Without warning, cancer was able to write and political researcher Anisa Hassouna, a former deputy in the Egyptian Parliament, and announced his victory in his third round with her.
On Sunday morning, Anisa Hassouna passed away at the age of 69. During his last years, she spent a fierce battle against cancer, during which she was not a warrior facing a hidden disease that infiltrated her body with colorful images, but rather a leader who inspires others and gives them a weapon of hope so that they can confront.
Her permanent smile did not hide the feelings of fear and waiting for death. She was well aware that she was on a journey that would end in death. She was just trying to race time to reach the bruised hearts that had been afflicted with cancer, to tell them that life, despite its hustle, deserves to pay attention to its small details, which It may be enjoying looking at the faces of children and grandchildren, meeting friends, some humanitarian work, and a cup of coffee reminding us that the world has a pleasant taste despite its bitterness.
Who is Anissa Hassouna?
The Egyptians got to know Anisa Hassouna years ago as a writer and political researcher, who appears in a number of television interviews, speaking about the problems of Egyptian women, defending the women’s quota in parliament, and the rights of the simple, and she has many articles that dealt with the political and social situation in Egypt, and the need to accept the other opinion even Opposition does not become a notorious word.
Anisa Hassouna is the daughter of Counselor Essam Hassouna, Minister of Justice under former President Gamal Abdel Nasser in the 1960s. It was not surprising that Anisa was raised as a warrior, well aware that human battles need courage without hesitation. Her father is the one who issued his decision to cancel the execution Rulings of forced obedience by police force as part of changes to the Personal Status Law in February 1967, where he asserted in his memoirs, “My mind did not accept that this ruling be attributed to the rulings of religion.”
Anisa, as a girl who graduated from the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, had a rich history in the international political field, as she began her work as a diplomatic attaché in the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then worked for 14 years in the Council of Arab Economic Unity - the League of Arab States.
She then held the position of Director General of the "Egypt International Economic Forum", then of the Misr Iran Development Bank, Assistant Director General, and then worked as General Manager of the Egypt International Economic Forum.
She also worked as a lecturer at the Diplomatic Institute in the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
She also held several positions, including as Treasurer of the International IDEA Advisory Board for West Asia and North Africa on Democratic Transition.
She was a member of many advisory bodies for thought, freedom and women in Egypt, the Arab world and the world. She is the founder of "Women for Peace Across the World" in Switzerland, and the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the "Enlightened Egypt Foundation" that works to support the values of citizenship, freedom of expression and women's rights.
She was the first woman to be elected Secretary-General of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, and was chosen by the "Arabian Business" magazine in 2014 on its annual list of the 100 most powerful Arab women in the world, in the field of society and culture.
A few years ago, I announced the establishment of the People's Hospital to treat children free of charge.
Anisa Hassouna was a fierce fighter against a malicious disease for 7 years (Egyptian press)
spring flowering tree
When reading the high-ranking and leadership positions held by public figures, you may pass by them, given that their owners are strong enough to achieve the tasks they are entrusted with, by virtue of experience, visions and goals, and you do not know what is going on behind the scenes in their lives.
But Anisa Hassouna was not just a political researcher, writer and defender of women’s rights, who appears in television interviews blaming society and the simple people, but rather she was like the spring trees that spread the colors of roses in the air and send joy and messages of hope that all adversities will disappear if we have faith.
In 2013, among the celebrities and stars who volunteered to participate in the donation announcements to Dr. Magdi Yacoub Hospital for Heart Diseases, Anisa drew attention with her calm voice, dreamy smile and her belief in the ability of Egyptians to give to save the hearts of young people.
Anisa was the executive director of the Cardiac Surgery Center in Aswan, and despite her administrative role and her solid personality, the mother’s voice was the one who spoke at the time, calling on viewers to donate to treat children’s hearts, so she stole hearts with moving words, until she became an essential icon in the promotion and financing of this unique medical edifice that serves the countries of the world Arabia and the Middle East.
Violent transformations "without warning"
Anisa did not know that she was on a date with a heavy guest that no one wanted to receive. It is cancer that takes away joy from the lives of its victims and their lovers. Cancer was paving her an unpaved path full of shocks and pains, but fates had other gifts that remove thorns from her path.
After the founding years, Anisa Hassouna suffered a psychological shock, which she described in more than one television interview as a stab in the heart, when she was dismissed from her position at the Magdi Yacoub Foundation, despite her attempt to continue her humanitarian role in the hospital.
It does not seem that this stage in her life was just a setback, but rather a violent crisis that shook her stakes, especially when she learned that she had cancer.
