a daughter
I must leave her some money to spend when I die
Abu-Swelam too has no son and has a daughter, He even don't have a shop like you do
But he is still fighting
We are talking while the land is being taken
We have to go to sheikh Hassouna
No, no, we have to go to collect Abu-Swelam's cotton
We have to collect the cotton before the police soldiers arrive
Yes Mohamed effendi, everyone is after his interest
What do you mean?
Stop your devious talk
Listen all of you
Let Mohamed effendi tell you the truth
Tell them why there are no workers in you land
Go on see for yourselves
Let Mohamed effendi tell you how the road moved away from his land and his uncle's land
Sheikh Hassouna ask the road planners to avoid his land
Shut up
No I will not
Listen, listen all of you
Do you know where sheikh Hassouna is
He left the village
He has escaped
Come on guys
Come on Wasifa
Elwani, make us two cups of tea
It was a lousy morning
The tea is in the small box
You don't want to drink tea with me!
So take those sacks and go to collect Abu-Swelam's cotton
"If the land is thirsty..."
What do you want sweet girl
I acme to collect our cotton
Oh I see, you do whatever you want
But have some rest with me first
Abdel-Hadi
You beat your guest!
That is enough
You beat a woman!
Get lost or I will kill you
Shame on you
They are strangers, they don't care about us
Go and collect Abu-Swelam's cotton
Before the police soldiers came
Come on guys
Come on
We too have to help
"Nothing is better"
"Than the Nile cotton"
"When collected by the Nile girls"
"It is blessed by god"
Take care
I think Abu-Swelam may need those
They can be exchanged with some corn flour
Take this
The price of the cotton
Please take it
And take your time weighing the cotton crop
God help you
I am sorry for you
Really sorry 1227
Faster guys, tea is coming
Everyone will have tea
Drink Abdel-Hadi
Take care or you would burn me with the hot tea
What a girl
This will be an everlasting relation
Right Wasifa?
Hey you
I swear that will be the first to dance in your wedding
And the last who stop
Shame on sheikh Youssef
God damn him
He didn't give me machine made cigarettes
Tell me Abdel-Hadi
How could the respectable sheikh Hassouna do such a shameful thing?
He escaped
You can't understand him Elwani
You don't have land
Why don't you sell your land and buy sheep, I would take care of them for you
And we became partners
And no need to worry about the land
I am naked without my land
We all been born naked
No one born with his clothes on
Beware Abdel-Hadi
Run people
Run Mohamed effendi
Run folks
Beware Abdel-Hadi
Abdel-Hadi
You bastards
"If the land is thirsty we would irrigate it with our blood"
Tie this man
By his feet
The End