Loading ...US Navy Sings Egyptian Patriotic Song in Arabic to Hegazy
BY: Nisreen Eadeh/Staff Writer
Resurfacing on the Internet this week is a video of the U.S. Navy Chorus, the Sea Chanters, entertaining Egyptian Army Chief Hegazy during his visit to America in May.
The video of the Navy band’s performance was published in late November, where it’s been picking up steam across the U.S. and Egypt.
The Navy performed the well known patriotic song “Feha Haga Helwa” (There is Something Sweet About It) in Egyptian Arabic to the delegation. The song first appeared in Egypt in the 2010 film “Assal Eswed” (Black Honey). It was written by prominent Egyptian composer, Omar Khairat, and sung by Riham Abdelhakim.
“It is our pleasure to perform this special song which celebrates the beauty, enticing culture, and sweet spirit found throughout the land of Egypt,” said one of the chorus members before the performance.
Lieutenant General Mahmoud Hegazy was visiting at the time to discuss the latest developments in the War on Terror with the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joseph Dunford. Hegazy also came to discuss increasing military cooperation between the U.S. and Egypt. Currently, Egypt receives the second largest foreign aid package from the U.S., behind Israel. But in 2013, President Obama froze that aid after Abdel Fattah el-Sisi led a military coup against democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi.
Since the coup, tensions between the U.S. and Egypt have been high, but small gestures such as this performance are evidence of the strong foundation in which their relationship is built upon.
Comments under the videos have been generally kind. Many people are surprised to hear non-native Arabic speakers sing in Arabic so well. Others see the video as a beautiful gesture and appreciation of Egypt’s illustrious culture.