The other day an educated Egyptian told me he used to think that Egypt was poor, but they were still trying (as a country) to do well, so it was ok and he was proud to be an Egyptian. Now, he says, Egypt is just a country with broken systems and results in survival-mode being the only thing people know. He (not me saying this!) said now he thinks it is just a disgrace.
Very interesting to hear this from this source. I wonder why he chooses to stay and work so hard amidst it . No one knows how to fix it. They are trapped in a broken system. When I think this, I immediately recognize that all countries have aspects of their system that is broken. So what is the difference? I think it is hope. If there is a form of government where hope for change exists, then it seemsto me that it lifts the population out of survival mode. Whether change actually really occurs is another topic entirely.
The common people of Egypt seem to have no hope for the future. They live day to day and struggle to get through. They have the "what I can do?" attitude and seem to place their future in the hands of a strange form of fate.
So I wonder, what makes these "hopeless" people smile so much and repeat over and over, "Welcome to Egypt."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Hey Amy...I love reading about your adventures in Egypt. When are you coming to the states? Are you planning on traveling all over or staying in one place and letting people come to you? We would love to see you guys. We are planning a trip to Utah for the first 2 weeks of July. Hope we can work something out.
I would assume there a significant division in what they regard as Egypt. Maybe Egypt suffers from some of the more traditional problems of Africa (not that we or they consider it part of Africa), terrible government that betrays the people at every chance, a government that has completely crushed the hope of its citizens through consistent betrayal and chronic corruption.
But Egypt has something the rest of Africa doesn't: the history of one of the greatest civilizations the world has ever known. The artifacts of the civilization are seen in museums in all over the world. Despite the relative proximity in time, I'm sure artifacts from our own Revolutionary War will never be so wide spread. Any wonders of the world we have were made by nature. Theirs were built by hand.
For better or worse they have a reason for great pride in their heritage, and that can co-exist alongside a profound resignation to the political Egypt. They probably only mean the one when they welcome you.
Post a Comment