This was no surprise for the people close to Hamdin Sabahi or those who witnessed his “political" beginnings at the faculty of media in the Cairo University. Since the mid-1970s when he first established, along with others, the Nasseri Club, his colleagues dealt with him on the basis that he was the “president." The famous incident of his clash with Former President Anwar Sadat when Sabahi was the vice president of the Egyptian student's union served to highlight him as a prominent politician although he was still only a college senior student. Back then, the political activity in universities used to sculpt the young men and create politicians in addition to pinpointing those who have the necessary qualifications to take up political work. The animosity between Sadat, his opponents in general and the Nasserists in particular was limitless. And because the partisan system was not yet in place and also because civil work was hindered, the universities used to constitute a vibrant melting pot constantly gorged with all sorts of political factions. Sadat's animosity against the Nasserists and the Leftists served to restore the life to the Islamic movement. But on the other hand, the scene at the Cairo University was reiterative in a quasi-daily fashion: Hamdin Sabahi and some Nasserists would stand in front of wall posters and paintings they had hung on the walls of the building hosting the faculty of economic and political sciences. The faculty of information used to occupy the fourth floor in that building. Some students would also gather around and a dialogue would be held, followed by chants. Then, some intelligence agents would arrive from behind the building and beat everybody up with chains and whips thus initiating a process of hit-and-run and clashes... Days, months, and years have elapsed; but Hamdin Sabahi still visits his faculty and works on consolidating his relations with the youth and the new students who end up calling him “President Hamdin." The latter was looking into the possibility of getting appointed as a lecturer in the faculty but the security forces refused that. Sabahi lived on campus throughout his four years of studies since he was not from the capital. He used to take part in “dialogue rounds" with his colleagues. And even after his graduation, he kept on going there since there was a place for everybody. However, the meetings took place in the room of another Nasserist student. Hamdin wished to work in his field of studies, i.e. journalism. However, he was blacklisted and thus no national newspaper hired him, nor was he hired by the official television. In addition, his political identity did not allow him to work for any of the partisan newspapers that started to emerge prior to the killing of Sadat. He waited until he was appointed to work as a librarian at the Dar al-Kitab to move permanently to Cairo. The rates of the apartments there did not correspond to his limited income; thus, he went to live in the Al-Kanater suburb at the Al-Kalioubiya governorate, which requires a commute of more than two hours daily. But the job served to enhance his talents in writing poetry and short stories and in painting (if you go to his house, you will see his own paintings hanging on the walls). Some are wondering how Sabahi obtained all these votes from the Port Said governorate, the stronghold of the Brothers and the businessmen?! The answer is that he married an “activist" from Port Said, Mrs. Siham Najm, a graduate of the faculty of commerce and an active member of the Nasserist Club. The club's activities had decreased following the emergence of the Nasserist Party. Sabahi was one of the founders along with the late Farid Abdel Karim who passed away before the party was licensed. Thus, the party was headed by Diaeldin Daoud. However, Sabahi's charisma and progressive ideas prevented him from obtaining a leading position in the party. He thus left and opted for working in the street with the lay people. He then became a constant in every protest against normalization with Israel, rise in prices, corruption, or injustice. Therefore, he naturally became a target of the security forces and he was arrested on several instances. When he ran for the parliamentary elections, he obtained the majority of the votes in the Baltim region, where large numbers of fishermen thought that Sabahi is one of them. Before this, he had worked as a reporter for the Emirati Al-Khaleej newspaper for a while. He then opened the Sa'ed Journalism center and he ran it with his Nasserist colleagues along with non-Nasserist staff members. Does his obtaining of so many votes mean that Egypt has become Nasserist? In fact, Sabahi took the pros and advantages of Nasserism and he relinquished its flaws after having admitted them in order to prevent the haters of Abdel Nasser from making criticisms. Sabahi's speech was simple and popular. He never made any unjustified attack against the military council and he never outbid the rebels or took advantage of the revolution. Thus, he naturally became a symbol of the revolution rather than the Nasserism and also a model for the rebels rather than the Nasseris. The title of “President Hamdin" that his colleagues had granted him three decades ago thus sought him.
