A few days ago, I officially ended my relationship with the world of finance, business, stocks, companies, bonds, contracts, and tenders after more than half a century. Throughout those years, my journey was filled with activity. I worked along with distinguished partners and faced many failures and significant losses. Yet, the outcome was positive, both financially and psychologically. I concluded my career with a good reputation, one I am proud of. It is enough for me that no one, whether a “jealous and spiteful” individual or a backward religious political party, managed to tarnish my name or condemn me, despite their power, connections, and information. I was never convicted, as they wished, of any violation or dishonorable act.
I have successfully navigated all my battles, sometimes alone, sometimes with the financial and moral support of my family, and more often with the backing of the Al-Qabas newspaper management and friends. Despite dozens of lawsuits filed against me by political, religious, quasigovernmental entities, individuals, and companies, I emerged from these “battles” with minimal blemishes and losses.
From my experience at Al-Qabas, I learned how to manage challenges, how a writer can be honest with himself, loyal to his readers, and often succeed in expressing his views without compromising the ideals and principles he believes in. This does not mean I am perfect in character or behavior.
I don’t claim to be flawless, but I can say that I have made a genuine effort to resist many temptations, sometimes at the expense of my partners’ interests. When one of them politely raised concerns about these impacts, I told them to accept me as I am, the full package, with all my strengths and weaknesses, both good and bad. I asked them not to expect me to be honest with them in business while being deceitful or corrupt in my writing, or vice versa. My principles required me to stand against those I believed threatened society, especially those who used religion as a cover to justify corruption and theft.
Writing for Al-Qabas has always been an enjoyable and rewarding experience, morally, psychologically, and socially. However, my articles have cost me friendships, which I do not regret, and have caused financial losses when some companies refused to do business with us because I criticized an official who, unfortunately, was part of the family owning a major company we worked with. I will never forget the beautiful moral experience I had when Walid Al-Nisf first became editor-in-chief of Al-Qabas. He politely apologized for publishing one of my articles that included sharp criticism of inappropriate behavior by a hotel in the capital.
Interestingly, this criticism could have benefited a competing hotel largely owned by the Al-Nisf family, yet he chose not to exploit the situation for personal gain. I also learned a great deal from the Al- Qabas institution, an organization I sometimes rebelled against, even stopping writing for several days.
From Al-Qabas, I gained linguistic, technical, and legal knowledge that helped me accept when they refused to publish many of my articles, despite the significant effort I put into writing them as a businessman rather than a professional columnist. I understood that Al-Qabas’ refusal to publish certain articles always came from a desire to protect both me and the newspaper from potential legal consequences. I revisit this point because, over the thirty years I wrote my columns, I was very careful not to use my platform to advance personal or commercial interests. On several occasions, I even wrote advice that went against my own interests. There are too many examples to list. My positions sometimes surprised people, including partners and friends, but that was a reflection of my rebellious nature.
Now, I will have more freedom in what I write, and this brings me a psychological relief I find hard to put into words. Anyone who has evidence of my dishonesty or “opportunism” in any government contract, even for a trivial amount, should present it now, or else remain silent forever.
By Ahmad alsarraf
email: [email protected]
email: [email protected]
