Party's Gone? Patria Too

By Hichem Karoui

Nothing in Bassam Bourasin's story is what it seems to be. We may deduce this from Part One of The Morning of the Mogul. Part Two reveals that the novel's narrator, the events and characters, the country itself, time, and space are all warped or have numerous levels and dimensions. What is real? What isn't?
In Book (5), Bassam Bourasin witnesses an insurgency overthrowing a dictatorship to install another in the name of religion. As he analyses the events leading up to his detention, he begins to assume that his "angels" are members of the invisible state police and the Muslim Brothelhood. Had he misinterpreted the cause of his incarceration? Is he really innocent, or is he a pawn in a larger game? Who is controlling the events and the characters in the background? If he indeed worked for the old regime, he is in grave danger. For the time being, the Islamist state has been proclaimed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hichem Karoui
• Release date: Nov 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005522421

Hichem Karoui

Writer /Journalist/ Senior Researcher: LondonPublished over 30 books and counting, (translations not included).Authored co-authored, edited, and published hundreds of daily/ weekly/ monthly briefings, reports and analyses, peer-reviewed articles, monographs, and books, about MENA region and international politics.Participated in many international conferences, either on the panel, as a member of the organizing team, or as a journalist.Has been involved with the media since his early career, thus serving in different posts: reporter, investigation journalist, copy editor, cultural journalism, political journalism, editorialist, and Executive Editor.Translated several books/documents. Also reviewed translations for publishers.Member of several academic boards.Veteran columnist and commentator for the media.Ranking in the top 10%of Authors by all-time downloads on Social Science Research Network.Research interestsRegional and international relations: MENA-Europe. USA, China, and major powers. Islam and Islamism issues. Power building, political risks, and conflicts.2022 Founder and Director of the Global East-West LTD (London)2020 Executive Director at The Gulf Futures Center (GFC) in London/ Senior Researcher.2018 Senior Fellow (Non-Resident) Charigo Center for International Economic Cooperation (CCIEC, Beijing). International Relations Consultant for CIBD (London).2016 Consultant for Underscore Media, EPC (UAE). Europe and MENA Region. And Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Center for China and Globalization. Beijing. China.Since 2015 Columnist-commentator, and free-lance analyst for varied media outlets: CGTN (ex-CCTV) News, Beijing Review.October 2013- 2019 Consultant at the Diplomatic Institute, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Doha, Qatar.Until July 2013 Newspaper Columnist for The Gulf Today (UAE) and Al-Madinah (KSA).2011- 2013 Fellow Researcher at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (Doha, Qatar): Coordinator of the Political Unit. Head of Electronic publishing.Until August 2011 Centre d’Etudes de l’Orient contemporain (Contemporary Orient Studies Center: Sorbonne University, Paris). Columnist and Paris Bureau Chief of Al-Arab Daily Newspaper (London).2009, a researcher at the Sorbonne’s Center for contemporary orient studies (Paris III), founded and edited a peer-reviewed academic journal, Middle East Studies, in which several renowned scholars have served as members of the international Editorial Board.Journalist2015-2017 Free-lance columnist for CCTV Panview; CGTN; Beijing Review; Chine-Afrique (Chinafrica)...Etc.2009-2013 Columnist for the English-speaking daily, The Gulf Today (UAE).1998 – 2011 (Paris)Columnist for “Awan” (Koweït) and al-Khaleej (UAE).France Editor for World Security Network (New York).Daily column « Trends » for “Al Arab” newspaper. London.Contributor for varied Arabic, English, and French-speaking media outlets:Arab News (Jeddah).Al Sharq al Awsat (London).Middle East Intelligence Bulletin (New York).Arab Media Internet Network (Internews-Middle East).Media Monitors Network (California).Palestine Chronicle (Seattle).Middle-East News Online (N.Carolina).Middle East Online (London). Etc.1993-1998 (Tunis-based) Writing a daily column (Tayyarat: Trends) for « Al Arab », London.1986-1992 (Tunis) Correspondent and international reporter for varied Arabic and non-Arabic media outlets, among which: Afaq Arabiyya, Alif Ba, al Thawra (Iraq), Le Monde diplomatique (France)...Translated books.1982- 1985 (Tunis) Reporter and Editor for the independent weekly “Réalités”. International Affairs Columnist and Political analyst for “Al Amal”. Contributed articles for “Etudes internationales”, Journal of the International Studies association. Tunis. Contributed articles also for Al Fikr, al Fikr al Arabi (Beirut), Al Hayat al Thaqafiyya, al-Maghrib al Arabi, Al Wahda (Morocco), etc....Translated books for varied publishers.1979-1981(Beirut-Based) Editor in charge of cultural pages of « Al Mouqif al Arabi », a weekly Lebanese magazine. Translated literary books for Beirut publishers.

