EGID

• Daniel-paul Khalil, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2017

Omar Salah was born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1928. His father was a coal trader who loved Omar very much. Omar’s mother was a housewife who looked after Omar and his three brothers, Sammy, Abdu and Yahiya. Omar was very smart person, even though he didn’t get much education after his father’s death in 1937, eventually, his three brothers kicked him out of their house because they didn’t have enough money to pay for all four of them.

After this, Omar relied on the black market, and used fake passports, one stating he’s British and is named John Pratt, another stating he’s French and is named Arthur Cordonnier. He also later got an Israeli passport saying his name is Levy Cohen. Omar went to many countries and spoke many languages and escaped from jail many times with different names, but this time, he couldn’t escape.

1953, Libyan boarders,

After asking the Arabs for their passports, the British officer thoroughly searched the tattered truck the Arabs were driving. With suspicion, he slowly grasped a sheet that was at the back of the trailer and steadily lifted it, and revealed a person that was uncomfortably sleeping. With shock and confusion, the officer hurried for his rifle and aimed at the tired figure. Omar wearily opened his eyes, and rubbed them so that he could see clearer, then when he saw the officer, he quickly arose; almost straining himself in the process then gave him a perplexed look.

“Who’s this?” the officer asked
Then the Arabs replied, “we don’t know him, we just gave him a ride, but it’s fine, he has a passport.”
“Yes I do.” Omar admitted, and then gave the passport to the officer, who violently snatched it off him, keeping eye contact. The officer chuckled, then asked for Omar’s name, showing doubt. “John Pratt, is there something wrong officer?” Omar confidently asked, in fluent English. Unfortunately, because Omar sweated like a dog in his journey to Libya, it wiped the name off his fake passport, and so, thinking Omar was Israeli, the officer arrested him and sent him to the Egyptian intelligence.

EGID, Cairo,

“What is your real name!” one of the police screamed. Recovering from his near busted eardrum, Omar replied,
“Again, I told you a thousand times, my name is Levy Cohen.”
“Your Egyptian, and your name is Levy Cohen?” The officer asked, proud of his question.
After his meeting with EGID, Medhat Abdulla, one of the officers that he saw in EGID trained him to speak Jewish, and made him have strong relation ships with the Jews in Egypt.

“I know what you want from me, you want me to spy on the Jews in Egypt, right, well it will be easy, I know them all-“
“No Omar.” Medhat interrupted. Omar’s face grimaced, and showed confusion, like a child expecting a present and not receiving it, Omar showed disappointment. “I want you to spy on the Jews in Israel, Omar.”

Omar became the first Egyptian spy.