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غزو المن (الدعسوقة)، قطعة الفول البلدي، المدرسة الثانوية البستانية (المعهد الفني المتخصص في إنتاج البستنة) مكناس
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Salah Arafa Oral History
No full textSalah Arafa was a faculty member teaching physics at the American University in Cairo for over half a century, starting in 1968, and founded and led the Basaisa and New Basaisa village development projects. He recalls his upbringing and education and his work for the national Atomic Energy Authority. According to Arafa, graduate study in Sweden involved interaction among individuals of different national backgrounds, influencing his personal life and inspiring the idea of village development projects. Arafa tells how contacts with AUC Science Department Chairman Adli Bishay led to his joining AUC, and describes the Science Department in his first three decades, including Bishay’s leadership, facilities like the downtown campus Science Building, and socializing among colleagues. The influence of the solid state science and physics programs on the emergence of electrical engineering at AUC, the division by the 2000s of the Science Department into Physics and other discipline-based departments, and the role of various Deans of the School of Sciences and Engineering are covered. Arafa outlines the growth of the Basaisa project from 1974, and the contributions of AUC (and visiting) faculty of various nationalities and disciplines, along with students and other volunteers who made weekend trips to work at the village near his delta hometown of Zagazig. He speaks of how he engaged local residents with the projects, and initiatives in areas like transportation, solar energy, and literacy. He explains the creation and goals of New Basaisa village on the Sinai coast, and residents’ agricultural and other work there. AUC and international funding agency support for the projects, Egyptian government contacts, and non-governmental organization (NGO) linkages at the local, national, and international levels are addressed. Arafa discusses his roles in the inception of the Desert Development Center and in establishing contact between AUC and later Nobel Prize Winner Ahmed Zewail. His prominent position in the 1990s lawsuit over mandatory retirement age for Egyptian faculty is also detailed. Other topics raised are students, the challenges posed by the New Cairo campus for fostering a sense of community, and opportunities for AUC to provide service to Egypt in areas like renewable energy