Anisa, who is very keen to get regular medical examinations, insisted that her feeling of oppression was one of the factors that caused her cancer, and confirmed in more than one interview that the doctors supported her opinion in a way, stressing that extreme sadness does not leave its prey without deep psychological and physical wounds.
And here is the cancer announcing its presence in her body, and fiercely laying its foundations.
Sharif and the girls
Stop the tape in a fixed position
Now we can check out the view
Not a single detail is missing
And everything says and sells
Without words or sound
Perhaps the words of the poet Salah Jaheen are the most expressive of the minutes that Anisa Hassouna went through when the doctor told her sluggishly that she had cancer, despite her family's attempts to hide the news from her until the results of the tests were confirmed.
In heavy moments, drawing the air around you, and throwing mountains of hidden loads that make you feel helpless in front of their hateful weight, Anisa tried to find in denial an escape from the silent enemy who the doctors tell her that he occupied her body without permission, declaring his desire to begin his eternal mission of destruction, Questions fell on her head like rain, why me?
It is not an objection to predestination, but rather an accountability for the soul that does not know whether it is a test or a punishment for a mistake?
Well, I'll get over it, and the doctor told her that the rest of her life is 5 years, maybe less.
The husband, Sharif Naji, did not let those scattered thoughts distract his goals in saving his beloved wife, there was no time to cry, and if he imposed himself on her in all the sad nights, when she kept thinking about the sweet pleasures that she would be deprived of if cancer triumphed over her, the most important of which is “Sherif, daughters and grandchildren.” ".
Anisa Hassouna says about her experience with cancer that she decided to face the last breath because she was not yet satisfied with her two daughters and grandchildren, and that this life deserves to be fought in for a last hug from her loved ones.
Do not trust your enemy, for there is no solid ground with cancer, the patient always stands on a smooth, loose surface, he may fall into it in days or years, and lucky is he who defeats him again and again.
If confrontation is unavoidable, priorities should be reviewed, and support should be sought in the very limited circle of loved ones.
The husband, Sherif Naji, and the two daughters, Salma and Maha, were the faces that Anisa that the messages of reassurance and security were looking for.
Body and soul pain
After a critical surgery that Anisa performed for 12 hours, during which she removed the uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, parts of the stomach and intestines, and some cancerous foci, she began to experience pain. She did not imagine that the patient woman would scream so many days.
I followed her through the stages of chemotherapy, which made her lose her strength, and she fell for the first time, which she thought was stronger than the collapse, the moment she knew that this treatment that would help her get rid of cancer would also affect her strength.
After recovering from her first cancer experience, Anisa Hassouna decided to write her experience to instill hope in the hearts of cancer fighters, and perhaps to remind herself every time that she had achieved an achievement worth being proud of, despite the doctor's clear messages that she would die within 5 years.
Anissa's smile kept her from 2015 until the end, but her tender feelings were overpowering her in the form of tears as she said that cancer did not give up, so she surprised her again, to declare bravely that she would face it and would not raise the white flag.
In the mercy and safety of God..Perfect humanity, the struggler of good and the reparation of people's thoughts d.
Anissa Hassouna.
— Omar Taher (@omertaher) March 13, 2022
Sad news of the death of Dr.
Anisa Hassouna, she was one of the most beautiful people I met in my life. My condolences to all her relatives and lovers.
pic.twitter.com/cktGfRMCx3
— Amr Salama (@amrmsalama) March 13, 2022
But despite the steely will of Anisa Hassouna, nicknamed the Ambassador of Hearts, fate wrote the last word, as there is no longer a place in this heart for more pain, especially after the third round in which the cancer bared its teeth, rejecting the previous defeats in the previous two rounds.
Anisa Hassouna says that she was watching an old Arab movie by the artist Faten Hamama about a woman who was told by doctors that she would die in the spring. Anisa kept looking at a tree in front of her house, telling her: Will I live until next spring when your flowers bloom or will my leaves fall?
Death was present in all cases, so a woman who spread hope in hearts for many years quietly surrendered, and she faced cancer with love and faith.
Even if he took her life from her, he did not deprive her of enjoying the gifts of heaven, which were represented in the support and supplications of everyone who knew her or witnessed her.
When your country pats your shoulder and says thank you for your efforts, what would you ask for more than that?
I am honored and pleased to inform you that I was honored today by Mrs. Intisar
Al-Sisi, wife of the president, as CEO of People’s Hospital for Children .
— Anissa Hassouna (@AnissaHassouna) March 8, 2022
Today, Anisa Hassouna, the flowering tree of spring, passed away, leaving behind in her experience, which she wrote in the book "Without Warning... My Cancer Story", situations full of hope, love and re-calculation.
In a message that during the struggle with calamities, we always have a space for those we love, so do not be distracted by your priorities.