132
CAIRO TO DAMASCUS
mad about money, power, imperialism. Men who think only
of violence, revolution, dictatorship!"
"RUSSIA WILL NOT FAIL US"
DR. MANDOUR told me about El Gamaheer, a Communist
weekly. It was edited by the son of a rich landowner,
Mahmoud Nabaoui. "His father is influential. The police are
afraid that keeping him in jail will make a scandal," Dr.
Mandour said.
My hunt for Nabaoui led me to the top floor of a tenement.
I had to sell myself as a Wallace-booster and pro-Communist
before I was admitted. Once in, I found myself in a room with
a printing press, and had no difficulty in convincing a half
dozen youths that it was important for me to contact
Mahmoud Nabaoui. El Gamaheer (meaning The People)
was a lurid affair, with the front and back covers printed in
red ink, and carrying the usual wild party-line illustrations.
I met Nabaoui in a cafe, and we sat at a corner table for a
quiet talk. He was a mousy type, twenty-six years old but looking younger. He had a short haircut, unusually deep-set eyes.
"Russia will not fail us," he said in answer to my question.
"I believe Russia will always support any movement which
will help the Egyptian people. . . . But we will not talk of
that now."
What plans were there for the establishment of popular
democracy in Egypt?
"We would like to achieve democracy the right way, by
agitation," he answered. "The use of force and other tactics
will be decided when the correct time comes. We cannot tell
now what we will do." Nabaoui confirmed Ramli's observation that the majority of labor organizers were Communist,
while about fifteen per cent were influential members of
Ikhwan el Muslimin. "We already have 150,000 industrial