Book preview

Hichem Karoui

Party's Gone? Patria Too

A wise report to a wise minister by a wise citizen

(A serialised novel)

Volumes in this series published by Global East-West (London)

Part One: The Secret Report

1.     Arrival

2.     James Bond in Jail

3.     Couvolution and Cooks' Conspiracy

4.     Muslim Brothelhood in the Bastille

Forthcoming in the same series:

Part Two:

Glorious Days in the Golden Age

5.  Party's Gone? Patria Too

The Morning of the

Mogul

PART TWO:

Glorious Days in the Golden Age

Book (5):

Party's Gone? Patria Too

Copyright © 2022 Hichem Karoui

Global East-West for Studies and Publishing (London).

https://global-east-west.co.uk/

The cover design is a genuine acrylic work by

Chunling Yu

All rights reserved.

Logo Description automatically generated

Dedication

Note of the publisher

Note of the author

Chapter (1)

Chapter (2)

Chapter (3)

Chapter (4)

Chapter (5)

Chapter (6)

Chapter (7)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dedication

To the memory of Nana ... Beloved mother...

You are always in my heart.

May you rest in eternal peace.

Note of the publisher

This is Mister Bassam Bourasin's admitted report as a citizen of His republic. He didn't give it a name. He initially addressed it to the Interior Ministry. Instead, it landed on my desk. I publish it as is, with no major changes to its form or content. However, because the report is around 800 pages long, it will be serialised. You will find here the fifth book, Party's Gone? Patria Too, starting Part Two: Glorious Days in the Golden Age.

I also have to notice that this is a translation. The first draft was written in Arabic. The author had no intention of publishing it. In any case, it is understandably unpublishable in the country... for the same reasons that silence any samizdat.

Hichem Karoui

Note of the author

All of the individuals in my story, as well as the country, are not made up. However, even if some characters claim to be more fictive or strange, more crazy or foolish than others, they are not required to justify their location. My country can be found throughout the Arab world. Whatever name people give it, if you pay attention, you won't notice a difference.

Bassam Bourasin

"Nobody did a secret deal

Nobody was for sale

Nobody bent the rules at all

And nobody went to jail

And all of them were honest men

As white as driven snow

And lived on a higher plane

And shat on those below..."

Roger Woddis: All Clear

A nd so, what could my sterile and uncouth genius beget but the tale of a dry, shrivelled, whimsical offspring, full of old fancies such as never entered another’s brain — just what might be begotten in prison, where every discomfort is lodged, and every dismal noise has its dwelling?

Cervantes : Don Quixote (Prologue)

Chapter (1)

Aweek later...

I have witnessed the most significant counter-Couvolution in this country's contemporary history, which has no precedent or parallel. I saw the new Couvolution sneaking into this secure prison through holes in the security system. I will no longer use the name hotel to embellish or embalm the awful environment where I have been forced to dwell for several months. I'm still waiting for my trial, or at the very least, a judicial interrogation. However, I know that the Administration is too preoccupied to be able to treat my case. The courts will be working full-time in the next few days to deal with the issues of the treacherous collaborators who brazenly supported the vile government of the putschist who had taken power from his master, the monarch. The republic of our former beloved General President would have lasted only a few months and days. I've always suspected that such a tyrannical administration couldn't continue for long. It was only an intermission, as evidenced by the cooks' plot I discovered in the jail kitchens. So many things that seemed unclear to me at the time have now come to light. The sheep, for example, had been slaughtered, cooked, and even eaten, and I wonder who else he might be if he wasn't the warden of this prison.

Truth be told, I had no idea that the conspiracy I could smell wafting from the cooks was so pervasive beyond these massive walls. It was insane to suppose the former president could be deposed in a coup since he was so popular and well-protected. True, I never had any genuine affection for him, but I foolishly assumed widespread public approval after witnessing the media's obsession with him. I knew I couldn't be an outlier, so I chose to praise him along with my bank's boss if doing so would boost our company's success, which it eventually did, albeit momentarily. Furthermore, I memorised portions of his ranting speeches not because I admired him — what business did I have betting on misplaced admiration for an ignorant swine who usurped power? — but because I felt obligated to be loyal to the administration, the head of which was the president, even if it was a burned head. Though I've never engaged in sycophancy or attempted to ingratiate myself with influential members of my community, I've also never been able to avoid the attention of those in positions of power. Simply put, I don't like hypocrites who sit at every table and spit in the broth. A day ago, they were willing to die for the