The hand shook and the pen fell, bleeding love, ink, intellect, poetry and prose in the absence of the godfather of renewal. How could it not as it was seeking words that would fit the eulogy of Ghazi Algosaibi, the man whom the wide Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the great Arab nation have lost, along with many friends around the world. May Allah have mercy on your soul O Ghazi and may he grant patience to your wife, your children, your family and your parents. The news regarding the death of Abu Suheil surfaced on the morning of the fifth day of the holy month of Ramadan 1431, i.e. the month of mercy, forgiveness, goodness and blessings. May Allah have mercy on your soul O Ghazi. You were not lost by a small family O Abu Suheil, rather by each Arab mind seeking symbols of change, thought and appreciation. I looked at an old picture I have with Ghazi, the esteemed minister, poet and diplomat and was overwhelmed by a tempest of pain and sadness. I wept tears filled with love and admiration for the great man, without any objection toward Allah's wishes and will. I knew Algosaibi as a tireless man, always asking about everyone, examining expressions and words and encouraging each new thought and every new promoter of a bold project that places the interests of the country ahead of all others. I knew him for many years and every time I saw him, he was unchanged, loyal and great. I could even say that each time I saw him, I could feel his big heart, mind, diplomacy, liveliness and his love of knowledge and education. I knew him as an ambassador, before that as a minister, and after that as a minister. But before both, he was Ghazi, the educated human being, the poet and passionate novelist filled with love for work and all the people. Forgive me Abu Suheil, but the pen fell from my hand twice and thrice and tears of sadness and pain fell from my eyes, weeping the loss of such a different man, one who represented change and reconciliation with oneself, a man with one face in an era where faces are multiple and numerous and separated by wide distances and calculations. With his intellect, Ghazi reached at his fans and readers from the ocean to the Gulf in a way that was “unpaved” with flowers, after he faced the challenges of those with “calculations” and “anomalous” voices with capability and courage, not fictitiously, from behind “web” walls and under fake names as it was the case of others. Through his poetry, prose and ideas, Algosaibi aimed at building tolerant human beings, filled with love and concerned about the use of the mind to serve the people. Whenever he was asked questions, his answers were “Ghazians” and supported with evidence, inquiries and deep thinking. Ghazi departed after he was able to raise question and exclamation marks in the ranks of both the supporters and the detractors, because he carried one face which “oozed” honesty and had courage whenever he was engaged in a confrontation or resistance. Ghazi departed while I am still reading his new book, the “Attendant Minister,” and as his fans say, he is still among us writing freely. “Apartment Called Freedom,” “Al-Asfooryah,” “Denesco,” “Abu Shalakh Al-Barma'ai,” “Seven,” “Sa'adat al-Safir,” “Al-Jeneyyah,” “A Battle With No Flag,” “A Life in Administration,” “Ash'ar min Jaza'er al-Lu'lu',” “Aan Hazha w Zhak,” “Bye-Bye London,” “The Legend Diana,” “Aqwali al-Ghayr Ma'thura,” “Revolution In The Sunnah” and “Hatta la Takoun Fetna,” are living productions being read one generation after the other. Abu Suheil departed and his body was buried in Al-Oud cemetery in Riyadh, while in the heart of the storm both at the beginning and in the end. He lived and died as a difficult figure with a “hard” skull, which is why he will remain in the hearts that will keep beating with love for him. May Allah have mercy on the soul of Abu Suheil and may he grant his parents and family patience and consolation.
