My father, Aref Saleh Fattouh (d. 1987) - Heaven rest his soul - came from a rather large family. His father, Saleh Effendi, could trace his ancestry back to the first Fattouh, through some 8 or 12 names. He had 10 brothers and sisters all in all. And yet was not very sociable. All of his life, my father had been his own man: independent but quiet. I suppose I've inherited not a few of his traits. His facial features, the color of his skin, some of his mannerisms, and not least, his bad "r".
Dad was tall, with silvery hair, and a thick moustache. In his appearance, he was always quite conservative. I don't recall ever seeing him in a colored shirt. A suit and a neck-tie for most of the year was how he dressed.
Everyone referred to him as "el-Ustaz", including all of my mother's family. He started work at a very early age, 18 or 19, and has practically covered Egypt from end to end. He knew Alex like the back of his hand.
He was intelligent, tolerant and quite well-read. He could recite the Quran as well as the Bible, both old and New Testaments, with ease and grace. He gradually went up the hierarchy of the Central Auditing Department, from bottom till top. He was well-loved and respected, and yet remained somewhat aloof from friends and colleagues.
He was first and foremost a family-man. When he wasn't home, you could bet he was visiting his mother, his sister and - no more than once a year - a brother or a relative.
A lot of my self-confidence I trace back to his mode of upbringing. He treated us all with love and affection, and in my case, he was always encouraging, and showed a faith in my ability and intelligence from my early childhood onwards. It was Dad who bought me my first Tarzan-book and got me interested in reading when I was about nine. He encouraged me to read, and discussed things with me as though with an equal. When I started getting interested in music he bought me my first lot of records. About 40 records at one go!
During my years of study at the American University in Cairo, he transfered to the Capital just to keep me company.
The amazing thing is that he kept this up for all six of us. He'd accompany Emad to all the entrance exams for the Police Academy. He'd accompany Manal to and from the airport during the time she worked as an air-hostess.
His tolerance and his kindness, as well as a general sense of contentment, has given each one of his children, besides ambition, a strong sense of belonging and a faith in one's abilities. He passed away while I was studying in the States. When I felt he was sick, I asked if I should come, and his response was simply that he'd rather I concentrate on my PhD, and that he was thinking of paying me a visit in America. The following day he passed away ...
I believe that all my sisters and my borther owe whatever success we've achieved in our lives to the loving care we enjoyed from him, from the moment of birth and until he passed away.