Nasser's Speech at a Youth Camp in Marsa Matrouh in 1953

Translated by Shams Yousry

Reviewed by Mariam Essa

It is a fortunate opportunity for me to visit your camp and meet your youth. I was deeply impressed by the play you performed, as it is a vivid example of what is happening in our Egyptian society nowadays. Some people only want to obtain their rights, yet they do not think about the duties they owe.

You, youth I address, are the ones who can lead the nation toward its aims and goals. Therefore, each of you must know your duties before your rights. Every person should have faith in themselves. No matter what hardships you encounter, you should not stop or turn away from your path.

As long as we move forward on the path we have chosen for our progress and abide by the national principles of the revolution, we will reach our aims and achieve our goals.

Everyone encounters hardships; yet whoever is determined to move forward and abide by sound principles will surely reach their purpose.

Each of us must have faith in ourselves and our capabilities. There is no difference between the rich and poor or the weak and strong. A good citizen who believes in high values can influence their environment powerfully and productively. The reason for our backwardness and suffering in the past was that we did not have faith in ourselves.

A person who lives in modest accommodation may have a better influence on their community than someone who lives in a palace.

Some people may ask: What is my influence on society if my abilities are limited? They should know that good deeds and positive influence have great results. A nation is made up of individuals. If individuals rise, the nation rises.

In the past years, we developed some bad habits, such as selfishness. Selfishness is still common. Envy and hatred are still present. When someone succeeds, others try to destroy them instead of helping and encouraging them. Therefore, mutual trust, supporting our friends and doing everything we can to encourage others to work are vital for the progress and success of our nation.

Until now, we cannot say that we have achieved full progress or completed a real revolution. The teachings of Dunlop, the British official, still permeate our system of education and his policies remain widespread in our cultural environments.

If each of us works within their own place to raise the standard of others around them, the nation will finally benefit from a collective of sound efforts; the results will lead to a better standard of living for everyone.

Today we stand at the beginning of a long path. We want all people to believe in themselves, work, produce and understand their duties before their rights. We must keep these principles in our minds to reach the top of our national progress.

Our population is 22 million. How many of them have reached a high level of development? The class that lives a decent life is solely three million people. The other 19 million farmers are poor, barefoot and destitute.

Each of us must look at the farmer from a different perspective than in the past. Anyone could have been born in their circumstances. Thus, we must work together to improve the farmer’s conditions in every respect: culturally, economically, medically, and socially.

Our focus is now directed toward implementing wide-scale development projects that will provide decent living conditions for all Egyptians, especially farmers. We should not focus only on the small number of educated people. When we judge a nation, we do not judge it by its minority, three million educated individuals or those who live comfortably, but rather by the condition of the majority of the population.

If we consider that most of our people are poor, uneducated and sick, and if we help each other and abandon selfishness, we will advance the whole nation and all its social groups.

This is the mission that youth must work to achieve. The burden rests upon your shoulders. You must abandon selfishness, trust yourselves and believe that you can work for the contentment and progress of the people as long as you understand your duties toward them.

After that, a student approached the Vice President, asking him to write a message in the camp magazine. He wrote the following:

"I am delighted to see Egyptian youth following the path of self-reliance. I hope that we always move toward excellence. The more we devote and believe in work, the more we will see production with quality and excellence. I hope that the Youth Department in the Ministry of Education increases the number of these camps so that more students can enjoy this athletic life."

English Language Coordinator: Mariam Essa