By MP and Journalist Osama Sharshar
In an evening where warmth intertwined with diplomacy, and nostalgia met respect, MP and journalist Osama Sharshar bade farewell to Ambassador Tarek Al-Ansari, Qatar’s Ambassador to Egypt and Permanent Representative to the Arab League — a man who carried in his veins the Nile of Egypt and the Gulf of Arabia, whose voice united two shores, and whose spirit embodied the finest essence of Arab brotherhood.
Ambassador Al-Ansari rekindled the vigor of Egyptian-Qatari relations, turning the Qatari Embassy in Cairo, the City of Al-Mu‘izz, into a welcoming home where intellectuals and journalists from every background gathered. The embassy became a forum for dialogue and awareness, a platform for the Palestinian cause, and a haven for Arab thought and creativity.
In a deeply emotional farewell, an elite gathering of diplomats, journalists, and writers attended, led by Deputy Ambassador Maryam Al-Sheti and Ambassador Ahmed Rashid Khattabi, Assistant Secretary-General of the Arab League for Media Affairs. Among the distinguished guests were Jassim Fakhro, Alaa El-Shafie, Abdel Latif El-Manawy, Abdel Rahman Suleiman, Ashraf AboArafeh, Ibrahim El-Naggar, Ashraf Mahmoud, Haya Abdoun, Atef Suleiman, and Warda El-Husseiny — a constellation of media voices united in gratitude and affection.
Ambassador Al-Ansari was not a mere diplomat passing through Cairo’s corridors of diplomacy. He was a bridge of trust and esteem, restoring the depth and vitality of bilateral ties between Egypt and Qatar. His unwavering support for Egyptian diplomats during his earlier service in New York reflected his deep belief in Arab unity and shared destiny.
The Ambassador may depart in body,
but his deeds remain in our hearts…
Poetry departs — yet the verse stands as witness to a noble time.
Then came the parting poem — a whisper of feeling that transcended protocol and touched the soul:
Poetry departs,
and the verses erase us — they do not wait.
Poetry departs,
and all we hold are trembling hands meeting at farewell.
Who am I — O ache of the wandering dream within truth’s embrace?
The lands grew narrow;
nothing holds us anymore.
Poetry departs…
The Ambassador departed as a man, yet remained as meaning —
his legacy etched in the hearts of those he touched,
just as a poem lingers long after its poet is gone.
Tarek Al-Ansari did not truly leave;
he left behind in Egypt a verse of brotherhood that never ends.
