The answer is yes provided the Copts are willing to do what it takes to realize their true potential. Will it be easy? Of course it requires determination, hard work, discipline and willingness to share. Will it take a long time? I estimate that it will take at least a generation or two to accomplish this goal. However, it is a must. What should we do then? Recognizing the need and the problem at hand are essential ingredients in working together to establish the solution. Yes, Copts are used to suffer oppression through the ages. They learnt to cling to their families and the Church. However, this time is different. They are overtly harassed, the whole world is seeing that they are treated as second class citizens although they are the original owners of Egypt, and that this is not what was hoped for or what Democracy is all about. Their young are more and more aware of what other countries offer; they know their value and reject to be treated as slaves to the more powerful in the Egyptian society.
Immanuel Kant describes duty as “wondrous thought that works neither by fond insinuation, flattery nor by any threat, but merely by holding up the naked law in the soul”. We have to feel that we owe a better status to each other and to generations to come. Will it be easy? The answer is: of course not. How many years would it take to accomplish this desired status if we start now? It will take one or probably two generations to achieve our full potential. The recent elections of our Pope (the See of Saint Mark), was exemplary and showed the whole world that the Copts can be organized, transparent, disciplined and above board. However for the Copts to be dominant, it is not enough that they belong to a great Church but they must receive first class education, learn the meaning of sacrifice, be exemplary team players, give credit to the deserving others, take care of their bodies, eat healthy food and persevere in their quest for excellence and be proud to belong to the Coptic family at large.
Sixty years of despotic autocratic rule in Egypt exacted a heavy toll on the Christian minority in Egypt. Unless they cling to their glorious past and learn to become at the forefront of modern technology, pool their resources, focus on future generations and become the leaders in Egypt as well as in their adoptive societies they will never achieve their potential of excellence. Copts have one of the lowest divorce rates, one of the highest birth-rates and possess very favorable demographics. They can be an asset to any society. Let me be clear: it is not enough to cling to our Churches although this is a must. We must strive for excellence through helping each other. We must build schools and youth centers to care for the young. To let everyone of us fend for oneself is not a recipe to excel. It can be said that the present generation already carries a heavy burden but we must realize that we are the masters of our fate and that we have no other alternative; passivity will never get us to the promise land. Only through hard work and team effort can we achieve our goal. I must say that frequently I hear the phrase of “God willing”. God does not bless complacency but He rewards hard work, truth and sacrifice.
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Lotfy Basta MD, FRCP, FACC……..