Can one take the risk and have a go at defining such an ambiguous term as a national character, let alone the Egyptian character? For centuries past, Egyptians have been known as the most stalwart of nation builders. We take proof from the Ancient Egyptians who still stun the world day after day by their achievements. Have the modern sons of the Pharaohs inherited the attributes of their forefathers? Have they kept Egypt's glory and majesty safe and sound to hand it over to posterity? In his book, The Personality of Egypt, the most famous Egyptian geographer and scholar, Gamal Hamdan (1928- 1993) stressed the singularity of Egypt's position and said that Egypt is the gift of the Egyptians. Do the Egyptians form a homogeneous monolith with a single set of attributes and behavioural traits that distinguish them from any other nation? The Egyptian demography has undoubtedly suffered considerable changes over the past decades. The main reason for that was, I think, the migration from rural areas to urban conglomerate cities such as Cairo and Alexandria as well as many big cities in the Nile Delta. In the process, the Egyptian character has suffered some changes. Some Egyptians have turned out to be swankier than ever before. This is very obviously seen in their appearance and behaviour. There are swanky people everywhere on the globe. But are there Egyptians who are chichi and flamboyant? It is a common fact that there are many Egyptians who amassed enormous wealth since the Open Door policy was adopted in the seventies by the late President Anwar Sadat. Those people own posh swanky homes on the North Coast of Egypt and even abroad. They always brag about that and about having expensive cars such as the Mercedes Benz, BMWs and SUVs by driving through the Cairo streets in a flagrant challenge to the tax collector. This wealth, however, is mostly unlimited and unaccounted for in the echelons of the tax department. Such unjustifiable extravagance is set against clear modesty displayed in the poor homes of their fellow Egyptians who live everywhere in the slums and villages of Egypt. There are millions who actually and officially fall under the poverty line in Egypt. If you want proof, you just have to go to any of the slums or popular districts in Cairo and other Egyptian towns. According to a recent statistics report, around 25.2 per cent of Egyptians were officially counted as poor in the 2010/11 financial year. Given that the population of Egypt has touched 92 million people, there are over 27 million of them who are poor and most of them live in rural areas. There is a famous saying that could sum up a lot of what I mean by swanky and modesty here. It goes like this: The fig tree is known as the ‘hypocrite tree.' It looks mature & ripe from far away, but its looks can be deceiving." The fig tree could be a metonymy for so many Egyptians, rich and poor. Not many Egyptians would confess or tell the absolute and candid truth about their wealth. By nature, Egyptians are superstitious and believers in bad omens. If you ask an Egyptian, whose wealth is obvious for all to see, about how much he earns he would hasten to reply that he is living from hand to mouth and things are not going quite well with his business. Thus despite his opulence, he would deny it and claim otherwise. On the other hand, modest Egyptians, too, would not admit that they are poor because it is shameful to consider them as such. An average poor Egyptian would humbly answer your question about how is he doing saying: Al-hamdu lillah (Thank God). Things will be better insha Allah (By the will of God). What should the Egyptian Government officials do? The answer may be implicit in the following saying: "If you oppress poor people, you insult the God who made them; but kindness shown to the poor is an act of worship." By the same token, consider the direct contrast of the swanky saying of a famous female actor: "I won't cry for you, my mascara is too expensive." But to conclude in an optimistic note here: Some people just need a pat on the back. I think a poor Egyptian man or woman would just be satisfied with that.
