My sister has this book called Whatever Happened to the Egyptians? by Galal Amin which I usually skim through when I reach a moment of complete despair about Egypt. Lately, whenever I walk or drive or just speak to someone, this question keeps popping up in my mind. What happened to us? And why did it happen?
Some of the things that bother me have always been around, but their magnitude has significantly increased or have become more acceptable. Some are new phenomena to us. But they’re all things that require us to stop and think.
What’s with the huge social gap?
The class divide touches me personally on many levels. At first, I thought that the social and financial gap was majorly between only two classes. However, the deeper you travel in the country, or even just in Cairo, the more you realize that there are classes within one “class”.
It boggles me that we expect a country to move forward if those who are controlling the economy are only the elite of the society. It boggles me to find that more than 25% (CAPMAS 2013) of the population are hanging at, or under, the poverty line. And it boggles me to see that there is no considerable action being taken to reduce this gap. There should be at least constant awareness that this is a huge problem that threatens our society every day.
Why are we SO angry?
We’re always angry. Always. We seem to have lost the ability or patience to hear each other out. We are always ready for a fight or a dispute. We never let go anymore. We wear these frowns everywhere we go. The genuine smiles that used to adorn our faces are suddenly nowhere to be found.
There’s no question that the country has by far not been at its best state for a while that we almost feel that it is our right to be angry all the time. However, if someone doesn’t take the initiative to break the vicious cycle soon, this anger will take a permanently dangerous turn.
When did we become SO loud?
I don’t know at what point of time did we have to raise our voices to ultrasonic levels in order for us to hear one another. I am rendered partially deaf every day in traffic by the inhumane amount of honking. And if you happen to be in an argument, the louder you are, the stronger you make your point.
Whatever happened to education?
We used to be a nation that hosted countless education-seeking people. People from all over the region came to study at what were once the leading, most prestigious universities in the Middle East.
Now, the illiteracy rate is 26%, the first university in Egypt ranks 360 worldwide and the amount we spend on research is less than 1% (CAPMAS 2013) of our total expenditure. Not to mention the privatization of educational institutes everywhere across the country (which further widens the social gap). When did education become a privilege instead of a right?
When have we all become so foul-mouthed?
This realization hit me hard when I saw this video. I was left wondering, for possibly hours, what on earth has caused this much deterioration in our spoken language. As a nation, our language has gone from one that is full of elegance and respect to one that is full of bleep-worthy words.
Nowadays, I have yet to meet an Egyptian who doesn’t constantly swear as part of their daily conversation. It’s a true reflection of the dwindling state of our country in many fields.
Whatever happened to social acceptance?
Accepting the other has never been one of our strongest virtues, but Egypt used to be home to many nationalities and religions that were living in perfect harmony. Now, we’ve become discriminating in each and every way. We do not accept any differences, whether in religious expression (or lack thereof), sexual orientation, political stance or any other matter.
Not to mention how we treat anyone who crosses our borders. If they don’t come with the intention of spending a butt load of money, we seem to do everything we can to drive them away. I understand that Egypt is crowded enough and its resources barely cover its citizens. However, we fail to understand that this problem is caused by bad management before anything else.
When did sexual harassment become okay?
This has gone beyond the technical term of a “phenomenon” to an every day incident. It’s hard to believe that at some point in Egypt’s history (which isn’t that far back, by the way), women actually used to walk the streets of the country without fearing the looks and actions of the men they pass by.
There’s no girl or woman who lives in Egypt who hasn’t been subject to some sort of sexually abusive incident. We’re left to wonder what sort of deterioration in ethics and common decency has caused us to reach a point where Egypt is one of the worst countries for a woman to live in?
Where did respect and empathy go?
Our respect for the elderly. Our respect for our teachers. Our respect for certain jobs that are now deemed as shameful. Every one just looks out for themselves now. If you’re not me, you’re probably against me and should be eliminated at the soonest chance possible. This is reflected in our daily interactions with one another.
Why are we all so hopeless?
Again, this is no surprise considering what the country has been going through since Jan. 25. And there’s no question that since the revolution, a lot of people have suffered losses on so many levels. However, we take complete despair as the easy way out.
We fail to see that the country has been through countless trials in its many, many years and we’ve sprung back from each and every fall. We use this despair as an excuse for other unacceptable behavior.
But we still have chivalry, right?
We do. It is one of the few good qualities left in us and it’s still a quality I miss whenever I leave this country. However, its amount has considerably diminished through the years and whatever is left of it has become restricted to only times of trouble or great dismay.
This post isn’t an attempt to bring the population down or belittle our virtues in any way. But we have been facing some serious problems that threaten to destroy our society. And the first step to solve any problem is to admit that we have them.
WE SAID THIS: Don’t miss Photos to Restore Your Faith in Humanity: The Middle East Edition.
