Nepotism permeates all professions in Egyptian society. A person who is lucky enough to belong to a family of judicial experts will find it much easier to get appointed to a senior judicial position, although he or she might not have done so well in college. This "norm" has become more powerful than any law or even the Constitution itself, which states that all citizens should enjoy equal opportunity. The result is that not only do high-caliber graduates feel that their high grades earn them nothing, but jobs are now inherited, as though they are somehow "owned." Today, positions are "granted" to sons and daughters. The consequences of this trend don't just relate to the injustice done to candidates who prove themselves competent to carry out the job. The repercussions invariably affect the progress of our country as a whole. I personally believe that not putting the right person in the right place is responsible for our regression. I'm not talking here about individual cases, but rather what seems to be an established system in several fields, most important of which is the judiciary. I would like to see one of the members of the People's Assembly raise this issue. Nepotism has become the rule and the appointment of qualified, competent candidates the exception! I can't grasp how it can be that the people responsible for the future of this country are not worried about its progress. The inheritance of jobs has become a right that so-called "heirs" claim publicly without a flush of embarrassment. They even take pride obtaining their jobs at the expense of others, as though unaware of the crime they are committing against other, more competent candidates, and against this country. And when those people snatch their positions, they tend to bring in others who lack the requisite competence, and so the vicious circle never ends. The cycle begins with a father's dream to see his son in the same position, or with the son's dream of inheriting his father's job. Then the dream comes true. Why shouldn't it, if nobody is standing in the way? Translated from the Arabic Edition
