STOCKHOLM - "You have a great responsibility. So think globally and act locally. Try to absorb deeply whatever you learn," Egyptian Ambassador to Sweden Osama el-Magdoub advised the Egyptian and Swedish youth delegations, which had been invited by the Swedish Institute in Alexandria to attend a workshop entitled “Youth in Politics” in Stockholm. Although the Egyptian delegation was invited by 'SwedAlex', not officially invited by the Egyptian Government, the Ambassador insisted on inviting all the Egyptian and Swedish young people to dinner in his residence. "When I heard that SwedAlex had invited some young Egyptians who'd participated in the revolution to attend a workshop in Sweden, I insisted on inviting them here to speak to them. I'm really proud of them," said the Ambassador. In his opinion, Egypt just needs some time to rebuild itself again and this is healthy. There is no reason to rush. "Egypt is re-establishing itself again. So what it is passing through now is only to be expected. I see that there is some rushing, which is not good.” “We should remember that the revolution only happened a few months ago. Everything takes time. We need a new vision for everything and we need time to achieve that vision," el-Magdoub told The Egyptian Gazette in an interview. "What I'm really anxious about now is the security in Egypt. We should be aware of this issue," he added. The recent period has witnessed some sectarian clashes between Muslims and Christians in Egypt. These clashes have raised European fears about Islamists; some Europeans see them as barbarians and terrorists. "Since the revolution, Europeans have come to believe that the sectarian violence is politically motivated, because, as we see in the media, when there is a sectarian clash, the Egyptian people [Muslims and Christians] join forces to overcome this crisis. “Europeans are aware that Muslims and Christians in Egypt love each other," the Ambassador stressed. "We in the Embassy explain the situation to the Europeans we meet.” Under the corrupt regime of Hosni Mubarak, ambassadors, like any other Egyptian diplomats, received official instructions from the Egyptian Government. These instructions increased during the revolution. They stated that diplomats should not give clear information about the revolution, just like the Egyptian media at the time. "Before and after the revolution I was flexible. If I wasn't not convinced about the instructions, I didn't follow them," said el-Magdoub. "I watched what was happening in Egypt on satellite channels like BBC and el-Jazeera. That helped me to decide whether the instructions were right or wrong.” The entire world followed the news about the Egyptian revolution. Almost every newspaper and news agency covered the revolution and published up-to-date news about it. "There is much awareness here in Sweden. During the revolution, the newspapers in Sweden were just like the international agencies, publishing real news about the revolution, not the fake news published in Egyptian newspapers," the Ambassador said. Egyptian embassies in many countries have recently started to increasingly promote Egypt, in order to encourage more tourists to visit the country. In Sweden, Ambassador el-Magdoub is doing his best to promote Egypt. "The issue is always the money. If you want an embassy to work well, you should provide it with a proper budget. And I believe that everything will soon change for the better.”
