Our guide in Cairo is Sherif Hassan, 32 years old, single (lives with his Mum, which is normal before marriage) and is a super guy, we are very lucky to have him. Graduate in History from Cairo University and then a post grad in Egyptian Hieroglyphics. I spend a lot of time chatting with him. He is wonderfully enthusiastic and knowledgeable about ancient Egypt but I want to learn his thoughts about Cairo today and so I have several long conversations with him.
80m people living on 5% of the land. At least 30% illiteracy rate. 55% GDP is tourism, 25% toll fees from Suez. He tells us they have a 12% unemployment rate which I know is untrue. Many work for the government in dull meaningless and underpaid jobs that at least allow them to leave their desks during their work hours so they can drive their brother’s taxi and make a little more money. (There are 50,000 taxis in Cairo). All the men have to do national service in the Army but they are so low paid the soldiers at the tourist sites give directions and help but expect baksheesh in return. They are self-sustaining in oil (petrol is very cheap but double what it was 2 years ago) and have natural gas to export. The litter is terrible. They clean their houses and workplaces but just dump it into the streets. The Government doesn’t pick it up and so it’s just shoved into the canals that run to the Nile. (And from there it drifts to the Mediterranean beaches of Greece, Italy and France). When you ask them why they don’t push the Government to do something about it it’s clear that they do not have a personal sense of empowerment and responsibility. Mubarak was elected 30 odd years ago for the two 6 year terms then allowed as a maximum. They change the law every 6 years, now it looks like he will be replaced by his son.
Sherif is a Muslim and so I get him to chat about their relationship with Israel. They are glad that they signed a peace treaty and recognized Israel’s right to exist (“It brought us closer to the West and increased our tourism”) but he tells me that they do not like Israelis. “We want to vacation in Italy, France, England but you will never hear us say we want to visit Israel”. I notice that one of the new towns built on the outskirts of Cairo is called “October 6th”. That’s the 1973 date the Egyptians managed to break through the Israeli Sinai defenses and helped start the negotiations that led to the Sinai being returned to Egypt. He’s a moderate Muslim and is aware and concerned about the way the West thinks about Muslims and takes some time to explain the reason why a Muslim man is allowed to have 4 wives (“what will happen to my brother’s wife and child if my brother dies? I may already have a wife but also have a duty to my brother’s family but she cannot move in with me if she is not married to me”). But, he adds that perhaps only a few thousand Egyptians have more than one wife. There are mosques everywhere because, if you build one on your land, you don’t have to pay taxes.
Egypt is a moderate Muslim country. Sherif points out a street filed with nightclubs and tells us that is where all the Saudis go when they visit Egypt. They rent flats so they can take girls back-something they couldn’t do in an hotel.
Sherif complains about the young women of today’s Egypt. He explains that tradition dictates that the young man pays for everything: he has to buy or rent the flat; he has to buy all of the furniture; he has to pay for the wedding; and, after the wedding, he is expected to pay for the expenses of them and their children. All of those expectations came from the time before the women worked. However, now that most of them do work they still don’t want to contribute to those expenses and still expect the man to pay for everything. He tells us that they can get divorced and can do so without reason but, if there is no reason then the person petitioning for divorce does not get any share of the couple’s assets. He bemoans the fact that about 25% of University women are persuaded by their boyfriends to have an unofficial marriage (that is a civil marriage but without the families being informed) so that they can have sex. The boyfriend explains that, when they have enough money, then they will have a proper marriage with their family’s blessing. But, Sherif explains, that if the boyfriend changes his mind then he just tells the girls that they were never really married, that the civil paper is meaningless under Islam. That puts the girl into a very difficult situation since she (and really the men as well) are expected to be virgins when they get married and they are shamed if they are not. We see an equal number of women in Muslim dress and in Western dress but a small minority in the full Meliyya (fully covered with just a slit for the eyes).
The Egyptians are fun though and I like them and want to come back. They have a great sense of humor and like to joke, pull your leg and laugh a lot. They need a different economic and political system; to get individually empowered and to clean the place up.
No comments:
Post a Comment