This is a real conversation between me and one of my friends who works in one of the Gulf countries, we were chatting over yahoo. He was a little un-happy because he was not selected for promotion .
I am not trying to turn it personal; read on and u will know what I mean.
I am not trying to turn it personal; read on and u will know what I mean.
Him: U know I feel I am weak
Me: we are all weak , But we have to be strong like steel from inside, so what hurt us or cause injury to us , do it only from outside in the skin not to the core, and I know that u r not week
u r actually a very strong guy.
Him: thanks, I am not week because of my problem
Me: but?
Him: I am week because of my country, I feel I am homeless..
Me: yes, but we can not change our nationality, also, we are responsible for that, This also should not make us want to change our identities.
Him: Egypt for rich people and weld Elkalb we bas
Me: Our country is bad because bad people rule.
Him: Yes, it is
Me: We should change this, but all of us run away to another country, when there is enough brave people to change this and are willing to die for it, it will change.
Him: If I am Indian or Philippine they con not do that with me
Me: So, we can not blame the country, we have to blame ourselves, always remember that, Egypt is a victim.
Him: I love it but I hate it 2Me: I think u should not hate the country, u should hate the bad condition of it.
Him: Everyday I see me tear, really, Believe me
Me: U have to ask yourself what can u do to change this.
Him: Which change, I have to change so many things
Me: Change our country , we all can do
Him: 1st ask yourself from where u start or u end
Me: If we all work together
Him: It is so much
Me: I know
Him: So, u want me back home to change it
Me: Not really, First thing is to be strong so u can withstand troubles, strong meaning, have money, have power and have science, when there is big group of people who are strong gather, they can together change, u can not be strong in Egypt now, So, I advice u to try to stay out as much as u can to be sronger BUT never lose your love to Egypt, cause u will be able to something later when u are strong enough, does this make sense??
Him: Yes, I promise u to do my bestMe: Great
4 comments:
"We blame the time , and the blame should be on us"
El-Emam El-Shafi
Don't blame the country to become the country of the rich and Wald El-Kalb , blame ourselves for letting it be so as you referred
let us be the change just like Ghandi said
about your friend, well good luck for him , he should remember that God won't leave him alone , may be if he continued working in this job something bad could have happened to him "Don't be sad on what you have lost"
Thanks Zeinobia for your compassion. My friend is still working in the company, he was not fired, he just was not selected for a promotion.
And, I agree , it is out duty to change, and the main reason I posted this was to show how the sende of belonging and the identity formation be corrupted by the actions of the governement which is unfortunatley a very dnagerous situation, and I think this is in part what is happening to some Egyptian Christians.
I am not saying that all of them do that , and I am not saying that I excuse them for doing that, but I am trying to explain that it is relatively a normal human feeling to start to lose the link between a certain place when you persistnently get hurt because of it.
It's great to have love for your country. But that will never be enough. Love with frustration and hopelessness will only lead to depression. We need to have a shared vision for where we want our country to be and how we want to take it there. We have to see things clearly, objectively and may be leave emotion out of it for the time being.
I appreciate your advice to your friend. But I think the advice should be directed more strongly to people who are actually living in Egypt.
I personally have the same problem as your friend who lives in the gulf, except that i still live in Egypt but am planning to live abroad. I think that Egypt is unfair and that only rich people get to enjoy life. Although I am considered well off el7amdolilllah, my parents and I constantly struggle to live the way we used to live 10 years ago. My Dad used to work in Abu Dhabi and although I was young and my needs weren't many, we lived comfortably and happily. However since he retired in 2002, life has been stressful. To offer me the same education as my older sisters, he hasn't been able to satisfy my other financial needs. Prices are on a constant increase due to the 1% high class sector which are willing to pay anything and actually are enough to make the economy flourish while leaving the lower and middle class struggle to meet their basic needs. In my opinion, the country is controlled by the Government who are exactly like the 1% I mentioned; willing to do and pay anything to live the life they may never have had. All this does not make up my main reason for wanting to live abroad. I seriously think most people in Egypt (mostly lower class which constitute more than 90% of the country) are becoming greedy, corrupt, judging and surprisingly closed minded, not to mention unintelligent and unoriginal. People I deal with in the street, transportation, when I’m driving my car or when I want to get something done, its the same; these people are helping to bring the country down. I’ve reached a really bad point. I have become disloyal to Egypt and want to run away, like most people who have the same opinion as I do. I have been made to think that the country is hopeless and that any effort I make to improve my country will have a minute effect that will disappear in a second. I’m very saddened about the level I’ve reached and I really want to become loyal to my country again but i need people's help and encouragement, but the government still controls everything and so a revolution has to take place.
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